1950's: A Decade of Conformity - Fahrenheit 451

The ultimate instance of conformity within society is represented by Ray Bradbury’s classic science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451.  In Fahrenheit’s society, the people are deluded into thinking that they are happy because they are all made to be equal by removing anything that could make anyone feel inferior.  Simply put, as Captain Beatty explains to Montag, “Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against.”   This is the ultimate form of conformity, suppressing individual thoughts by taking away anything which would breed deliberation, contemplation, or discussion.  Even Montag unquestioningly accepts his role as firefighter, burning illegal books, until Clarisse inquires about his happiness.  Only then does Montag begin to doubt society’s rules and attempts to break from his established role and begins to think for himself.  However, once Montag questions his happiness and begins presenting individuality by defying society and looking for answers in illegal books, he ultimately becomes a hunted criminal who is even betrayed by his own wife and colleagues.

1950s: A Decade of Conformity - The Story of Emmett Till

       An example of a man who paid the ultimate price for his refusal to conform to society’s expectations is the fourteen-year-old African American youth, Emmett Till.  On a visit to relatives in Money, Mississippi in August of 1955, Emmett Till, a boy from Chicago, allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, the white woman behind the counter in the store where Emmett was purchasing refreshments on a hot summer day.  Emmett may not have understood the mentality of the Deep South’s Jim Crow laws and certainly did not foresee the consequences of his "inappropriate" gesture towards a white woman.   Although segregation existed everywhere within the United States including Chicago where Emmett resided, the white supremacist attitude towards African Americans in the Deep South was extremely severe.  African Americans were considered an inferior race of people and were treated as such.  If a black man encountered a white woman on a sidewalk, he was to step off allowing the woman to pass without even a look in her direction.  If he even glanced towards her, it was considered an act of aggression and the man would face consequences which usually included a beating from the white townspeople.  Because Emmett Till did much more than look at Carolyn Bryant, his act would have harsh repercussions.

      Although a whistle at an attractive woman by a teenage boy would seem to be an innocent juvenile act, it was perceived by Carolyn Bryant and her family to be as severe as a sexual assault.  Three days after Emmett Till’s adolescent act, he was dragged from his bed in the middle of the night by Roy Bryant, Carolyn’s husband, and J.W. Milam, Bryant’s half brother.  After he was taken to an abandoned barn where he was beaten and pistol-whipped by both men, Bryant and Milam took Emmett to the banks of the Tallahatchie River, shot Emmett in the head, and threw him in the river with an old cotton gin fan tied around his neck to help hold him under the water.  Bryant and Milam confessed their parts in the killing to Look magazine after their acquittal at trial, but made it more of an explanation than a confession, pointing the blame

for the murder on Emmett himself for not conceding his subordinate place in society.  According to PBS.org, Milam explained that they had no intentions of killing Emmett; however, even after beating him, Emmett would not holler or cry out.  Milam rationalized, “Well, what else could we do? He was hopeless.  I'm no bully; I never hurt a nigger in my life.  I like niggers -- in their place -- I know how to work 'em.  But I just decided it was time a few people got put on notice.  As long as I live and can do anything about it, niggers are gonna stay in their place.” But Emmett did not agree to his inferior status and would not concede to be “put in his place.”  Emmett Till was just fourteen years old, but he was as much a groundbreaker as Alan Freed because he brought national attention to the plight of southern African Americans.  He refused to yield to the expected subordinate role of African Americans in the south.  Unfortunately, his refusal to adhere to the established racial roles cost him his life.

1950s: A Decade of Conformity - Study of Rock n Roll Icons Breaking the Rules

           Rock n roll in itself defied the established rules and was seen as rebellious, but there were two specific individuals within the rock n roll scene who further defied the rules, but suffered consequences for their stand against conformity.  

     Real-life sex-symbol Ricky Nelson, the picture perfect youngest son of Ozzie and Harriet, was truly a tortured soul trying to fit into the role he played on television.  The Nelson family embodied the fifties image of prosperity and harmony in their picture-perfect two-story, colonial-style home in their 1950’s hit television series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.  However, off-screen, the Nelson family was not so picture perfect.  Ozzie was domineering in his role as both producer and father.  This in turn caused Ricky to rebel by dressing as a punk in a leather jacket and motorcycle boots, smoking marijuana, getting tattoos, fighting, and joining a gang.  Ricky was even arrested once for stealing lanterns from a construction site.  Ricky was obviously trying to find his own way by fighting against the “good boy” image established by his parents through the popular television show.  Unfortunately, the attempt by his parents to establish Ricky’s identity backfired causing Ricky to rebel against authority in ways he might not have had he not been forced into that established role.

            A further example of a man who suffered because of his individuality was Alan Freed, the high-profile disc jockey who coined the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll” on his New York City radio show in 1954.    Alan Freed was a fan of black rhythm and blues music and incorporated songs by black artists on his shows when most other disc jockeys in white neighborhoods only played the white covers.  Groundbreaking because of his refusal to concede to society’s unwritten rules regarding race, Freed was later targeted in the payola scandal and fired from his radio shows in 1959.  Dick Clark, also a large radio personality who played rock ‘n’ roll music, was spared during the payola scandals, although he was guilty of accepting pay for play as well.  This was largely due to Freed’s association with African American performers as well as the more edgy style of music where Dick Clark was willing to push upon his teenage audiences a more mainstream musical style

.  Because Clark was willing to yield to expectations, he continued to be a successful music personality while Freed, who played the music he and his audience enjoyed regardless of race, was vilified and condemned.

1950s: A Decade of Conformity - A Study of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

     Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a prime example of the expected position of African Americans in 1950's America.   A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959 and was soon followed by the Hollywood film version in 1961 starring acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier.  The story is set in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood and  follows the fictional African American Younger family as they learn how difficult it is to fight the established racial positions when they buy a house in a white neighborhood.  In the 1950’s, segregation was prevalent.  Black families were expected to live in all-black neighborhoods regardless of class.  When the Younger family receives an insurance check, Lena Younger uses the money to buy their “American Dream,” a house with a yard for her family to enjoy.   Lena buys a house in a white neighborhood, not because she wants to fight the system, but because she can buy a nicer house for less money in this neighborhood as opposed to a more expensive, inferior house in a black neighborhood.  However, the Younger family faces the consequences of going against the established rules when they are greeted by Clybourne Park “Welcoming Committee” representative Karl Lindner.  Lindner eloquently explains to the Youngers that they are not welcome in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park because they are not white.  Of course, Lindner tries to make it a matter of the happiness of all concerned when he explains why the Youngers may not want to move into Clybourne Park as he states, “It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.”  This statement portrays the idea that conformity represents happiness, and going against the established rules will only bring misery.

1950s: A Decade of Conformity - The Study of John Updike's Rabbit Run

     John Updike’s story of a young man in 1950’s America in Rabbit, Run, published in 1962, is a perfect example of the rejection of the expected gender roles established by the contemporary society in the time period when the book was written .  This story clearly shows the consequences faced by those who refused to cave to those expectations.  Harry Angstrom, nicknamed “Rabbit,” yearns to find happiness in his life, but finds himself unhappy with his marriage, his family, and his job, although this is his expected role in life.   When he first attempts to run, he winds up in a café in West Virginia where he makes the observation that he does not fit in.  Rabbit realizes, “He had thought, he had read, that from shore to shore all America was the same.  He wonders, Is it just these people I’m outside or is it all America?”  Rabbit knows he was on the outside looking in, trying to find inner happiness and not finding it in his expected role as husband, father, and breadwinner.  Because he runs instead of owning up to his responsibilities as husband and father, however, he is not well-respected by most of society.

          Ruth, Rabbit's lover, shows admiration for Rabbit when she first encounters him, however, she changes her attitude towards Rabbit when she inadvertently falls into her expected role as a mother.  Ruth admits she likes Rabbit because he hasn’t “given up” and tells Rabbit, “In your own stupid way, you’re still fighting.”  In spite of this, after Ruth becomes pregnant, she sees Rabbit’s non-conformity in a different light knowing that his responsibility as a father should take precedence.  She admits Rabbit “just lived in his skin and didn’t give a thought to the consequences of anything.”  Rabbit is further dubbed as “the naughty man” by Reverend Eccles’ family for his appearance of selfishness in leaving his wife and taking up residence with Ruth.  Mrs. Springer confirms this sentiment when she states, “The only thing special about him is he doesn’t care who he hurts or how much,” when she discusses Rabbit with Reverend Eccles.  Because Rabbit does not do what he is expected, most of society sees him as a selfish, egotistic cad who only acts out of his own self-interests and for his own immediate self-gratification. 

          Although Rabbit is admonished for attempting to break free of his role in order to find his own happiness, he is also envied by Reverend Eccles for his brevity in standing up against his expected, traditional role.  Eccles understands Rabbit’s attempt to break away from the established expectations in order to find his own true happiness because Eccles also struggles with his own established role as minister and father.  He has been trying to please his own father by following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a minister.  Eccles, however, never feels as if he has his father’s approval and feels his own life is a “fraud” because he stands in front of his congregation every week “mouthing our Father when his heart knows the real father he’s is trying to please, has been trying to please all his life, the God who smokes cigars” has never once shown affection or admiration.  Because Eccles sympathizes with Rabbit, he makes every effort to try to help Rabbit find his way even after Rabbit’s family denounces him.  Because of his efforts, Eccles is reprimanded by his older colleague when he attempts to counsel Rabbit and Janice, Rabbit's wife, as this was not the expected role of the older generational minister.  Upon consulting with Fritz Kruppenbach, the Lutheran minister of Mt. Judge for the past twenty-seven years, Eccles is told in no uncertain terms, “do you think this is your job, to meddle in these peoples’ lives?  I know what they teach you at seminary now:  this psychology and that.  But I don’t agree with it.  You think your job is to be an unpaid doctor, to run around and plug up the holes and make everything smooth.  I don’t think that.  I don’t think that’s your job.” Kruppenbach’s scolding proves that any attempt to do more than the traditional function is denounced and criticized, especially when the attempt is to help a non-conformist such as Rabbit.  Unfortunately for Eccles, the approval he seeks from the older generation is again not found because of his efforts to do more than the expected.  Rabbit also struggles with gaining the approval of both his and his wife’s families; however, Rabbit’s own happiness overshadows his need for the older generation’s approval.  Eccles admires this in Rabbit because he wants to be able to break free completely, but knows he is bound by his own responsibilities and his own need for approval and, therefore, cannot completely abandon his established role.

       Only the 73-year-old Mrs. Smith truly understands Rabbit.  She hires Rabbit to tend to her late husband's garden.  The elderly Mrs. Smith, ironically, is the only person from whom Rabbit does not feel a need to run.  Mrs. Smith admires individuality as shown by her love of her only “true good pink” rhododendron, Bianchi, which is said to be one of a kind.  She also sees that in Rabbit, and admires his individuality as well.   However, both Mrs. Smith’s appreciation for individuality and Eccles’ admiration of self-fulfillment are the exception, not the norm, as shown by society’s hatred of Rabbit for his failure to conform.

1950s: A Decade of Conformity

        When we look back at either our own individual lives or at our society’s history, we often remember the glory days of an idealistic happy past.  This myth of the idyllic, glorified days of old certainly stands true when we nostalgically look back on America’s recent history.  For example, remembering the 1950’s often conjures up thoughts of a simple, satisfying life where everyone happily lived the American Dream.  However, in the 1950’s, this “American Dream” was a very conformist idea of the perfect middle class American family living in a suburban home where Dad works a nine-to-five job and Mom takes care of the house and the children.  This ideal was portrayed in many 1950’s television shows including Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and The Donna Reed Show which infiltrated living rooms reminding Americans of their expected roles in this conformist decade.  

     The 1950’s boasted rigid societal standards where men were expected to be the bread-winning father and women were expected to be the homemaking mother.  While gender roles were clearly defined, these were not the only standards expected within this traditional-minded society.  African Americans were expected to adhere to the segregated rules throughout America. Further, especially in the Deep South, African Americans were expected to stay within their established subordinate place in a white supremacist culture.  Although it is true that Americans were generally contented, winning a World War against a clear enemy, and reeling in post-war prosperity becoming a society focused on materialistic things and consumerist ways, not everyone felt compelled to honor the traditional standards and some would even try to break free from the conventional roles.  However, those who defied the long-established roles were usually deemed defiant and condemned for their efforts.  The older generation, in particular, did not appreciate rebellious youth who attempted to go outside these traditional roles and often condemned those youth for attempting to make any changes in the social status.  Therefore, because not all Americans easily fit into their expected roles, whether it be gender, racial, or generational, those who were brave enough to defy those roles in the 1950’s were usually condemned for their non-conformist ways.

      These next few posts will be dedicated to those who attempted to live outside the defined conformist rules and were, thus, were condemned for defying the established norm.

Remembering D-Day

69 years ago, on June 6th, 1944, U.S. Forces under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed on the beaches of Normandy, France in support of the Allied Forces' attempt to overthrow the Axis occupation of Europe.  Eisenhower boldly stated upon the landing that "we will accept nothing less than full victory."  According to the United States Army's website, more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, lending to its success.  By the end of the day, the Allies had made substantial progress in regaining control of France, especially in Normandy.  More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded in the campaign, but it was an important turning point in leading to Allied victory over Hitler in Europe.  Since June 6th was the day of the D-Day invasion, it becomes an appropriate day to honor the sacrifices and heroics of the many soldiers who were involved in D-Day.

For more information on D-Day, check out the Army's dedicated website at  www.army.mil/d-day/.

A Tribute to Jean Stapleton: Edith Bunker, May You Rest in Peace

     I read with sadness that Jean Stapleton, acclaimed actress and star of the groundbreaking All in the Family, died yesterday (Saturday, June 1, 2013).  Although she was 90 years old and she, without a doubt, left her mark on American pop culture, Stapleton's passing leaves a whole in my heart as well as that of Hollywood.

     All in the Family dared to go where no one had gone before.  Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker was a classic bigot who said things no one dared to say.  The show was classic, one of the best comedies of all time with Stapleton's Edith foiling O'Connor's Archie in a way that made Archie lovable.

    The show itself is a great example of the times.  The series ran from 1971 to 1979, with its premiere coinciding with the ending of the Vietnam era and marking the beginning of the public's disillusionment and questioning of traditional norms and government policies.  Merely a year after the show premiered, America faced the Watergate scandal, further questioning the morals and trustworthiness of government officials, especially since the top official was at the root of the Watergate scandal.  Archie epitomized the WASP attitude and his character's bluntness, bigotry, and ultra-conservative views were portrayed humorously in a way that allowed America to poke fun at those outdated traditional views that blindly trusted governmental policies as well as feared changes brought about by Civil Rights of the previous decade.

     Enter Edith Bunker, played so brilliantly by Jean Stapleton.  Edith, often called "Dingbat" by her husband, was the perfect foil to Archie's bigot.  She was often deemed naive and too-trusting, but she had a better insight into the human spirit than any other character on that show, including liberal daughter, Gloria and her ultra-liberal husband, nicknamed Meathead.    "No one gave more profound 'how to be a human being' lessons than Jean Stapleton," said Norman Lear, who produced and directed "All in the Family." "Goodbye Edith, darling" (CNN.com).

     So, in a final tribute to Jean Stapleton, aka Edith Bunker:

Boy the way Glen Miller played 

Songs that made the hit parade. 

Guys like us we had it made, 

Those were the days. 

And you knew who you were then, 

Girls were girls and men were men, 

Mister we could use a man 

Like Herbert Hoover again. 

Didn't need no welfare state, 

Everybody pulled his weight. 

Gee our old LaSalle ran great. 

Those were the days.