I don't think anyone knows this about me, but I've always wanted to live in the 1950's. In fact, similar to those who feel they should have been made the opposite gender, I feel that I was meant to be born in that era and given a choice, I would choose to be born there instead of here, as aside from a few things I generally hate the 21st century. So what I'm going to write about here is the differences between the 1950's and the 2000's. I look foward to seeing what other people would choose if given the opportunity. And just to clear up the air, Teen Beach Movie is NOT an appropriate example of EITHER centuries because Teen Beach Movie is stupid.
*Just to let you know, much of this blog is based off my opinion as well as the research I did on the 1950's. If I get anything wrong, or you have a different opinion on something, feel free to comment. Like I said, I look foward to just seeing what people have to say. Also, I know I say the 2000th century, and like, I mean the 21st and the 2000th. The 2000's in general.*
Perhaps the most drastic difference between 1950 and 2014 is the economy. We were undoubtedly the most powerful nation in the world. We had just won WWII and if anyone needed a job, they got one. More and more people were moving into the middle class. This time was even known as 'The Golden Age.' In comparison to right now, in which the economy is practically crumbling, this is a definite pro.
BOOKS. If you are a book lover such as myself and enjoy all the diverse genres that this century offers, then the 1950's might be a problem. Your favorite books were not invented then(well, most likely) and will not be invented for a while. However, you will probably find new favorite books. It's all about adaption. There were people who liked books then as well and they got along fine. As long as there are books in the world, there are good books in the world. Though the books might have less violence and such, the books in that day were good enough to satisfy the needs of book lovers then as books now satisfy book lovers.
One MAJOR downer on the 1950's is
no internet
. This means that none of us would know each other, you would not be here reading this blog, and you would have never met whatever best friend you might have acquired through the internet. . You would have to resort to books to look things up, you would have to go to people's houses instead of simply calling them through Skype, you would have to DO EVERYTHING IN REAL LIFE. Crap, right? So, I'm sure this is a game changer for lots of people, but, hand, you wouldn't know what you're missing. Because that you could talk to a stranger by pressing your fingers on electric letters is unfathomable. Not even to mention the internet itself.
This next one is both a pro and a con. Movies. I'm not sure if people even know what these are anymore, but Movie Drive-ins are awesome. That's where you drive in your car and there is a giant screen up front and you can watch movies. Generally they play two consecutive movies, and its really cheap too. Sometimes you get complimentory drinks and popcorn, or if you don't, the food is still cheap. The catch, is of course the graphics and ideas. These days we like bigger, better, 3D! Explosions, sex, roundhouse kicks! Blue people, sinking ships, cancer people in love! Yeah, not much of that in the 1950's. But hey, there's always Godzilla. Even though we have one with cooler effects now.
Many people, including myself aren't very fond of todays music. In the pop area, lyrics lean more towards risque rather than inspiring or relatable, or even simply appropriate. On the other hand, that is in general only a portion of music that people listen to. Dubstep, rap, classic, soul, screamo, whatever you listen to, I'm sure you love it and would most definitely not like to give it up. A majorly awesome thing about the 2000th century is that you can listen to whatever you want. You can find bands that not everyone listens to. You can pretty much find anything via the internet. While in the 1950's, the music is fairly limited, due to the fact that the only source of music is the radio and the various jukeboxes that are generally everywhere. And a few live concerts at the park. If you don't really like the mainstream music, then this might be a problem for you. But even though I myself like lots of artists that no one knows about (Marina and the Diamonds ), I find the music that was played then nice. It was innocent and happy, about love and having fun. It was great dance music, which leads to my next comparison.
NO TWERKING. Yes, that's right, there was no twerking. White girls. White girls everywhere. HOWEVER. If you're into that sexy style of dancing, it was actually a rather fun style of dancing they did, that had a lot of crotch throwing and shaking of the shoulders, but that was mostly reserved for the ones that knew how to dance and did it often. Otherwise, it was kind of jumping around, moving your arms in circular motions at your side, and holding your dress out while doing those things.
AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THE 50's.
MALT SHOPS. In case you don't know what a Malt shop is, it's a like a resturaunt, but customers usually get soda or Malts, which are the old fashion shakes that are infinitely better than the shakes these days. Also, when they didn't have enough room in your shake glass, they put the rest in a large tin cup and its like half full and so you get more and its amazinggg. So teenagers usually would go to malt shops on dates and share a malt. Malt shops are also where Juke boxes are often found, and people would request and some Malt Shops even had dance floors. So like, THE ULTIMATE DATE PLACE. There are a few still around but they have almost gone extinct today. And a tip, if you don't know what I'm talking about with the extra cup, go to I-hop and order a shake, they do it. YOUR WELCOME.
Another favorite thing of mine, THE CLOTHING. Girls mostly wore dresses and did their hair up all cute, or they were biker chicks. And there were regular guys, and then there were the biker guys. Surprisingly, the movies are fairly accurate, depending on the place. If I were in that time, I would totally be wearing dresses all the time, but you decide which you would probably do.
There is also the con if you don't like either, because clothes these days are fun. There are lots of it and you can have lots of it. You can wear jeans and shorts no matter the gender. Depending on the person, being able to do that is probably a need to have kind of thing, so the 50's might not work out uber well for you.
Something that is interesting, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY LIVE THROUGH THE 60's. So, I don't know much about the 60's, but like, drugs and stuff. Take what you want from that. GET IT. HAHAHA.
And also, possibly the 70's.
Well... I absolutely hate dresses. So, I wouldn't've liked it much. But the malt shops would be awesome. There's actually a malt shop near where I live though.
Yes, there is a malt shop type place called Little Anthony's that is connected to the Gaslight Theater where I live. It's amazing. I go there every year for my birthday and they give you a free malt and take a picture of cute boys kissing you on the cheek.