The Veldt was written in 1950 by the American writer, Ray Bradbury in the era that the United States was experiencing significant economic, technological and social changes.
The American economy experienced a golden age during 1950’s. While other countries in Asia and Europe were still rebuilding and recovering themselves from the World War II destructions, America’s economy had the chance to grow rapidly. Many factors involved in this economic boom. The GI bill let the veterans who could not afford their education to access to colleges. This provided well-educated workforce for the industries that needed engineers and people with managing skills. Also, cheap oil helped the US to advance in science and technology (Miller & Nowak, 1977, p. 118). At the same time, many workers joined the labor unions. By their fast growth, they started to negotiate with industrial management for payments, working and health conditions and benefits that lead to an increased income and emergence of a new middle class. These people grew up during the Great Depression, general poverty and unemployment ended with WW2 and rationing the resources that most people could not afford some of their basic needs. Subsequently, with the economic prosperity and raised incomes, they became able to purchase things more than their needs. An average worker could afford a house, a car and all needed appliances (“1950s Business and the Economy: Overview”, 2003). Thus, by availability of consumer goods, people were willing to spend their money more than ever and the living standard of American people raised. Something that was not conceivable for other nations at that time. America with only 6% of the population of the world, consumed one third of all the goods and services around the world. People did not try to keep things, they used and threw away and buy a new one (Miller & Nowak, 1977, p. 118).
One of the goods that were rapidly becoming a part of every American’s family’s house was Television. The technology had been invented in 1920s but very limited number of families were able to buy that. By the economy boost, television started to spread everywhere. So that by 1955, over the three forth of the American families had a television (“Popular culture and mass media in the 1950s,” n.d.). Advertisements directed the consuming behavior of people and by the spread of television, it had an easy medium to reach directly each family member. Advertisements’ role was that important that in 1956, Robert Sarnoff, president of the National Broadcasting Company, said “The reason we have such a high standard of living, is because advertising has created an American frame of mind that makes people want more things, better things, and newer things.” (Miller & Nowak, 1977, p. 118).
Television programs did not waste all of their influencing power only on consumerism. They also broadcast programs to picture an ideal American family and reinforce specific values. One of these values was the traditional role of women as housewives who were merely responsible for taking care of their family’s needs. Even colleges encourage female students to take courses related to their traditional role like interior decoration and family finance. In 1950, Lynn White, Jr., president of Mills College, stated that “The curriculum for female students should prepare women to “foster the intellectual and emotional life of her family and community.” (“Women’s Roles in the 1950s”, 2001).
All of these efforts to revive the traditional role of women in the society happened by the end of WW2, when veterans started to marrying and starting their families and entering the workforce. Hence, many women who worked during the war due to shortage of man workforce, displaced or gave up their jobs to play their conventional role as mothers and wives in their homes. However, many women kept their jobs and tried to have a social role along with their conventional roles. Media including television by trying to ignore the changing role of women, continued to aim women for most of their advertisements regarding the house chores. Ironically, using the new technologies made women’s responsibilities easier and left them more time for participating in social organizations, volunteering and even having a job (“Women in the 1950s,” n.d.).
Technology innovators focus on alleviating some of the burdens of the housewives. Aside from the fact that people wanted to experience the convenience after the war, growing number of women with social roles made it inevitable to ignore them. Gas ovens were invented in 1954, refrigerators were changed to frost free versions to save time. The first non-stick Teflon pans, the first affordable dishwasher and the first microwaves were introduced between 1950 and 1955. Other advancements in technology related to the home comfort are the first TV remote control by Zenith called “lazy bones”, and telephone answering machines (“1950s Inventions,” n.d.).
Bradbury in his short story reflected these changes in the society and provided a critical view towards the prospective future of these ongoing alterations. He put his finger on the consumerism culture and the emptiness of an easeful centered life. He depicted the Hadley parents as lost and anxious. The technology that was supposed to bring them happiness, lead to their dissatisfaction about their lives. It is an implication of the post WW2 mindset that having more and more can bring them happiness that did not happen in reality all the time. By explicating about the Lydia’s feelings, Bradbury pointed to the changing role of women and the undesirable consequences of advocating all the household and motherhood responsibilities that used to constitute social identity of women to the technology. He also portrayed how technology can affect interpersonal relationships and family life by distancing them from each other, changing roles and rules of the family as a small unit of the society to bring up the question about the effects of technology on the whole society. Another main point of his story is about the violence as a basic human nature. The story was written after WW2, especially Holocaust as an evidence of the dark nature of the humans. Hadley kids as a more innocent human than adults behave against the expectations and instead of imagining a fantasy wonderland, found a way to develop their destructive thoughts. The Veldt invites us to think about how much we would be moral or destructive if we had such a power and control over a technology like nursery that could realize all of our thoughts and wishes.
The following videos illustrate a futuristic smart house in 1950s. The first video produced by General Motors, called “Design for Dreaming” shows the focus on facilitating house chores and making times for women to enjoy and use for things like playing golf and sunbathing and the second video made by RCA and Whirlpool corporations, called “Miracle Kitchen” distinctly shows the easeful centered expectations of the time about the technological progression.
1950s Inventions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://fiftiesweb.com/pop/inventions/
Miller, D. T., & Nowak, M. (1977). The fifties: The way we really were. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Popular culture and mass media in the 1950s. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-8/apush-1950s-america/a/popular-culture-and-mass-media-cnx
The 1950s Business and the Economy: Overview. (2003). In Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/culture-magazines/1950s-business-and-economy-overview
Women in the 1950s. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-8/apush-1950s-america/a/women-in-the-1950s
Women’s Roles in the 1950s. (2001). In J. S. Baughman, V. Bondi, R. Layman, T. McConnell, & V. Tompkins (Eds.), American Decades (Vol. 6, pp. 278-280). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3468301967/UHIC?u=newh97416&xid=84a77f08
Leave me a Comment