The Use of Drugs by 1950s Artists Essay -- Illegal Drugs Speed Narcoti

A movement arose among the artists of 1950s the States as a reaction to the times prevailing conformity and affluence whose members seek to extract all they could from life, often in a strikingly grave way. Specifically, the scotch writers and jazz musicians of the era found escape from night club in drugs and fast living. But what exactly lead so many to this dangerous path? Why did they choose drugs and speed to implement their rebellion? A preliminary look at the contradictions that prevailed in 1950s American society may give some insight into these artists world.At the end of gentleman War II, American goal experienced an overhaul that ushered in a period of complacency beneath which paranoia seethed. A generation that had lived through the privations of the slump and the horrors of world war was now presented with large suburbiaan homes, convenient and spectacular appliances, and pre-packaged entertainment. Such wonders so soon after extended hard propagation were gr eeted enthusiastically and even treated with a sense of awe. They may assimilate encouraged few distinctions among the middle class -- the houses in a suburb were generally as identical as hamburgers at McDonalds -- but they stand for a wealth to which few had before enjoyed access. manners became automated, with dishwashers cleaning up after dinner and air conditioning easing mid-summer heat. The new amenities left more time for families to absorb the new mass culture presented through television, records, and Spillane novels. Excitement over the new conveniences and entertainment led America to increasingly become an acquiring society. To my parents generation, childhood in the 50s was a time when people were generally pleased with themselves and with the... ...McNally, Dennis. Desolate Angel asshole Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America. New York Random House, 1979.ONeil, Paul. The Only Rebellion Around. Life 47 (November 30, 1959) 115-116, 119-120, 123-126, 129-130.Park inson, Thomas, ed. A Casebook on the Beat. New York Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1961.Peretti, Burton W. cut in American Culture. Chicago Ivan R. Dee, 1997.Rigney, Francis J. and L. Douglas Smith. The Real Bohemia. New York Basic Books, 1961.Tytell, John. The Beat Generation and the Continuing American Revolution. American Scholar 42 (1973) 308-317.Van Den Haag, Ernest. Conspicuous Consumption of Self. National criticism VI (April 11, 1959) 656-658.Wakefield, Dan. New York in the Fifties. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1992.Woideck, Carl. Charlie Parker His Music and Life. Ann Arbor University of clams Press, 1996.