Cathleen Small - American Life and Celebrity Icons from Marilyn Monroe to Taylor Swift

Published in 2017 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC 243 5th Avenue, Suite 136, New York, NY 10016

Copyright 2017 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC First Edition

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Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Small, Cathleen.

Title: American life and celebrity icons from Marilyn Monroe to Taylor Swift / Cathleen Small.

Description: New York : Cavendish Square, 2017. | Series: Pop culture | Includes index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781502619792 (library bound) | ISBN 9781502619808 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Celebrities--Juvenile literature. | Popular culture--United States--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC HM621.S63 2017 | DDC 306--dc23

Editorial Director: David McNamara Editor: Kelly Spence Copy Editor: Nathan Heidelberger Art Director: Jeffrey Talbot Designer: Jessica Nevins Production Assistant: Karol Szymczuk Photo Research: J8 Media

The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of: Keystone Features/Getty Images, cover (background); Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images, cover; Central Press/Getty Images, 4; J. Howard Miller/File:We Can Do It!.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 6; Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 10; Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, 12; Darlene Hammond/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 14; AGIP/RDA/Getty Images, 17; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, 19; Frank Hurley/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images, 25; ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images, 29; Michael Webb/Getty Images, 31; David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images, 35; Marion S. Trikosko, U.S. News & World Report Magazine/File:MLK and Malcolm X USNWR cropped.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 37; Harry Dempster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 41; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, 43; Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images, 45; Terry O'Neill/Getty Images, 47; Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 49; MTV/File:Mtvmoon.png/Wikimedia Commons, 52; Ron Galella/WireImage, 57; The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, 59; Harry Langdon/Getty Images, 63; AP Photo/Richard Drew, 65; Diana Walker/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images, 68; Karl Gehring/Liaison/Getty Images, 73; Michel Linssen/Redferns/Getty Images, 74; Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images, 77; Julie Alissi/J8 Media, 79; Michael Smith/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 84; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3, 87; 7831/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images, 89; DFree/Shutterstock.com, 91; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images, 93.

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., an icon of the 1960s civil rights movement, gave his famous I Have a Dream speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

POPULAR CULTURE IS THE DOMINANT IDEAS of a specific culture at a given time. The goings-on in the world during any given time period are reflected in the movies, books, television shows, mass media, and slang of the era. Certain personalities emerge from popular culture and stand out as icons. They may be specific representatives of something important going on at the time, such as a president during a time of war, or they may simply be personalities who inspire hope, happiness, or fascination in the American public at a time when they are much needed.

These pop culture icons can have a lasting influence on society. For example, strong females in the media have had a tremendous effect on the feminist movement, and powerful African-American figures advanced civil rights. Other individuals simply capture the attention of Americans through challenging societal norms, or through scandal and intrigue.

Together, pop culture and society are inextricably linked, and the icons that emerge from each decade are solid representations of that link.

The image of tough-girl Rosie the Riveter symbolized the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II.

AMERICA CAME INTO THE 1950S ON THE heels of the turbulence of World War II (1939-1945). The conflict had ended in 1945, but the latter years of the decade were a time of rebuilding and reestablishing relationships. Men who had gone off to war returned home and had to readjust to the family life they had left behind. Men who didnt return left families struggling to rebuild their lives. And men werent the only ones who had to readjust. Women had played an active role in the war as well, both on the home front and overseas. At home, they took on roles that men had previously held and began to work outside of the home, filling positions that had been vacated by the soldiers going across the pond to fight. Women actively participated in the war effort overseas as well, working in military reserves and auxiliary corps and as nurses.

It was quite an adjustment when the war ended, and people had to redefine their personal and professional roles. Many women wanted to continue working, but the job market wasn't particularly welcomingit seemed that if men were available to do a job, then men were preferred. Books, television shows, movies, and even advertisements encouraged women to get back into the home and back to the business of raising a family and creating a home for their husbands.

Having had a taste of the working world, many women struggled to transition back into the role of homemaker. At the same time, men struggled to accept that women were becoming interested in taking on roles outside the home. There were, of course, women who welcomed the shift back to a traditional household and homemaker role, but many women liked the sense of independence that the war had given them.

It was a time of change, for sure, but by the time the 1950s rolled around, an uneasy dynamic was in place. Middle-class families were moving out of cities and into the suburbs. Iconic television shows of the time, such asFather Knows Best (1954-1960) and