History Main / The50s

* The version of 1955 seen in the ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' films has elements of both the Nostalgic Fifties and the Historical Fifties, but seems to generally lean more in the direction of the Nostalgic Fifties.

* ''Film/The5000FingersOfDrT'' (1953) the only live-action film by Creator/DrSeuss, possibly the most [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs bizarre film made]] in the Fifties itself. Its child star, Tommy Rettig, went on to star in ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' (see above). Think ''Film/ReturnToOz'' meets ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'' meets ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' meets ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' (you know... for kids!)

* The first part of the ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' takes place in 1955, which coincides with the collapse of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks.

* ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}''. A FurryComic about a feline private detective. The series features a FilmNoir-influenced version of the 1950s. But the storylines feature interracial violence, racial discrimination (based on fur color), the RedScare, and [=McCarthy=]-style persecution of leftist intellectuals.

* ''Film/GoodNightAndGoodLuck''. A true story about Edward R. Murrow, the [[IntrepidReporter intrepid TV journalist]] out to expose the hypocrisy of Senator Joe McCarthy ([[CharacterAsHimself as himself]]), who preyed upon Americans' [[RedScare fears of Communist infiltration]] for his own political gain.

* SweaterGirl: Tight sweaters (often white) were a common item in ladies' fashion during the decade, as a way of emphasizing the bust (especially if worn over a bullet bra) without showing any skin.

* StayInTheKitchen: Women, at least in Western countries, were expected to housewives; jobs expected for them were secretaries, clerks, telephone operators, and the then-hotly demanded flight attendants. Women in the Eastern Bloc went to work no matter what, and yet still be homemakers after work.

For a glimpse of what (some) Americans actually living in the Fifties thought of their world, read the TimeTravel stories of Jack Finney. His heroes are generally lonely, frustrated, unhappy bachelors eager to escape from their conformist gray-flannel-suited world, usually into TheGayNineties. Likewise actual 50s film are also a good depiction, not only Hollywood but also independent films such as ''Film/{{Shadows}}'' by Creator/JohnCassavetes (actually shot in 50s New York and dealt with working-class African-American characters). FilmNoir was a major genre during the Fifties, that doesn't easily fit in with any of the mainstream versions of the decade listed above, even if many 50s FilmNoir actually dealt with the underbelly of crime and represented it in this period and indeed one of the key period films depicting this time is of course ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' (Henry Hill's childhood and teenage years). This includes modern noir ''set'' during the Fifties like ''L.A. Confidential'' or ''The Black Dahlia''. The other popular genres in this decade are TheMusical, TheWestern, the BMovie, the EpicMovie, widescreen cinema. Formerly the 50s was considered a weak era for Hollywood, these days a growing contingent considers it the greatest period of Hollywood's GoldenAge.

* ''Film/MyFavoriteYear'', set behind the scenes at a live television VarietyShow in 1954 and centering around a fictionalized version of Creator/ErrolFlynn, sort of straddles the line between the Nostalgic and Historical depictions of the era.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' is set in a rural Colombian city during the 50's.

* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemenBlackDossier'' is set in a... somewhat skewed version of 1950s Britain. (It doesn't help that ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' has just happened.)

* Music/FrankSinatra himself proved SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct, and codified the {{Brainwashing}} [[DirtyCommunists Commies]] trope, in ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'', a classic UsefulNotes/ColdWar thriller which came out in 1962 at the end of the period.

* ''Film/CoolAndTheCrazy'', produced for {{Showtime}}'s ''Rebel Highway'' series.

* ''Film/GoodNightAndGoodLuck''. A true story about Edward R. Murrow, the [[IntrepidReporter intrepid TV journalist]] out to expose the hypocrisy of [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets Senator Joe McCarthy]] ([[CharacterAsHimself as himself]]), who preyed upon Americans' [[RedScare fears of Communist infiltration]] for his own political gain.

* Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures: In "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith", Sarah-Jane, Luke and Rani travel back to 1951 to meet Sara-Jane’s parents. Sarah-Jane herself was only a baby at that time.

** PinkMeansFeminine: Color coding for girls and boys with pink and blue respectively started out after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII when they were the other way around prior to that, and the trope was firmly established following [[https://www.racked.com/2015/3/20/8260341/pink-color-history the pink dress]] that First Lady Mamie Eisenhower wore for [[UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower her husband's]] inauguration in 1953. Creator/JayneMansfield further solidified pink as an ultrafeminine color when she wore a lot of pink dresses and accessories and had [[https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/01/29/the-original-barbie-house-inside-the-mansfield-mansion/ her whole mansion]] painted in pink.

* StayInTheKitchen: Women, at least in Western countries, are housewives. Women in the Eastern Bloc go to work no matter what.