The last library research paper, I chose to examine an issue of Time Magazine from March of 1933. This time, I decided to go with something different and chose Life Magazine. This specific issue was published and released on December 19, 1955, just before the Christmas holiday. I chose this year because this was right during the communist scare of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement was beginning in America, and television sets were becoming a regular belonging of the average American family; it was a definitive moment in American history. Probably because this would be the last issue before Christmas, the magazine is filled with Christmas advertisements, articles, and pictures. Even coming in knowing the abundance of pictures in a regular Life issue, I was blown away by the amount of photographs, which enhanced every article I read. After reading the Time from 1933, I was not expecting a magazine that engaged a reader of today like myself from a magazine published only twenty-two years later. However, the 116-page Life kept me thoroughly engaged and I was pleasantly surprised by the content of the articles, the multitude of photos and overall image of Life’s Christmas issue.
The first article that caught my attention was one entitled “A $6 Billion Christmas.” Americans in 1955 spent $6 billion on Christmas shopping! Adjusted for inflation, that is about $48.2 billion in 2011. Parents were spending $100 on toy suits of armor for their children. One man spent $80,000 in one outing at Neiman-Marcus. While there were actually more bargains in 1955 than the previous year, there were more sales of the more expensive merchandise. For example, $40 handbags were by far outselling $20 handbags and $135 housecoats were much more popular than $75 ones. What this tells me is that 1955 was a great time to be a consumer. In today’s economy, businesses are pleading with buyers to get out and purchase more to stimulate our weak economy. In 1955, however, this did not seem like a problem, as millions flooded to stores to buy the more expensive product. This article is then followed by twenty-one pictures of such products: extravagant Christmas lights, $150 trees, fur coats, nine-foot tall stuffed giraffes, $1,000 porcelain dolls, and a stuffed tiger decorated in $1 million worth of jewels. Many of these gifts would be expensive even today and it was incredible to see the amount people were spending in 1955 to please friends and family.
An article about Sugar Ray Robinson grabbed my attention next. It chronicles the story of the fighter, who retired, vowing never to fight again, went through severe debt problems, found God, then returned to the ring to fight for the middleweight crown he had won twice before. Defying all odds, Robinson knocked out his opponent, Bobo Olson, in the second round, and regained his title as middleweight champion. It was the pictures surrounding the article that drew me into this fighter’s story. One shows Robinson at church, another him playing with his son, and a third walking the streets with nobody even recognizing him. Photos also record Robinson’s KO as four sequential shots show him landing a solid punch on his competitor’s face and Olson out on the floor of the ring. Then, pictures show Robinson crying after his epic win, praying at church, thanking his staff, family and friends, and surrounded by admirers and fans with a huge smile on his face. The story of Sugar Ray Robinson was a great one, but the pictures are what captured my attention and allowed me to see Robinson in his worst times and in his greatest. It made me feel genuinely happy for a man that seemed to turn his life around and accomplish something nobody believed he could. For an article from a 1955 issue of Life to make me become a fan of a man fifty-six years out of his prime shows that a story like this accompanied with pictures of his success has no time bounds.
As a film major, I always look for some kind of article about film or theatre from the time period when looking at these magazines. This issue juxtaposed two stories of drug addicts from both film and theatre, The Man with the Golden Arm and A Hatful of Rain, respectively. In 1955, the Motion Picture Association of America was still strict about subjects of this matter and therefore refused to approve The Man with the Golden Arm. This film chronicles the struggle of Frankie Machine, played by Frank Sinatra, as he deals with drug addiction while trying to maintain his family and work life. Obviously, this subject matter is by no means light and the MPAA did not deem it suitable for American audiences. However, this was at a time when the film industry was moving toward a freedom not felt since before restrictions were imposed upon them. The 1960s would bring out the ratings system we know today, where these films would be released given the warning to the public that subject matter would be intense. When I look at my DVD collection today, I see such movies as Requiem For A Dream, Candy, 21 Grams, Blow, Trainspotting, and Traffic, all of which have to do with drug addiction. I find it interesting to research the change in the industry from its restriction-happy days of the 1930s and 40s to now, and the battle for the release of The Man with the Golden Arm fits right into that history. The article addresses the fact that the industry is moving toward a new independence in which subject matter such as drug addiction could be found in released movies.
Life’s December 19, 1955 issue surprised me by thoroughly grabbing my attention. With Christmas soon approaching, the article addressed the holiday season with articles and advertisements about the subject, including one ad for the magazine itself, explaining how great a gift the 52 issues of Life at $4.75 are to friends and family. At the end of the issue, there is a publisher’s preview of the next issue, which is completely dedicated to the subject of Christianity. It will review the beliefs of Christianity, show the importance of it in the U.S. and the challenges it faces during the time period, then conclude by showing the impact of the religion in countries around the world. Life shows a dedication to the holiday season with this special double issue as well as the articles and ads from the article I read. With its engaging articles and especially its abundant use of pictures to assist in the storytelling, I was able to gain a better understanding of the American society in 1955. I read and saw the importance of Christmas shopping to our culture, I felt for an aged fighter who battled against the odds and I learned more about film industry restrictions by looking forward from 1955 rather than backward from 2011. Overall, this Life issue gave me a great view into our society in 1955 and I enjoyed the entire issue.
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