uring the early 1970s, films like American Graffiti and television shows like Happy Days began to portray the 1950s as a carefree era before the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and Watergate--a decade of tail-finned Cadillacs, collegians stuffing themselves in phone booths, and innocent tranquility and static charm. In truth, the post-World War II period was an era of momentous changes.

Across the globe, the United States clashed with the Soviet Union over such issues as the Soviet dominance over eastern Europe, control of atomic weapons, and the Soviet blockade of Berlin. The establishment of a Communist government in China in 1949 and the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 helped transform the Cold War into a global conflict, in which United States would confront Communism in Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon, and elsewhere. In an atmosphere charged with paranoia and anxiety, there was deep fear at home about 'enemies within' sabotaging U.S. foreign policy and passing atomic secrets to the Soviets.

Not only a period of anxiety, the postwar period was also a time of dynamic, creative change. During the 1950s, African Americans quickened the pace of the struggle for equality, by challenging segregation in court. A new youth culture emerged, with its own form of music, rock n' roll. Maverick sociologists, social critics, poets, and writers--conservatives as well as liberals -- authored influential critiques of American society.

Background

Television's images of the 1950s were bland. The stock situation comedy centered on a white suburban family with a happily married husband and wife and two or sometimes three well-adjusted children. Father Knows Best was the classic example of this genre. Its theme song was entitled: "Just Around the Corner There's a Rainbow in the Sky." Sit-coms like this were not documentaries. In fact, the postwar era was characterized by tension, diversity, and unsettling social changes.