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【Abstract】： This paper， in connection with the political， social and economic background of America in 1950s， mainly analyzes the connotation of the mainstream culture during that phase from the aspect of American character.
【Key words】： mainstream culture， American character， the 1950s
Ⅰ. The Definition of the Mainstream Culture
While we discuss the definition of the mainstream culture， it is necessary to first define the term of culture. It is a fact that there are hundreds of different definitions for culture. And many of them are widely accepted. In Kamalini Draid’s book Acculturation of Anti-Culture， we see that culture consists of “people’s manners and customs， its technology， its religious organizations and also its system of valuation.” Another meaning is from The Discourse of American Literature---Culture and Expression from Colonization presented by Bruce A.Ronda， “culture emphasizes the importance of the current meaning as ‘way of life’.” So writing is a way which a society expresses its culture. Through writing， the mainstream culture reflects the dominant values and ideals of life. So very often the mainstream culture expresses itself through literary works.
Ⅱ. The Social， Political and Economic Situation of America in 1950s
One of the distinctive characteristics of American has limited their historical sense to decades. The 1950s after World War II won several terms： the Cold War Era， the Eisenhower Era， and the McCarthy period in the history of the United States. By this time America had emerged from World War II as a political， economic， and military world power. With its achievement of the leading role in the economy and possession of the nuclear monopoly， America， pushed by its ambition to seek hegemony all over the world and the Cold War strategy， tried to compete with its former wartime ally， the Soviet Union， in every aspect in the postwar world. As soon as the war ended， a new ware of anti-communist agitation was organized both at home and abroad. Federal and local government all sought to suppress unpopular， or what they deemed to be dangerous， views especially at home. The economic prosperity and consumerism turned American into a real “consumer society”， creating a mood of optimism which became the semi-official politically correct attitude throughout the entire decade and beyond. Meanwhile the vast majority in 1950s， as in 1920s， were interested mainly in money making and goods consuming， making up for the deprivations of the war years. American society became very conservative in this period. Any behaviors， if they were not in accordance with the conventions， would be suppressed. Thus the 1950s was one of the most conservative periods in the United States. Ⅲ. The American Character in 1950s
There were a number of sociological studies of the American character published at that time. The famous sociologist David Riesman published one book The Lonely Crowd in 1950， providing the descriptive model of the ideology of modern American society. As societies became more technologically advanced， Riesman argued， parents gave up some of their authority to other institutions such as schools， the mass media， and peer groups…Riesman called this new society “other-directed”. He maintained that other-directed societies led to stability and tolerance， but also fostered conformity and loss of individuality. He illustrated the point by telling the story of a boy who， when asked if he would like to fly， replied， “I would like to be able to fly if everyone else did，” In Riesman’s book， the character which suited the other-directed society was the other-directed type which could be observed in the culture of a particular socioeconomic group that emerged as a distinct segment in postwar America. As modern society developed its diverse industrial and administrative systems， such institutions as the church， the ancient universities and the family began to cede power and responsibility for educating and controlling children to others. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the dominant role of the family had been steadily supplanted， though not entirely replaced， by a whole range， of institutions such as the school， the college， the firm， and the state bureaucracies. These institutions became places where the young future professional of the middle and upper classes experienced an extended period of training and socialization.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
This paper explores the mainstream culture of America in 1950s based on the analysis of the American characters in that era. The analysis chooses a comparatively new perspective， taking views on social， political and economic aspects， which probes the profound features of the mainstream culture during that stage.
Works Cited：
Galloway， David， ed. The Absurd Hero in American Fiction. Texas： University of Texas Press， 1970.
史志康主編，《美國文学背景概观》，上海：上海外语教育出版社，1998年。
【Key words】： mainstream culture， American character， the 1950s
Ⅰ. The Definition of the Mainstream Culture
While we discuss the definition of the mainstream culture， it is necessary to first define the term of culture. It is a fact that there are hundreds of different definitions for culture. And many of them are widely accepted. In Kamalini Draid’s book Acculturation of Anti-Culture， we see that culture consists of “people’s manners and customs， its technology， its religious organizations and also its system of valuation.” Another meaning is from The Discourse of American Literature---Culture and Expression from Colonization presented by Bruce A.Ronda， “culture emphasizes the importance of the current meaning as ‘way of life’.” So writing is a way which a society expresses its culture. Through writing， the mainstream culture reflects the dominant values and ideals of life. So very often the mainstream culture expresses itself through literary works.
Ⅱ. The Social， Political and Economic Situation of America in 1950s
One of the distinctive characteristics of American has limited their historical sense to decades. The 1950s after World War II won several terms： the Cold War Era， the Eisenhower Era， and the McCarthy period in the history of the United States. By this time America had emerged from World War II as a political， economic， and military world power. With its achievement of the leading role in the economy and possession of the nuclear monopoly， America， pushed by its ambition to seek hegemony all over the world and the Cold War strategy， tried to compete with its former wartime ally， the Soviet Union， in every aspect in the postwar world. As soon as the war ended， a new ware of anti-communist agitation was organized both at home and abroad. Federal and local government all sought to suppress unpopular， or what they deemed to be dangerous， views especially at home. The economic prosperity and consumerism turned American into a real “consumer society”， creating a mood of optimism which became the semi-official politically correct attitude throughout the entire decade and beyond. Meanwhile the vast majority in 1950s， as in 1920s， were interested mainly in money making and goods consuming， making up for the deprivations of the war years. American society became very conservative in this period. Any behaviors， if they were not in accordance with the conventions， would be suppressed. Thus the 1950s was one of the most conservative periods in the United States. Ⅲ. The American Character in 1950s
There were a number of sociological studies of the American character published at that time. The famous sociologist David Riesman published one book The Lonely Crowd in 1950， providing the descriptive model of the ideology of modern American society. As societies became more technologically advanced， Riesman argued， parents gave up some of their authority to other institutions such as schools， the mass media， and peer groups…Riesman called this new society “other-directed”. He maintained that other-directed societies led to stability and tolerance， but also fostered conformity and loss of individuality. He illustrated the point by telling the story of a boy who， when asked if he would like to fly， replied， “I would like to be able to fly if everyone else did，” In Riesman’s book， the character which suited the other-directed society was the other-directed type which could be observed in the culture of a particular socioeconomic group that emerged as a distinct segment in postwar America. As modern society developed its diverse industrial and administrative systems， such institutions as the church， the ancient universities and the family began to cede power and responsibility for educating and controlling children to others. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the dominant role of the family had been steadily supplanted， though not entirely replaced， by a whole range， of institutions such as the school， the college， the firm， and the state bureaucracies. These institutions became places where the young future professional of the middle and upper classes experienced an extended period of training and socialization.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
This paper explores the mainstream culture of America in 1950s based on the analysis of the American characters in that era. The analysis chooses a comparatively new perspective， taking views on social， political and economic aspects， which probes the profound features of the mainstream culture during that stage.
Works Cited：
Galloway， David， ed. The Absurd Hero in American Fiction. Texas： University of Texas Press， 1970.
史志康主編，《美國文学背景概观》，上海：上海外语教育出版社，1998年。