CANADAS POST WAR

UNIT 5
1950s

CONSUMER SOCIETY

After WWII, there were few long term productions

that could contribute to sustaining wartime economic
success;
Companies quickly adapted to developing consumer
goods many already had applications during
wartime;
Consumers were able to purchase these new items as
many had jobs, and could afford to support
production industries;
More workers were needed for production to keep up
with the demand and thus supported the consumer
cycle;

ECONOMIC CYCLE

Unlike after WWI, women were not so willing to

return to their homes at the end of the WWII;
As they entered the workforce they increased the
family income to increase spending;
Items that were once out of reach for the average
family came down in price; (cars, houses)
The growth of the Canadian economy was sustained
by consumerism and a newly defined status for the
1940s and 1950s;

AMERICAN ECONOMIC
INFLUENCES

American prosperity during WWII as a producer of

almost everything for the Allies made them very
wealthy;
Their economy also became closely tied to the
Canadian economy as many branch plants were
established;
Although most of the profits returned to the US,
these branch plants employed and paid Canadians
who then spent their money at home;
Main problem: many decisions regarding branch
plants were made in the US and had no real
reflection of maintaining Canadian interests;

TELEVISION AND MASS MEDIA

The most influential cultural force from its

inception was television;

Shows, attitudes and ideals would greatly
affect Canadians ideas of culture and cause
confusion between American and Canadian
identities;
By 1948, the CBC received government
licensing to develop a purely Canadian
television service;

CANADIAN BROADCASTING
CORPORATION
1952 -

two stations in Montreal and Toronto

fed both English and French programs to the
population;
1953 local service in Ottawa and Vancouver;
1954 stations in Winnipeg and Halifax;
Since 1954 15 Canadian independent stations
have been given licensing;
They are responsible for the reflection of
Canadian culture, values and ideals to a
national and international audience;

TV CULTURE

Early TV shows were done live in a studio, the sets

were simple and restricted (like live theatre);
TV became a subculture of the 1950s, spawning other
aspects of its character:
TV tray
Frozen dinners

These were the result of marketers understanding the

family watching at mealtime and making mealtime
and TV part of their daily activities;
Shows also responded to the varying TV attitudes;
Variety, children, educational/intellectual, sport

Beginning of TV Culture

SUBURBAN CANADA
The economic prosperity,

baby boom and

housing boom of the 1940s and 1950s meant
that more housing locations had to be found;
Attempts were made to disperse the traffic or
downtown gridlock as many drove to their
places of employment from their houses
located in the city;
City planners were encouraged to develop
residential locations outside the main region of
the downtown therefore developed a suburban area;

RESIDENTIAL AND INDUSTRIAL

Locating the new residential areas outside the

city attracted industrial plants to develop in

adjacent areas so that their employees could
avoid the city completely;
The suburban areas developed convenience
centers for shopping, libraries, public transit
and entertainment;
Lots for these houses were often larger than in
the city and attracted those interested in green
space and the impression of prosperity;

DOWN FALL OF CONSUMERISM

Increased product availability caused increase

product desirability many families may have spent
more than they were able to afford;
Increased poverty for some;
Increased work hours for some families, entrance of
both parents into the work force;
Children were unsupervised for a portion of their day
baby sat by the television or a neighbour;
It then became termed the idiot box or the boob
tube because of it is a passive activity;

TEENAGERS

Those between ages 13 and 19 were newly distinct

group;
Able to stay in school longer, attend university or
college to further education before entering a career;
Previously, young people would pass from childhood
to the working world, possibly not finishing school at
all;
This new teenage group had leisure time (after school,
parents at work) and some spending money (from
either parents or a part-time job);
There were still some attempts to educate and control
the group to maintain some conformity;

TEENAGE TRAINING

TEENAGE TRAINING

TEENAGE CULTURE

Because of the strictness of the parent group (had

lived through war and seen what happens in a chaotic
state) the teenage group felt the need to rebel;
Rebelling against conservative ideas of their parents,
the teenagers created their own culture;
Their non-conformist style merely applied to the
culture of their parents, there was still a need to
conform to a particular teen group;
As parents lost touch with the trends and attitudes of
the teenage culture, there was a widening of the
generation gap;

ROCK CULTURE

Emergence of music as a defining force in youth

culture was not unique to 1950s teens;
However, the development of rock and roll created an
entirely different edge to teenage culture;
Combination of southern blues, country and
rockabilly that had a fast pace, quick lyrics and
electric guitars;
The transistor radio also helped the growth of rock
and roll in both the US and Canada, as rock radio
stations also grew in number and teenagers could
carry the music with them;

CANADA ROCKS
Development of Canadian acts reflected the

growth of a Canadian style;

Development of Canadian stations (CHUM
1050);
1960s sound became more distinctive and saw
a development of groups, more than single
acts;

ROCK N ROLL
Departure from music of adults;
Energetic and rebellious music hypnotic;
Racist undertones to any objections because

the roots of R&R were in the black southern

US;
It was thought to be immoral, crude and
corrupting;
Teenagers did not feel that the music had a
moral attachment, it was just music, but it did
define the teenage experience;