Impact of TV during the 1950s
In the 1940s, there were only 3 networks: NBC, CBS, and ABC. Fast forward to today and there are many, many more. Clearly the television has made tremendous gains in popularity, but what accounts for it? Why is TV so important? In this blog, we will take a look at the effects television had on life during the 1950s.
In the 1952 election, television played a critical role in American politics. After vice-president hopeful Richard Nixon was accused of corruption and of receiving gifts from supporters, through the medium of television, he faced the American public eye to eye and denied the allegations. However, he did concede that he intended to keep one gift that he had received: a dog named Checkers. Now known as the Checkers speech, Nixon used television to appeal to the viewers’ emotions, winning them over. Nixon went from “zero to hero,” so to speak, and he would eventually become vice-president and his running mate, Eisenhower, would become president.
Television also played an important role in promoting religion during this time period. Known as “televangelists,” members of the church would go on air to to deliver messages to members of their faith. One famous televangelist orator was Bishop Fulton Sheen, and he used the medium of television to demonstrate that faith was not outdated and that it can be hip and with the times. Televangelists were important in building bases of support for their religion.
Of course, any mention of television would be incomplete without having the word “advertisements” pop up into the conversation. Indeed, the 1950s saw another way advertisements could appear before consumers’ eyes. And while we may be disappointed that the presence of advertisements in on-screen entertainment hasn’t changed up until today, we should be thankful that the products companies were selling has (see the above 1950s advertisement and you will understand).
Interesting post about television in the 1950s. It is quite intriguing to see especially how television had such a profound impact on politics: being able to see the politicians made a big difference, as their presence and behavior helped or hurt their relations with the American people. One other instance of television impacting politics is in the case of McCarthy (as we have talked about in class). As the American people saw McCarthy accuse people of communism on TV, they began to dismiss him and lose faith in his words, seeing that he had no real evidence and was mainly abusing his power, showing how television helped change American politics. It's amazing how, without seeing McCarthy, people trusted him more, but when they saw him in action, they saw through his lies, changing the mentality of America. How did American politics change because of television? For more information, go to: http://www.today.com/popculture/50-years-ago-tv-helped-end-mccarthyism-wbna5165583
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about the various ways you listed that TV affected people. I think it’s very interesting to compare that to today’s world where the media and TV shows are such a big part of everyday life. You mentioned the election of 1952 and the role television played, and I think that has many similarities to the 2016 election. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were accused of many things that created stories that various news shows would report on, causing outcry and many people to doubt one candidate or the other. Another similarity is how you stated that Nixon bounced back from controversy, and how Hillary Clinton responded to the accusations about the email server.
ReplyDeleteHere is a video and transcript of her speech at the United Nations:
http://time.com/3739541/transcript-hillary-clinton-email-press-conference/