Category Archives: 1950s

The Mad Ones: A Brief History of the Beat Generation

by Cimaxion

Krystal Cannon (PersonTV) made this short documentary about the Beat Generation in which she not only narrates as Queen Elizabeth, but also plays various roles including Allen Ginsberg, Joan Vollmer, Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac, John Lennon, Edie Sedgwick and Abbie Hoffman. She gives a clear account of the Beat movement then moves into the general social reaction. She also makes some very interesting points about how women were sidelined even though many of them made great contributions to Beat culture. I think that what the Beats were working on is in very fine hands indeed with Ms. Cannon at work.

Thanks to Marc Campbell at Dangerous Minds.

Redbook’s Portrait of the American Suburbs: 1957 Advermentary

by Cimaxion | 2 Comments

Seems almost like a horror film on its surface. This is a 1957 documentary/advertisement for Redbook Magazine. But it presents a portrait of the American migration to suburbia that one could film in almost exactly the same way today. There’s nothing in here that you can’t find looking just the same today. The film’s constant referral to the ‘young adults’ who cherish their lives away from the crowded cities begins to sound downright weird after the tenth repetition. These ‘young adults’ can still be found today in suburbs all around Los Angeles. I’ve had plenty of backyard experience with these suburban young adults. You walk out into your pool area and you hear the neighbors playing some loud music. You know what they’re playing? Bad Company. The Who. Bruce Springsteen. The Bee Gees. John Cougar.

Living in the past. Some glory days lived right around high school graduation time. Then it was all downhill from there and a job that paid for the Sea-Doo and the Ford pickup. Spit in your barbecue if you know what I’m talking about.

There’s some damn fine filmmaking going on in this little advermentary though. I love the shots in part two with the car’s sideview mirror and the suburban yard people.

1955 Urban Renewal Animation: Man of Action

by Cimaxion

In 1955 The American Council to Improve Our Neighborhoods produced this animation to encourage people to get together and work hard to rebuild and clean up impoverished neighborhoods and slums. Its focus on individual effort, painting old garage doors, and forming groups seems hopelessly naive, but it does at least make an effort to encourage people. The production actually has quite an impressive audio track and I think that’s Ray Walston voicing the Devil. The film calls itself: ‘a film dedicated to the purpose of better living in homes and neighborhoods for… All Americans.’

The House in the Middle – Possibly the Most Insane Film Ever

by Cimaxion

The U.S. government wants you to keep your house tidy and clean. If you don’t, it’ll get blown up and burned to a cinder by an atomic bomb blast. Seriously. This is the entire message of this ridiculous 1954 U.S. government educational film about the effects of a nuclear blast. It seems obvious to me that if you were working for the U.S. government in the fifties you were just a drooling simpleton. This film actually goes from mind-boggling insanity to postmodern masterpiece if you squint at it in the right way. It represents nearly everything you need to know about the 20th century in America.

Aspects of Nuclear Radiation – 1950s Atomic Propaganda Film

by Cimaxion

In the 1950s, while the US army was intentionally blasting soldiers with radiation in order to study them as they melted and died, this film was made to minimize public worry about nuclear radiation. Governments always lie about nuclear radiation. They never tell the truth. So, as President Obama stands before the nation assuring us that no dangerous radiation will reach our shores from the sudden nuclear Armageddon of Japan, watch this reassuring little film and wonder.