American Studies

p American Studies

2 pages 1 source MLA American Studies A . Advertising in the 1950s

While consumerism prospered in the 1950 's -- largely as the result of more sophisticated and more widely dispersed advertising strategies by large companies , the proliferation of advertising brought with it serious questions regarding truth-in-media and quality of merchandise Looking back , we may see a sort of innocence in the cigarette commercials which existed briefly on television , or the countless number of 'giveaway " contests which raged throughout the 1950 's . However , these measures brought with

them a jading of the consumer , a "bursting of the bubble " of consumer idealism . Trading stamps , labels , billboards radio-spots , contests , jingles , and scantily dressed spokes-models emerged in the 1950 's and became the norm as the twentieth century came to a close . The 1950 's also saw the introduction of sophisticated ad techniques such as the 'scientific expert " and the often extraneous appropriation of scientific terminology to push products on un unsuspecting public

B . The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Arthur Millers controversial play was widely interpreted upon its debut as being a social and political allegory aimed at criticizing the "communist fear " which at that time engulfed America . While McCarthyism raged , Miller 's play , drawing upon the Salem Witch trials of the per-Colonial American past , sought to undermine prejudices and social paranoia . While successful as a work of art , one negative aspect of the play is that it both simplifies the problem of social integration and political egalitarianism , but it also creates a "Bogey Man " out of political and social authority , and also religious authority , all of which are aspects which have continued to play a large role in what many perceive to be the social and cultural de-evolution of American society C . Disneyland Disney land is America 's great theme park , the crowning achievement of one of its most revered and talented citizens , Walt Disney . The cartoons and characters associated with Walt Disney and the Walt Disney studios have earned a degree of world-wide fame unmatched by any other creative endeavor that springs easily to mind . The creation of a massive theme-park , which debuted in July of 1955 , marked a turning point in the commercialism of American culture . In the end , Disneyland has earned America a world-wide reputation for being populated by overgrown children and the capitalist opportunists who profit from their emotional immaturity D . An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore 's documentary about the immanent dangers of global warming has already attained iconic status in America and around the world . Widely heralded as a film which exposes the crisis in a plain and obvious manner , the film has received awards and praise and it has been suggested that the film may , in fact , be one of the most important ever made . Unfortunately , controversies still persist about the scientific validity of certain aspects of the film as well as the political adn economic motives ascribed by some to Al Gore for making the film . If Gore intended to prosper from a...