Friday, August 24th, 2012
Here’s a fascinating site which explores the Cold War era in 1950s America.
The site has been around since 1999, and contains text, audio clips, video clips, and other Cold War ephemera, and is a truly one-stop source for anyone interested in what was like to live in America in the dawn of the Atomic Era. As the site’s editors put it, “CONELRAD is the creation of writers who grew up in the shadow of the bomb and all its attendant pop culture fallout. We wish to share our collected interest, experience and obsession with this strange era and thereby provide as much information as possible to the public. This is not to say we’re living in the past! The Day After Trinity is now and forever more and we will reflect that reality here. From apocalyptic dirty bomb scenarios to the Russians and Chinese reigniting the space race, CONELRAD is always on the Eve of Destruction. Watch our Alert ticker on the top of our main page to stay informed of the latest CONELRAD activity. In addition to our own writing on all things atomic, we aim to provide a comprehensive clearinghouse of atomic links. There is a lot of material out there and we will continue to update this section frequently. Furthermore, we extend an open invitation to those of you out there who share our passion for Atomania to send us your suggestions and submissions.”
Amazingly comprehensive, and absolutely worth a look.
Tags: 1950s, America, Cold War culture, Conelrad, Movies, Radio, Television
Posted in History, Humanities, Inside Stuff, Interviews, Life, Pop Culture, Web Culture | Comments Off
Thursday, May 31st, 2012
I have an essay forthcoming in this volume, edited by Cynthia Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper from Palgrave/Macmillan.
The fourteen essays featured here focus on series such as Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, and Captain Z-Ro, exploring their roles in the day-to-day lives of their fans through topics such as mentoring, promotion of the real-world space program, merchandising, gender issues, and ranger clubs – all the while promoting the fledgling medium of television. The distinguished group of authors involved includes Henry Jenkins, J.P. Telotte, Roy Kinnard, Patrick Lucanio and many others. Should be out in late August, early September 2012.
You can read more by clicking here, or on the image above.
Tags: 1950s, Children's Television
Posted in Books, Criticism, Pop Culture, Television | Comments Off
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Click on this image to see a 10 minute instructional film on the “idyllic” 1950s.
The atomic bomb, the Cold War, fallout shelters, the Red Scare, the Army-McCarthy hearings, the HUAC — we don’t remember any of the bad stuff about the past. We only remember what we want to remember, or what we’re told to remember, as in the film above.
Here’s a link to an excellent article, The Other American Kitchen: Alternative Domesticity in 1950s Design, Politics, and Fiction by Caroline Hellman, about the ways in which these images of domesticity and comfort are created, and then propagated as a historical record, when in fact, what marked the 1950s more than anything else was conformity. History is nothing more than the version of events that the dominant culture wants us to remember; never forget that. The truth – whatever that might be, and however we might discover it - is buried in the archives.
Tags: 1950s, America, Instructional Films, Pre-Digital Culture
Posted in Film History, History, Pop Culture | Comments Off
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Here’s a fascinating peek at what the major Hollywood studios looked like behind the scenes in the early days of the television era. Lots of links, numerous photos, a real step back in time.
Tags: 1950s, 1970s, Hollywood History, Hollywood Studio Back Lots
Posted in Film History, Film Industry, Inside Stuff, Television | Comments Off
