1) Howdy Doody TV show. (The Baby Boomer kids of the 50s all watched the same few shows
on all of three channels that did not always air. Nothing was more popular than Howdy Doodie)
a) What kind of character is �Howdie Doodie�?
b) What is advertised in an embedded commercial?
Question One
Howdy Doody TV show
(a)What kind of character is “Howdie Doodie”?
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Howdy Doody was a charming character fascinated with new technologies and business
realities. He was also funny and thrilling together with his friends e managed to entertain
kids for a long time. Children were loved the Doodyville inhabitants, because they were a
skillfully created, diverse collection of American icons.
(b) What is advertised in an embedded commercial?
Unlike many of the series of that day that had only one sponsor, many companies begged
to sponsor the Howdy Doody Show, the advertised product in the embedded commercial
is Blue Bonnet Margarine Colgate and Ideal toys.
Question Two
Civil Rights and the 1950s
The 50s saw the advent of what great invention?
In 1950s the television was invented and it became a dominant communication media.
During this time every family bought a television set and watched the television for a
longer duration.
In this “age of consensus” life was great for…whom?
Life was great for the middle class Americans, the economy was booming and people
worked in the industries. The middle class families owned a house and a car and this led
to the rise of the affluent society.
A surge in affluence meant that what percentage of Americans were middle class?
It meant that over seventy-five percentages of the Americans were middle class.
In the 50s what percentage of black families lived in poverty?
Over sixty percent.
A key goal of the 50s civil rights movement was desegregating what?
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The schools and housing.
In what state does this begin?
Mississippi
Did Brown v. Board of Education decision immediately end desegregation?
During this case it was declared that separation of black and white students was
unconstitutional. Thus students were allowed to access public school facilities without
bias
Rosa Parks launched a bus boycott in which state?
State Of Alabama
Where did Eisenhower send the military to walk children to school?
Little Rock, Arkansas
Question Three
Betty Friedan and the beginning of woman’s movement
a) what was life like for the 1950s housewife?
The society was pursued patricidal system so housewives were dominated by their
husbands. Most of the women were not allowed to access the labor market so they were
economically depraved.
b) Who was Betty Friedan and what did she do? (Include her book and her impact)
Betty Friedan is a renowned feminist and an activist who played an influential role in
American’s women’s movement in the 1960s. She wrote a book titled The Feminine
Mystique which brought to limelight the depression, self-hatred, obsession and
disappointment of the middle-class women festering in domesticity. She blamed the
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educators and the socialists for pushing the women out of the work place. This stirred
women across the globe to stand up and fight for their rights.
Question Four
Johnson’s “Great Society”
a) what programs are mentioned in this video?
Poverty eradication, health insurance, education promotion, urban housing,
environmental conservation and space exploration.
b) “With one fell swoop” the Civil Rights act eliminated all of what kind of signs?
The act eliminated discrimination on racial basis as far as voting is concerned. It
therefore created a leeway for mass enfranchisement of racial minorities across the
country. It eliminated literacy tests and other related devices that were used to
disenfranchise the minority races.
c) Johnson wages a social war on WHAT?
Johnson waged war against poverty ad racial injustices which came as a result of unequal
distribution of resources.
d) What was the poverty rate when Johnson took office versus when he left?
When he took the office poverty level was at 17.3% and it dropped to 11% when he was
leaving the office/
Question Five
5) Hippies (a contemporary documentary about these particular Baby Boomers, and a
documentary that is critical–criticism by GI generation, lol)
(a)The movement gets going centered at Haight-Ashbury streets in what city?
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The city of San Francisco
b) What hard rock band is shown?
The san Francisco sound
c) Hippies have “bizarre dress” and long what?
Hair
d) what hallucinogenic drug is mentioned?
Lysergenic Acid Diethylamide LSD
e) What’s the first song the band plays in the video (title)?
“A whiter shade of pale”
f) According to the narrator, most of the people in the audience are what? Described
how?
They were generally young people who were redefined by the thoughts they had about
war. They pioneered anti-war peace movement because they were not impressed by the
Vietnamese war.
g) What are said to be hippie criticisms of social ills (hint: at 5:02) and what is their
“remedy”?
The Hippies criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam
War. They offered remedy for these ills by upholding peace, love, personal liberty. They
were eco-friendly and vegetarians to ensure preservation of nature and conservation of
the environment.
Question Six
Vietnam War Peace march
a) In what city is this march taking place?
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Washington DC
b) what was burned?
An 82 year-old woman named Alice Herz burned herself to death for the purposes of
demonstrating horrors of war.
b) Who leads the protestors to the United Nations?
Pete Seeger
d) In what foreign city did riots erupt in this video?
London.
Question Seven
The 60s
The movie brings out John Kennedy’s commitment to fight poverty by launching a
political mission of reducing unemployment, increasing federal support for schools and
adult education and the government involvement in assisting the poor and elderly. The
video also talks about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the lowering of income tax
by Johnson after Succeeding Kennedy. President Lyndon Johnson introduces an agenda
that states that America must set out its course towards the Great Society.
Question Eight
Stone Wall Rebellion
(a) What could happen to you before Stonewall if it was found out you were gay?
The gay people were arrested and oppressed by the police.
b) In what city was the Stonewall bar?
In New York City
c) what happened on June 27, 1969?
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Eight police men came to the Stonewall Bar to arrest the gay people; their raid did not
succeed because the crowd fought back. The police were stoned an outnumbered as
the crowd soured to approximately 600 people.
(d)What movement formed after Stonewall and because of it?
The gay Liberation Front GLF
Question Nine
Assassinations
Who all is assassinated, as shown in this video?
John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
