This study explores the lifestyle, culture, and societal changes in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses on the role of gender, family values, technological advancements, and the impact of the post-war era. The study also highlights the Canadian television series 'Back in Time' and its portrayal of these decades.
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Running head: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY1 Canada in 1950s and 1960s
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CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY2 Tableof Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................................3 Main theme: The arrival of the affluent 1950s- Episode 2..............................................................3 Manifestation of lifestyle in 1950s..................................................................................................4 Changes in 1950s and 1960s in the Episodes..................................................................................4 Canadian Society in 1950s and 1960s.............................................................................................5 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5 References........................................................................................................................................7
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY3 Introduction ‘Back in Time’ is a Canadian television series aired in May 2018 (CBC Life, 2018a). This series was about a typical middle class Canadian family that takes an experiment to live in different decades by going back in time and experiment the theme, lifestyle, values, and technology of that decade. The series have been narrated in light of the background of that era in question, and let the family share their feelings in contrast of their 21stcentury ideologies and lifestyle. Canada in the 1950s decade has witnessed has experienced the attempt to plan and shape the economy of the country after the year 1944 (CBC Life, 2018b). The country faced wartime restrictions on everything and affected the population a lot. Although the country was facing such issues it saw a transformation in their family values, gender roles, fashion sense, food habits and kitchen roles, and era of baby boomers. Main theme: The arrival of the affluent 1950s- Episode 2 The second episode of the Canadian series ‘Back in Time’, has focused upon highlighting the affluent 1950s and how Canadians saw a dawn to live a normal life post-war.The main theme of this era as shown in the episode was the focus on the family, how the role of genders changes in this era.As shown in the second episode of the series, there was prosperity in the lives of people with improved technological advancements, and lifestyle choices. While the lives of characters seemed to be improved, the gender roles still prevailed with no to very little changes in the lives of female members of the families. The role played by Tristan, the mother was shown as the one struggling to bear the pressure for domestic perfection and managing the kitchen. The episode shows that the houses were required to be tidy all the time and should be presentable to welcome guests. The females are shown elegant and graceful. The 1950s was shown as a massive child rearing trend and the family treated their children with utmost care to
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY4 make them socially fit (CBC Life, 2018b). It is shown that technology entered into the family as television became their part of life. The family seemed happy about the lesser effect of rationing and they had freedom of food choices. The teenage characters in the show are shown to develop their own world which consisted of their own style of living, music and dressing. The episode also highlights the fact that the 1950s made the youth culture more powerful that had the ability to shape the country. Manifestation of lifestyle in 1950s The 1950s saw a rise of Suburbia in Canada which contributed to foreign Investments and large amount of production in the Canadian economy. The houses shown in the 1950s have ample space to play and live a healthy life. As shown in the episode 2, the family is seen happy about the changes since it kept the family together. The houses are expected to be clean and be welcoming for guests. The lifestyle of the middle class family has been shown to socialize more and start to earn. For instance, the Tupperware party was a means for housewives to socialize more. Evidently, there were technological changes in the 1950s were more electrical appliances and gadgets were available in the kitchen. The responsibility of the male members changed and were expected to be more serious. The focus was given to the family, as children were given more importance and freedom. The roles of the family members are shown clearly in the episode. The male member of the family is the head, the mother or wife takes care of the family and children are allowed to live a life with freedom. Changes in 1950s and 1960s in the Episodes The episode 2 of the series highlight important changes in the 1950s era. This era has been highlighted as a change in the lives of the people and the advancements in terms of
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CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY5 technology, freedom and roles of family members. In this episode it has been shown that apart from any changes, the role of the mother or the female character seems to undergo no change since she was seen managing the kitchen in 1950s. When compared to the 1960s, the episode 3 of the series this era would be more fun. But the condition of the mother still remains the same. In 1960, Tristan, the mother was shown stepping out of the kitchen by the virtue of feminism. The middle class family 1950s was shown going out for dinners where as a 1960s, the concept of takeaways emerged (CBC Life, 2018c). Certainly there were changes in the role of family members in the 1950s but in the 1960s the youth became more powerful as shown in the episode. The advent changes gadgets in the kitchen area were prevalent in 1950s but new trends such as charcoal barbecue emerged in 1960s. Canadian Society in 1950s and 1960s The Canadian society as in the 1950s is comparatively new to freedom and changes in the society. This era a new beginning after the world war and its after effects were positive on people. Whereas the 1960s tried to be more fun an open to more attitudes among people. Since the focus of the family in 1950s was to have a nuclear family, it also focused on building a character in children to make them a better person for the future. The roles of the family members were quite defined where in the 1950s the female members did not enjoy much freedom and were expected to be taking care of the family. Where as in the 1960s, feminism played a small role in taking out the female members out of the kitchen and male members experiencing their hand in kitchen. As opined byCaroll (2018),between 1950 and 1960, the young people are seen to grow and make their own choices in life. Conclusion
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY6 The analysis on the eras 1950 and 1960 was presented by way of the Canadian television series, ‘Back in Time’ which highlight the lifestyle of the people, their culture, their mindset and how people perceived things around them. All these have been highlighted above my making a comparison on the fact that both the eras were different and tried improving to make the lives of people happy and prosperous.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY7 References Caroll,M.(2018).HowCanadaBecameaPlayerinthe1960s.Retrievedfrom: https://www.cbc.ca/life/backintimefordinner/how-canada-became-a-player-in-the-1960s- 1.4682740 CBCLife.(2018a).BackInTimeofDinner.Retrievedfrom: https://www.cbc.ca/life/backintimefordinner/episodes CBC Life. (2018b).The arrival of the affluent 1950s: Your guide to Episode 2.Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/life/backintimefordinner/the-arrival-of-the-affluent-1950s-your- guide-to-episode-2-1.4644907 CBC Life. (2018c).Swing into the rebellious 1960s: Your guide to Episode 3.Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/life/backintimefordinner/swing-into-the-rebellious-1960s-your-guide- to-episode-3-1.4645033