50sdiscuss



Answer this essential question by developing a discussion between two sets of people describing the positives and negatives of life in the 50s. Use one color to identify the positive aspects and another color to identify negative aspects. You should have at least five (5) major aspects explained on each side of the discussion. Each aspect should be described with detail. Make sure you spice up your discussion with some snappy 50s lingo. You'll be in fat city and have it made in the shade if you try your best, dig?  Blue- Positive Red- Negative

The 50s are so hip! We can do tons of crazy cool stuff like driving flip-tops and seeing flicks at the passion pit. My favorite actress in Marylin Monroe. I also love watching TV when I'm hanging at my pad; my favorite shows are I Love Lucy & Leave it to Beaver.

Although Marylin Monroe was a successful woman, most are not and have to stay at the pad. Job opportunities are limited for women and they are getting the royal shaft even though their roles are shining in pop culture.

Yeah. Also, the suburbs weren't that boss. Many minorities didn't get the chance to move into suburbs, especially blacks. They were forced to live in inner-cities with lots of noise and crime. Most delevopers refused to sell homes to most minorities.

The suburban lifestyle wasn't bad, it was radioactive as 13 million new homes were built. The suburbs were equal to the American dream with a safe neighborhood, good schools, and a boss single family house.

Yeah, there are a lot of sweet machines too. Cars made it easy to go to hip places like movies & restaurants. New highways made it easy to get around.

The baby boom increased our population and industry. With more people, there was more demand and the economy boomed as well. 

The baby boom was bad in another way because the population increase made life and homes more crowded. Families had to spend more money on their many children.

Another negative of the 50s is racism. The civil rights movement was peaking and there was lots of anti-black sentiment. Violent protests occured that left many dead or wounded.