The 1950s, also known as the Age of Consumerism, fully embodies the modern American identity compared to the other eras of American history. The 1950s marked the rise of consumerism in America as a result of the recent prosperity in the average American family among other occurrences. Since consumerism is a main aspect of the American identity, the 1950s can be accurately defined as a proper embodiment of the American identity.
Consumerism can be correctly defined as a sort of mantra chanted internally by all Americans stating that one may become a happier, more beautiful and successful person, as depicted in advertisements, through the purchase or consumption of X good. However, in reality, once one purchases X good, their quality of life, generally, does not drastically change. Furthermore, one can still be motivated to buy Y or Z goods as a result of their unchanging quality of life, leading them into a never-ending cycle of purchasing items in the hope of reaching the so called “good life”. Yet, no one wizens up due to the innate romantic optimism in limitless human potential, as well as the obvious “ideal individuals” as portrayed in the media .
Such a philosophy or way of life is rampant in American society causing Americans to strongly identify with consumerism. Consumerism is so prevalent in American culture as a result of the great availability of cheap goods in bulk amounts. As a result of these low prices the effort and price to repair these cheaply-made items far outweighs their original price causing Americans to do the logical thing, buy a new one. Even the effort to prevent breakage of such items far outweighs the effort to actually buy a replacement. The swift development of fashion trends in America lends itself to the increased demand for new and more “hip” articles of clothing. For example, apartments built before the 1950s have much smaller closets than that of those built after the 1950s. This is a result of the fact that people treasured their clothing, since there was a much lesser source of clothing for that time period. Clothing was either hand made, or made by expensive seamstresses and as a result, the effort to take good care or to mend their clothing was much smaller than the effort or the price needed to obtain a new one. Due to this, people before the 1950s had less clothing than those after the 1950s. Such a demand also calls for cheaper clothing articles for those who cannot afford designer clothing.
To make matters worse, the average American watches five hours of television today, at least 25% of which is made up of commercials. In addition, studies show that the amount of television Americans watch only increases as one gets older. As one gets older, logically, one has more access to funds or at least more power to gain such funds to obey the heed of the advertisements they see everyday. All these factors result in consumerism being an integral part in the American identity. Moreover, this part of the American identity is so overwhelming that it is starting to influence other countries’ cultures through the spread of American-based media. One can see how this prevalent America ideology affects those who come here from all different countries. There is one defining characteristic that unifies America’s diverse population, consumerism. One could say that many of the immigrants in America did not have such consumerist tendencies until they arrived to live the “American dream”. Consumer spending is the primary force behind the expansion of America’s economy. Private consumption spending makes up about 70% of the gross domestic product in the US.
After World War II, America was flooded with postwar wealth that lifted it out of the economic depression into an era of prosperity, albeit a responsible prosperity when compared with the twenties. Because of war rationing and a lack of consumer goods, Americans were eager to buy and spend their newfound fortune as jobs were abundant and salaries were higher. During these years, there was also a population boom, also known as the “Baby Boom”, as many young people got married and settled down together to start families. Increasing federal programs such as the G.I. Bill of Rights allowed many new families to buy their own homes, often located in the suburbs, which were rapidly expanding. The American consumer was hailed as a patriotic citizen for they were seen as contributing to the ultimate success of their fellow Americans’ way of life since economic recovery during this time heavily relied on this mass consumer society.
As said above, Americans were more responsible in their investments during the 50’s as they had learned from their mistake of extravagant spending during the 20’s, which led partially to the Great Depression. As a result, Americans mostly invested in home goods, and those centered on their domestic lives. After the war, people were eager to modernize their lives, with the purchase of cars, televisions, refrigerators, toasters, etc. Between the years of 1945 and 1949, Americans bought 20 million refrigerators, 21.4 million cars and 5.5 million stoves; a trend of domestic spending that continued and even increases late into the 1950s. After the Great Depression, Americans were understandably uneasy when it came to consumption and the pragmatism associated with domestic spending helped alleviate such concerns. With the boom in suburban areas, cars were needed more than ever and were more affordable to first time buyers; as a result,
automobile sales skyrocketed in the 1950s. Similarly, televisions were bought by families of all socioeconomic backgrounds at rates of 5 million per year. Television shows such as The Goldbergs and The Honeymooners catered to middle-class viewers increasing the time the average family watched TV. Television was an effective medium for advertisers to reach Americans in their homes, enticing them towards other products, a catalyst for the rise of rampant consumption in America. Many saw the new consumerist wave as an equalizer between the classes, while being an emphasis on gender roles and the “good life” that inspired working-class Americans to achieve the social and economic mobility they desired. Television mirrored and strengthened suburban values and the desire for consumer goods. Advertisements featured on television lured consumers at home with flashy images of new and improved automobiles, vacuum cleaners, cigarettes, cereal and more goods suburban housewives desired. Advertisements featuring domestic goods, such as refrigerators were often targeted towards the American housewife, who was portrayed as the ultimate consumer. Such advertisements often depict a smiling housewife, and perhaps her young daughter next to, or using the product, depicting the “good life” in all its Technicolor glory. (add appendix) In automobile advertisements, whole, usually nuclear families are depicted, since suburbanite families were the primary users and consumers of automobiles, such as Chevrolet. (appendix)
With the Baby Boom came an increased demand for living space for these new families. As a result, the suburbs increased dramatically as did the demand for automobiles and domestic goods such as refrigerators, stoves and vacuum cleaners. By
1960, 15% of American families registered as owning two or more cars, a statistic that rose to 28% in 1970.
Since men were the main breadwinners of the family, they had primary control of the family’s car for the purpose of driving to and from work. However, many women convinced their husbands to give them their own method of transportation, since there was not sufficient demand for public transportation to local retail centers, which allowed them much more mobility.