Why Is The 1950s Considered A Time Of Conformity?

Introduction The 1950s were a time of conformity. The country had just gotten over WWII and the people of America were willing to believe and actively pursue anything political figures declared the social norm. A group of writers who rejected any American middle-class conformist values started a rebellious movement against such assimilation. The Beat Generation expressed their ideas of individuality through works of literature influenced by drugs, sexual experimentation, Buddhism, and jazz (Belgrad 2001). Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs, the original beat writers, met each other at Columbia University in the late 1940s (Dodgson 2003). There they entered a bohemian life together with a common interest in liberal culture. Jack Kerouac, who was considered the leader of the Beat Movement, expressed that “he and his friends were beaten down in frustration at the difficulty of individual expression at a time when most artists were conforming to society” (“Beat Movement” 2009). Instead, these men
Their poetry and novels included sensitive topics such as homsexuality, Buddhism, and drugs, all of which were not expressed openly in this time period. By writing about these topics, the beatnik opened the eyes of society to be more accepting. Homosexuality was being accepted, starting the movement of gay liberation. Drugs were considered to be more socially acceptable, and for many years they were used excessively. Eventually, it led to present day legalization of marijuana. Lastly, the increased participation in alternative religions in America was heavily influenced by this lost generation. It can be inferred that these changes in society’s views eventually catalyzed movements such as women liberation and black liberation as well. The beatniks overall encouraged people to look at life from the “underside” and make a difference (“The Beat Movement”