The 50’s brought about a time of dramatic change and evolution in American society. In a sense, the 1950's reinvented what it was to be a teenager - particularly with the emergence of rock n' roll culture. There was a huge gulf between the 50's adolescents and their parents generation, with an increasing feeling of alienation between the two. Youths became independent, which was shown through certain shocking behaviour, such as new risqué dance moves, passion for cars, and overall self-determining mindset. There were many publications that emerged during this time, which endeavored to make sense of this teenage revolt. 

 

 

Ultimately, this phase in America’s history has been attributed to the influence of war and mass media. One historian, William L. O’Neill, believed that the youth rebellion had risen out of the fact that this generation growing up in the shadow of WW2, had been morally neglected by the elder generation and essentially left to bring themselves up.

 

This is a sentiment echoed in exploitation films of the time, such as 'Blackboard Jungle' - "they were five or six years old in the last war. Father in the army, mother in the defence plant. No home life, no church life, no place to go. So they formed street gangs." 

 

Rock n' Roll can also be seen as a liberation - a symbol of emergence from the austerity of the Depression and the war years, to a new affluent society of promise and optimism.