American Women In The 1950s

Step 1 – Read this article from Khan Academy:

Getchell, Michelle. “Women in the 1950s.” Khan Academy. 2019. Accessed on 3 Mar. 2019.

Step 2 – Apply the concepts learned in the Khan Academy article to this 1950s commercial starring TV couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (they were pictured in the article). Answer these three questions:

a) How was the typical gender relationship between the man and woman in this couple portrayed in the commercial?

b) At the same time, how was the typical general relationship undermined/made fun of in this commercial?

c) How do the clothes the man and woman are wearing in this commercial help to establish them as an ideal middle-class family according to expectations from the 1950s?

Step 3 – Use the concepts presented in the Khan Academy article to analyze the print ad for Schlitz beer shown below. Answer these questions:

a) Ethos, one of Aristotle’s 3 main persuasive appeals, is often used in advertising. Ethos means credibility. In this Schlitz ad the marketer is showing an image that is supposed to make the targeted customer feel the product is a good idea because of who is using it. Explain.

a) Pathos, another of Aristotle’s 3 main persuasive appeals, is frequently used in advertising. Pathos means an appeal to emotion. How does the Schlitz ad appeal to viewers’ emotions?

b) Based on the scene in the advertisement, describe how “ideal” 1950s gender relationships are portrayed in this ad

c) How is color used to attract the eye of the viewer?