Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Popular Culture and Mass Media in the 1950s
In the 1950s, financial prosperity allowed young Americans to participate in a shared culture of rock and roll music, movies, and television.
Other
American Film Institute: 100 Years . . . 100 Songs
With this list, the American Film Institute presents its choices for the 100 greatest songs in film. The list includes choices from popular films such as The Sound of Music, Cabaret and The Producers.
Digital History
Digital History: Popular Culture During the Great Depression
A great description of the tension in popular culture during the Great Depression with a focus on tradition abutting modernism in the arts and architecture. Read about the new comic book and radio superheroes, and commonality in American...
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Present at the Creation
A compilation of stories from National Public Radio about the creation of new and extraordinary objects, films, and artwork that have shaped and continue to shape American popular culture. Explore everything from the hamburger, to...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Popular Culture, Making of African American Identity: V. 2
A sculpture, poster, poem, and a painting that challenge black stereotypes in the early-twentieth century. Links to these precursors to the Harlem Renaissance are provided at the top of the page.
Other
Smithsonian Institution: Musica Del Pueblo
Musica del Pueblo is a full-featured resource that explores the traditions of Latino music. Using a colorful mural titled "Song of Unity" as a navigation tool, visitors can watch videos of performances, listen to different varieties of...
PBS
Pbs: American Masters: Gene Kelly
From the PBS series, American Masters, this is the biography for American star of song and dance Gene Kelly.
PBS
Pbs: American Masters: Eugene O'neill
From the PBS series, American Masters, this is the biography of American playwright Eugene O'Neill.
Library of Congress
Loc: American Variety Stage: Bijou Theater
Musical theater and vaudeville were popular in the Gilded Age. Here is a theater program from the Bijou Theater in Boston. Leaafing through the pages gives a great slice of life at the time, not only because of the playbills, but also...
PBS
Pbs: Broadway: The American Musical: Operetta
As part of a larger look at the American musical, this brief look at the popularity of the operetta in the last part of the 19th century discusses why it was so popular with the middle class. Included is a short video that discusses...
PBS
Pbs American Masters: Robert Rauschenberg: Reinventing Art
Studying the life and work of Robert Rauschenberg, we see a reflection of American culture. Click his name to a full biography and timeline.
Other
For Many, One: Passing From Light to Dark
This scholarly article looks into the treatment of race and ethnicity in the 1920s and how they were handled in popular culture. Read about stereotypes of African Americans and immigrants from Asia and southern Europe and find out how...
Countries and Their Cultures
Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: Serbian Americans
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Serbian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
Other
American Studies Online: Theme Parks and Mass Culture
This site is provided for by American Studies Online. The Disney concept and philosophy has had a widespread influence on American life beyond the amusement parks. This article shows the influence has even spread to shopping malls and...
Other
Anti Discrimination Committee: Arab Stereotypes & Educators
This site provides an analysis of stereotypes of Arabs in US pop culture and textbooks, the role of educators in combating these stereotypes, and the effects of such stereotypes on Arab American children. It includes a bibliography for...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Land of Television
The advent of increased television programming helped create a national popular culture. Read about the many kinds of television programs offered in the 1950s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Basquiat, Horn Players
Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1983 painting "Horn Players" shows us all the main stylistic features we have come to expect from this renowned American artist. View pictures of his artwork and read about his life in this essay.
Other
Parlor Songs Academy: Music as Propaganda in World War I
Scroll through the history of the use of popular music as propaganda until reaching the lengthy section about how music was used, not just in the United States, but throughout the world as propaganda in World War I. Find the lyrics and...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Louisa May Alcott: Transcendentalism
Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video [4:00] from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil...
State Library-Florida
Florida Memory: Florida Photographic Collection: Alligators in the Backyard
A photographic exhibit about the American alligator, commonly found in Florida, and its place in popular culture, tourism, and the natural environment.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright Knox Art Gallery: Can It?
Pop artists used consumer products, advertising, and popular culture icons as the major source for subject matter in their art. Between 1962 and 1967, Andy Warhol painted soup cans, both individually and in groups. 100 Cans is one of the...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Pieces of Mind: What's in a Dream?
Explore recent scientific investigations in sleep and dreams. Keep a journal to track sleep and dream activity, and find examples of ways sleep and dreams are used as images in popular culture.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 32: The John Travolta Syndrome
The songs and movies of modern times have had a major influence on fashion. Coincidentally, many of these important fashion-influencing films of recent times had one thing in common: John Travolta. From the white leisure suits ofSaturday...
Digital History
Digital History: Avant Garde
Synopsis of the huge cultural shifts that occurred in America in the 1920s in art, music, literature, and among intelligentsia.