The 50's were a time of much change and social development, the war was finally over and the men returned home to be with their wives and to raise their children and revert back into main stream society. What was this "mainstream society"? In the 50s it was very very important to be the exact same as your peers and neighbors, or you will be branded a "communist". You must own a car if your neighbors own a car, you must have a dog if your neighbor has a dog, you must be the exact replica of your neighbors as your neighbors have to be the exact replica of their neighbors.
Families had a very simple structure. The obedient, submissive housewife, goes on with her daily chores at home, does the laundry, cleans the house and prepares for dinner as she waits for her children to come home from school and for her husband to return, before her husband arrives home, she must set the table for dinner and change into fancier clothing for it is a housewives duty to look presentable for her husband after a long days work.
Families had 2 children, a boy and a girl. The boy is the older brother, the brother aspires to be exactly like their father, he will attend school get good grades and meet a virgin and get married. One day in the future he will get a job at the place of his fathers employment and will work from the bottom to get to the position that his father is currently in, so he will be able to support his own family of his wife and two children.
The daughter is put together and obedient just like her mother, she not suppose to show any extreme emotions and must be cheery at all times. She must attend high school and get average grades for it doesn't take a degree to be a housewife and whats a girl to do with a brain anyway? She will learn all the skills of being a housewife like cooking and sewing which will be taught to her by her mother and she will perfect these skills by helping her mother with her daily chores. One day she will marry a hard working man just like her mother did and raise two beautiful children.
The father of the family is a hard working man, he wakes up at 8 every morning to go to work at a factory or an office, he will start from the bottom and work his way to an average but respectable position all to provide for his family of four. He teaches his children to be aware of communists and that the government is always right.
families of the 50's had a very simple cookie-cutter guideline to living and every individual member of the family had to fit into theses guidelines or the family will risk not fitting in, and therefore be accused of being a communist. The mothers and fathers can hope that one day their children will grow up to be just like them and become respectable members of the society and raise families of their own. Children can only aspire to become part of the system and live their lives just as their parents did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa952oQAiII&feature=related
