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The Fifties
The Fifties
TV ShowEnded

The Fifties

1.0 / 10
1997
1 season
7 episodes
Documentary

Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the family; the impact of TV; the Cold War; and the beginnings of the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution.

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Seasons

  • The Fear & The Dream

    1.The Fear & The Dream

    30-11-1997

    Following the victorious end of World War II, America was looking forward to new prosperity and relief from the shortages and rationing that the war required. New affluence, new lo...

  • Selling the American Way

    2.Selling the American Way

    07-12-1997

    Television makes its popular debut. TV is a great selling tool, manufacturing demand for everything from automobiles to zany inventions. Business and governments all begin to learn...

  • Let's Play House

    3.Let's Play House

    14-12-1997

    Conforming to the idealized visions of family as depicted on their new televisions, Americans settle into enjoying their American Dreams but discordant voices are beginning to be h...

  • A Burning Desire

    4.A Burning Desire

    21-12-1997

    During an otherwise repressed time, Americans again question their ideas of "normal" when the Kinsey report is published, Marilyn Monroe debuts as the centerfold in Hugh Heffner's...

  • The Beat

    5.The Beat

    28-12-1997

    Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Elvis. Conformity is questioned and homogenized America begins to differentiate. The teenager as a class is born. Popular music is forever changed...

  • The Rage Within

    6.The Rage Within

    04-01-1998

    From Emmet Till to Willie Mays, Americans begin to seriously reconsider how they confront issues of race in America.

  • The Road to the Sixties

    7.The Road to the Sixties

    11-01-1998

    Fast food and fast cars occupy Americans' thoughts until the Soviets launch Sputnik and the space race begins.

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