Hollywood & Beyond - End of Year Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hollywood & Beyond - End of Year - Essay Example The society was characterized by mass suburbanization and transition to consumerism and capitalism as the key directions of development. The country’s government was â€Å"deeply determined to prolong and enbance the economic recovery brought on by the war, lest the crippling depression of the 1930s return » (Cohen, 2004, p.236). Military production would be restored to a certain extent as the Cold War was announced between the two superpowers that emerged after the WWII – the Soviet Union and the United States. However, mass consumer market played a great role from then on, and economic growth of the U.S. depended much on mass consumer market. The new economic policy brought prosperity to most citizens and formed the idea of American dream as well as raised expectations of American citizens. At the same time, there still were numerous social issues undermining stability of the society: for instance, struggles to eliminate discrimination in levels like gender and race (for instance, African Americans made their efforts to challenge racial segregation on the ocurt level) and backlashes they led to. Along with the upsurge of welfare and democratization; the postwar epoch in the United States incorporated such features as dramatic growth of suburban areas; power and priority transition from the cities of upper Midwest and Northwest as well as old industrial states to the areas of West and South; and the idea of military and economic superiority of America as a guarantor of global peace and order. In the movies of early 1970s, postwar era in America was depicted in a rather nonobjective way – the movies such as American Graffiti shows it as a period of charm, Cadillacs and tranquility. However, the real image differs from what is seen in these movies: American society in the years following the World War II was characterized by dynamic changes, anxiety and emergence of revolutionary