Mass Media in Mid-Twentieth Century America
The consumer economy flourished, and Americans looked for increasingly diverse and sophisticated ways to be entertained in their homes, which were often suburban and away from urban entertainment centers. The mass entertainment industry responded with gusto, producing new technologies, like the longplaying 12-inch record, that enabled entertainers and artists to produce ever-more extended and inventive works to satisfy the desires of the American consumer.
In this atmosphere, the long Civil Rights Movement that had gained in intensity and militancy during the war years also took advantage of the new media environment, skillfully producing images and works that would have a galvanizing effect on politics and people's negotiations of their individual identities.
