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and even clothing–the gray flannel suit–that everyone else had. To reject
these conventions, as Homer Simpson did, would only lead to trouble.
Another author, Vance Packard, wrote The Hidden Persuaders and revealed
how companies and “Mad Men” in advertising used research on consumer
motivation to attract, often subliminally, or manipulate people to increase
their desire for goods and buy things, often that they did not even need. The
1998 movie Pleasantville offered a biting look at this conformist era as it
began, in black and white, in a “perfect world” where everyone got good
grades, all the kids behaved, and no one on the basketball team ever missed
a shot. But, as characters discovered new experiences, reading “racy” books
or having sex, they gained color, and set up a violent confrontation between
the forces that wanted to maintain that homogenous culture, and those who
wanted to be part of a new world.But, during the era, conformity was
clearly good for business and also, politically valuable because it promoted
conservative values and helped people be “loyal Americans,” which meant
they purchased goods on a regular basis. Collectively, the prosperity,
increased wages and consumption, suburbanization, and other changes in
society led to the establishment of a corporate, consumer culture in the
early1950s. In order to avoid economic problems, it was essential to expand
the economy, which meant training people to be professionals [as with the
G.I. Bill and other educational assistance programs], getting them to pur-
chase more goods [as encouraged by housing and highway construction
programs], and keeping them safe and willing to purchase goods to keep up
with their neighbors, traits inculcated in the suburbs. And, most importantly,
the government continued to expand its military budgets substantially to
keep the economy going strong. The so-called Military-Industrial Complex
was in its heyday and more Americans than ever were living well because
of it.The “Other” 1950s
When asked to describe the 1950s, most people would discuss this gentle and
conformist nature of the era. They might mention the grandfatherly president,
Dwight Eisenhower [whose campaign slogan, “I Like Ike,” oozed of good feel-
ings]. They might remember the silly and harmless antics of Lucille Ball or
the “typical” American family featured in Leave It To Beaver. Perhaps they