MU121 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Alan Freed, Bill Haley, Black Radio
Document Summary
The rise of youth culture in the 1950s. Rise of phenomenon: pop culture devoted exclusively to teenagers. Earlier generations had been expected to assimilate into adult culture as soon as they left high school. In 1950s, white middle class teens were allowed to avoid adult responsibility longer than any group in history. They had fashion, music, dancing, movies, magazines and bevy of slang terms belonging exclusively to them. Phenomenon partly arose from country"s relative political stability and affluence in the post ww2 years. Teens has more money to spend on leisure activities and luxury items. Parents recovering from domestic disruption of war focused increasingly on family life and devoted considerable attention and resources to the health, education, and happiness of their children. Children born just before american involvement in war (dec 1941) were first beneficiaries of this new attention. High school kids were excited by r&b available via local black radio.
