Storyteller Broke From "Normal" In The 1950s. Here Is How & Why
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- When I was making my television series on the 1960s titled Making Sense Of The Sixties in 1989 my team and I recorded hundreds of informal interviews asking people to remember those days. This speaker is Hendrik Hertzberg, an American journalist best known for his work as senior editor and political commentator for The New Yorker.
The 1950s are often portrayed as a time of conformity, conservatism, and traditional family values. The era is marked by post-World War II prosperity, suburban expansion and the so-called "nuclear family" ideal (a breadwinner father, a homemaker mother, and children). Several aspects of 1950s culture prompted rebellion from young people in the 1960s:
The 1950s are often stereotyped with a focus on consumerism and material success as markers of the "American Dream". This focus on material success and the conventional lifestyle was seen by many 1960s youth as superficial and unsatisfying.
The 1950s were a time of overt racial segregation and well-defined gender roles. The Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Liberation Movement challenged these norms.
The 1950s were characterized by conservative attitudes towards sex. The advent of birth control in the 1960s and changing social attitudes led to the so-called "Sexual Revolution", which pushed back against previous taboos.
The 1950s were marked by the Cold War including fear of nuclear warfare and widespread anti-Communist sentiment. Many young people felt frustrated with what they perceived as irrational fears and warmongering by the establishment.
There was a general questioning and rebellion against the authority of institutions that were seen as representing the older generation - government, schools, churches, and the like.
The rock'n'roll music of the 1950s, symbolized by artists like Elvis Presley, challenged the more sedate pop music of the earlier post-war years.
Several factors led to a spirit of rebellion among young people.
The United States' involvement in the Vietnam War led to widespread protests among young people, particularly those of draft age who faced the possibility of being sent to fight in the war.
Hertzberg describes a counterculture that rejected many of the social norms and conventions of the previous generation. This included shifts in attitudes towards authority, sexual behavior, drug use, and traditional social roles. The growth of movements like feminism, environmentalism, and gay rights also encouraged questioning of established norms and practices.
The post-WWII economic boom meant that many young people in the 1960s were better off economically than their parents had been at their age. This gave them the resources and leisure time to question and challenge societal norms.
The sheer number of young people (the Baby Boomers) meant that youth culture had a big impact on society. The 1960s also saw the rise of rock and roll and other cultural phenomena that galvanized young people and contributed to a sense of generational identity.
Higher education was becoming more accessible, leading to a more informed and politically aware student population. University campuses often became centers for political activism and intellectual challenge to the status quo.
Hertzberg's journalism career started at Harvard, where he served as the president of The Harvard Crimson. After his graduation in 1965, he served in the Navy for three years before moving to New York to work as a reporter for Newsweek.
In 1969, he joined the staff of The New Republic, eventually serving as its editor from 1975 to 1977. He then worked as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981. After his stint in the White House, Hertzberg returned to The New Republic as editor, where he stayed until 1985.
In 1992, Hertzberg joined The New Yorker, where he worked as a staff writer focusing on politics and international affairs. He also served as the magazine's executive editor from 1992 to 1995. Hertzberg's pieces for The New Yorker are noted for their insightful and often witty commentary on politics, particularly on American domestic issues.
Hertzberg has won several awards for his work, including the National Magazine Award for Commentary in 2006. He has also published collections of his writings, including "Politics: Observations & Arguments" and "¡Obámanos!: The Rise of a New Political Era".
In addition to his journalism career, Hertzberg has also been a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and at the American Academy in Berlin.
Here is another great 1989 interview with another storyteller character -
ruclips.net/video/Il1O_KZHW3c/видео.html
As I'm approaching middle age, I'm finding myself mesmerized by these kindred middle-agers so eloquently describing a different era.
I think if I sat down with this man today, perhaps 80 years old by now, I wouldn't quite be able to feel the same connection. These old interviews are miraculous!
Yep, 80. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Hertzberg
I started school in 1965, and the words "conform" and "be normal" were constantly coming out of teachers' mouths. Later on, in high school those words translated to "be ordinary".
Beautiful
Mr. Hendrik Hertzberg, interview gave me more of an insight of what the 1950's were like other them what was shown in movies from that era. Mr. Hertzberg credential are impressive. nice to know he still among us on earth. thanks, Mr. Hertzberg, for being one of David Hoffman interview subject. 😊
Thank you Drew.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
This is another of your great historical and antropological documents. Thanks for doing it. His answers to your questions are eloquent and I think accurate.
This is great Mr Hoffman making sense of the 1950s thanks for sharing ✌️😊🎥
I find the "tell it like it is" part to be specifically interesting. There seems to be this dichotomy nowadays where people either wholesale believe whatever they are told or dismiss all of it. This is not indicative of a healthy society.
This story touched my heart of a man, who mostly spent his life in the big communist cities... I realize, that now, 52 year-old, I am still good enough to go back to nature... Just wondering about others in my country, which is in the middle of the Balkan peninsula... Some say we did not have enough of city life yet, others, just like me, tend to wish to go back to nature, in the villages... And others just say, we are good to go to pension... And beatniks are somehow dear to me, they must have had too much of the urban miracles, we all seem to know too well today. Greetings for the good job this channel does! Stefan Tzarev, Bulgaria 🇧🇬🏳️🌈🇺🇸
Awakening is the epitome of cool in every generation but no one ever calls it that at the time it's happening
I think the 2008-2016 era really mirrored the 60s in many ways, but quietly. A lot was going on in that era but more covert and underground than the sensationalism of the 1960s movement.
Interesting, this was when I was i school, I was 15 in 2016, it definitely felt like an end of an era but there was a fair share of conformity as well as underground movements especially 2009-2013.
Great video, David 👍
I remember the Cheerleading and Football players. I couldn't fit in. My family was poor
And?
As the child of a hippie, having a mom constantly flouting authority was anxiety producing. I knew we weren't supposed to be sunbathing on the roof, passing a joint around a circle, or swinging on the ropes from a flagpole, etc. It has taken a lifetime of settling into my own value system to understand calculated rule breaking. Edicts like "better to ask forgiveness than permission" and "if it goes well, they'll be so glad they'll forget you weren't supposed to do that" got me far in life. I guess the last generation broke the mold so their kids could shape their own.
This was so interesting he explained everything so well and I agreed with him on his insight intothose Times.
Thank you Mary.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
I love this video so much! Its such a great scarce insight looking back
This is first person narative description reflective of his experience in the culture of his youth... it's a form of contemporary ethnography or historiography. Oral history as a mode of understanding paradigm shifts in culture on micro and macro levels. He's very, very good at succinct descriptions of fairly complex issues . I can really relate,. Can you dig that?
Very well stated. I greatly enjoyed this man speaking a story many of us also lived. My role models were beatniks, and just a few years older than me. Fortunately they let me hang around with them…they saved my sanity in junior high, and gave me a deeper appreciation of art, poetry, and philosophy. The music was truly epic.🖤🇨🇦
I love these videos, the people in them are always so sincere and relaxed. I was obsessed with 50/60s culture as a teen, especially beatniks and the writers of the time, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Bukowsi, William Burroughs etc so it's just amazing to learn about what it was like back then from people who really were there. Thank you again David!
Thank you for these wonderful films. Besides a snapshot of a historical era, they are an allegory for the timeless struggle that all generations go through just to get permission for their own culture and the forces that hold them back.
I haven't heard the saying "Do not fold spindle or mutilate" since they did away with those cards with the holds punch in them. 😉
Oops Holes
Best Video yet! Thank you!
Love these.
Amazing, thank you!
Very cool.
I really enjoyed this video David, thank you.
this channel is amazing
This entry written on 6/20/'23. 'Those were the days, my friend, I thought they'd never end...' As far as being able to afford an ordinary life, somebody keeps taking the number 1, and adding as many zeros to the left of the decimal point as they feel like.
Very well spoken, I wasn't aware of his work.
Thank you
❤ ✌
Conformity is still demanded today. It’s worse than ever. You’re not allowed to ask certain questions or you will be dealt with accordingly. “Where did COVID-19 originate? Why do people with natural immunity need to be vaccinated? Why do we have an entire month dedicated to LGBTQ causes but only one day in November for veterans? Why should a biological male be allowed in a girls dressing room?” These are just a few questions that will evoke anger and censorship. The only thing different from the 1950s to today is the people in power.
The coof aint even real..Dig Deeper
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❤I always preferred rugby players , over the Soccer Sect . Yet , it was often The Soccer Team , who were honoured . I always felt kind of insulted by that type of Soccer Humour . ❤ Their specialisation was gossip . Running people down . Making racist jokes . ❤ Picking holes , in folks behaviour. Actually , soccer seemed to be closely linked to lightweight boxing . ❤
❤ Yet, it was more Soccer that we could succeed at, as a school rather than Rugby . Which was more of a High Class game . ❤
I am pleased yo be aged over 40 now, where it is more likely that now everyone has to wear glasses ! ❤
The video seems like it just randomly ended, is there more?
For a country that harps about "Freedom", the US can be awfully narrow.
They can't be narrow if the citizens are propogandized. They do not know what they are being infiltrated with. It's just sooo much worse now.
Ah, the disillusioned utopian... An old story. It is much better to stay illusioned.
He talks like someone who is so grateful to be selfish and short-sighted. He definitely drank the kool-aid before there was the officual kool-aid. Poor guy.
Young people tend to be selfish and short-sighted. Believe it or not but some people must learn through experience. This guy obviously gained a tremendous amount of insight by doing whatever he was doing. Your condescending attitude says a lot about you lol