|
PROLOGUE | In the
Beginning - 1950s | The Trip - 1960's | Paying the Piper - 1970s |
The Right Turn - 1980s | Denial - 1990s | The Forever War - 2000s | Hope
and ? - 2010s | EPILOGUE |
"Who can say
where it all began..."
- Billy Joel,
In No Man's
Land
PROLOGUE
Life, the Universe, and Everything: The Boomers
Marketing,
music, and mayhem have always followed the Boomers. Join me as we set
the Wayback Machine for the 1950s to follow the largest single cohort of
kids as they come of age in the 1950s. Eventually, we will trace their
path through the second half of the 20th century. We will
watch the Boomers come of age, see what they see, hear what they hear,
and try to understand how we reached the impasse we see in 2021.
This is the
story of 'Power to the People.'
Change is Gonna
Come
Forget the
concept that Fifties were a time of calm - it was the beginning
of a whirlwind of technical, social, and historic change that would
sweep across America. The Baby Boomers, TV,
and the new
version of radio all grew up together. These changes in technology
rapidly came to link all the citizens of the country. TV showed them all
the same shows and the majority had similar experiences. It is no
surprise that the majority saw the world the in a similar way. We had a
shared history, and we were thrilled with it.
(click
here
for Mickey Mouse Club)
Technology
zoomed past every expectation in the 1950s. It would evolve from radio
to television. Phones and electricity became a basic staple in American
households. The power of instant communication would soon change not
only the type of work we do, but where we lived, and the methods of
entertainment. As we know now, it would soon change the way we see and
understand news, and thus, how we learn.
In that
generational evolution, it would rapidly come into conflict with the
long accepted 'rules of order' that defined society at that time. And
those results would literally be explosive, and life changing. That
conflict comes to light in the 1950s, as rock and roll commands
attention, and the spotlight.
All that
happened before the digital revolution we think of today! By the way -
it is in the 1950s that the first computers were entering business - and
rapidly changing how business is done by bringing more data to the
decisions makers. Did you know the first people to actually interact
with computers on a large scale were women? It required a keyboard to
type the cards that computers could read, and precision was everything
on those keypunch card systems. Since women were the ones who could
type, and do so quickly and accurately, the job fell to women. In the
earliest research era of computers, there were actually women
programmers, too.
(click
here
for computers in business)
Kids Everywhere
As we tuned
into TV, TV tuned in on us. We saw ourselves in the shows, and we liked
it. The focus on kids would lead the new medium of television to provide
outlets for kids in the form of easy productions that attracted
participants and viewers. (Below early clip from Canyon Kid's
corner, KVTV. Yes, that is who you think it is.)
As there was
generally only one TV set in most houses at this time, if the kids were
watching a show, the parents were likely watching with them. And parents
were no more immune to the new commercial pitches than the kids. It was
a new world then, and the performers in the shows often took a
commercial break and broke the '4th wall' of the performance
studio to directly talk with the audience and pitch their sponsor's
goods. It worked well on us kids. Of course, our parents were not immune
to the impact, either. (click here for
Ozzie and
Harriet Commercial)
Not only did TV
change the buying habits, but it changed how Americans saw each other -
and how they saw themselves. TV showed us ourselves, and we didn't
always like what we saw.
On some levels
it was respectful. (click here for
See It Now)
At times, it was showcasing the rustic rube in
the rural areas.
And at others
times, it showcased all too well the nasty nature of society.
(Below
early Sit-In protesting lunch counters refusal to seat or serve Blacks
at lunch counters. People turned out to humiliate and abuse the
protestors. This scene would escalate to one sided violence within
moments.)
It is an
important point, though: the Boomers will make their decisions on a
stage where their choices - and their feelings - will be transmitted to
everyone else. Indeed, the whole world is watching.
In this course
we will follow this generation through their tumultuous struggle to take
the reigns of power, and what that new version of the future looks like.
Of course, we will also see the generations that will also take the
stage as they mature. But this generation, the Boomers, will face the
challenge of matching what they were taught with the reality of how
things are. Their responses, and their reactions, will reverberate
through the decades -- and influence those that follow.
The Baby
Boomers face a tough time, as they refuse to flinch: They work to come
to grips with 'making it real.' That was their mantra from the 1960s --
'get real.' That meant a demand for honesty, for truth. Today, we would
speak of transparency - and they still do - as they were determined to
carry that flag, that dedication to truth as they saw it forward
into their adult years. They had been taught the Constitution said that
ALL men (and presumably women) are created equal. They intended to hold
it to its word.
But sharing the
vote would mean giving up some of the power. That becomes harder and
harder as more and more groups with different viewpoints demand their
share of the stage.
Well, sharing
is only difficult because those different groups have different views.
As they are surprised to find, women and minorities did not necessarily
experience the same end results. They want to make a different choice,
in hopes of a different outcome. Some will have trouble making that
transition.
Too, each decade that passes means new people participate in the vote,
and their formative years seem to be much different than the Boomers.
Challenges amass as the years mount.
 But
all of this lies ahead. Right now, grab an ice cold Coca Cola out of
that new fangled refrigerator (click here for
Ozzie and
family and Coca Cola!) and let's step into the Wayback Machine! We are
heading back to the 1950s, perhaps where it all started!
Join Russ
Gifford for a trip through America from 1950 to 2020, as these stresses
build, and technology continues to magnify the differences, rather than
the shared history they once held as a given.
While the
session titles use the Presidents as touchstones, the subtitles embrace
the real story, as the singers and the poets of this new generation
recount the journey of the largest single group of children from coming
of age in 1965 to their pending retirement years later.
In those 50
event-filled years, we will follow the generation 'Born to Be Wild' as
they transition from 'outsiders demanding change' to 'insiders in
charge.'
NEXT CHAPTER -- In the Beginning - The 1950s - Click
HERE
PROLOGUE |
In the Beginning - 1950s
| The Trip - 1960's | Paying the Piper - 1970s |
The Right Turn - 1980s | Denial - 1990s | The Forever War - 2000s | Hope
and ? - 2010s | EPILOGUE |
His ratings were the highest for our entire season of 12 workshops, and
far eclipsed those for the previous season. He created a fantastic
class, and people left feeling empowered. -- Dr. Lynn Barteck, Tri
State Graduate Center
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