The Desperate Hours (Historical Context)

Historical Context

Suburbia

The 1950s saw the rise of suburban living in America. After World War II ended in 1945, millions of soldiers returned from military service to enter civilian life. They soon married and started families. Eager to raise their children away from the clutter and dangers of cities, and able — often for the first time in their lives — to afford their own homes (the war had been preceded by the Great Depression, which had lasted more than a decade), they accepted jobs in cities, but bought homes in the towns surrounding the cities, creating a boom in suburban housing.

A milestone in suburban housing came in 1950, when William J. Levitt and his sons began a trend by building cheap, identical houses in a fabricated community called Levittown, on Long Island. The homes were functional and unimaginative, and sold so quickly that new Levittowns sprang up outside Philadelphia and in New Jersey. Developers followed Levitt's lead, and began bulldozing acres of farmland in areas on the outskirts of cities, building whole communities of thousands of homes at a time. Throughout the 1950s, houses were built at a rate of 1.4 million per year, mostly in the suburbs.

The lack of individuality that marked these homes, thrown together as they were under such industrial conditions, was mirrored in the sameness of the suburban residents. The overwhelming majority of suburban families were white and middle class, with two parents and a few children. Conformity was encouraged, and those who deviated from the norm were ostracized from the community. The racial segregation of the suburbs reflected society at large during the decade marked by struggle for integration in cities — in particular in northern cities, where social customs and not explicit laws kept whites and blacks separated. In addition, the suburbs also experienced gender segregation; though most households had both a male and a female, they separated by day, with the men driving off to their jobs in the city, leaving the suburban neighborhoods populated by wives and children.

Social Anxiety

Compared to the 1940s, which witnessed the last World War, and the 1960s, which were marked by riots, the 1950s are remembered as a peaceful and prosperous time. These nostalgic memories, however, ignore the tensions underlying the basic social facts.

The 1950s were, in fact, a period of unprecedented economic growth in America. Japan and most of the European economies had to suffer the burden of rebuilding after the war ended in 1945, having lost much manufacturing capability during the fighting. The United States, as the only powerful nation that had not been the scene of combat, had actually grown financially during the war, producing munitions and food that the other nations needed but could not provide. By the 1950s, America was an industrial and military superpower, rivaled only by the Soviet Union.

The rivalry with the Soviet Union, dubbed the "Cold War" (to distinguish it from a "hot" war that would have actual fighting with causalities), colored the political atmosphere of the 1950s with fear. Soviet spies were suspected to have infiltrated the government, and then the suspicion grew, so that other industries such as manufacturing and entertainment were examined with an eye for Soviet influence. The mere accusation of involvement with communists destroyed many careers, and the fear of being accused drove many law-abiding citizens to do whatever they could to avoid social attention.

It was not, however, only political pressure that caused people to do what they could to blend into their environment. Conformity was the mood of the country. As early as 1950, this trend was documented by David Reisman, who in his book The Lonely Crowd describes how Americans had become "other-directed," drawing their self-image from the opinions of others, rather than being "innerdirected." Other writers of the decade, such as William Whyte (The Organization Man, 1956) and Vance Packard (The Status Seekers, 1959) examine conformity in the business world and the ways that middle-class families strove to be accepted as financially prosperous in their communities, but otherwise tried to remain invisible.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

• 1950s: During the cold war, Americans are afraid of infiltration by Communists. In Congress, the House Un-American Activities Committee holds hearings to find out if foreign elements have penetrated our nation's security.
  Today: After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Americans are once again wary of the country being infiltrated by hostile outsiders. The Department of Homeland Security is a newly-formed agency assigned the task of preventing attacks within the United States.
• 1950s: A young woman like Cindy Hilliard, working in a law office, is most likely to be, as Cindy is, a secretary.
  Today: A young woman working in a law office is just as likely to be a lawyer or a paralegal.
• 1950s: Police are able to search for Glenn Griffin's girlfriend by monitoring all calls going from Columbus, Ohio, to Indianapolis over a four-hour period.
  Today: With wireless communication and messages routed through various Internet providers, such a task as that mentioned above is impossible.
• 1950s: Like most stores, gas stations close in the evening and open in the morning. The criminals in The Desperate Hours, who plan to flee in the night, have to send someone out for gasoline before the stations close.
  Today: Except for the most rural reaches of the country, it is not difficult to find a gas station that is open all night.
• 1950s: A teacher like Miss Swift in the play might stop by the home of a student who has called in ill.
  Today: Schools have social workers on their support staffs to handle any suspicions or concerns about a student's home life, but it is rare for a teacher to visit a student's home in person.