Author Description

<p>This book provides a stimulating account of the dominant cultural forms of 1950s America: fiction and poetry; theatre and performance; film and television; music and radio; and the visual arts. Through detailed commentary and focused case studies of influential texts and events - from <i>Invisible Man</i> to <i>West Side Story</i>, from Disneyland to the Seattle World's Fair, from <i>Rear Window</i> to <i>The Americans</i> - the book examines the way in which modernism and the cold war offer two frames of reference for understanding the trajectory of postwar culture.</p> <p>The two core aims of this volume are to chart the changing complexion of American culture in the years following World War II and to provide readers with a critical investigation of 'the 1950s'. The book provides an intellectual context for approaching 1950s American culture and considers the historical impact of the decade on recent social and cultural developments.</p> <p>Key Features:<ul><li>Focused case studies featuring key texts, genres, writers, artists and cultural trends</li><li>Chronology of 1950s American Culture</li><li>Bibliographies for each chapter</li><li>over twenty illustrations</li></ul></p>