As the 1950s progressed, American society seemed to fracture into distinct demographic segments. One powerful group was composed of teenagers, who had money to buy cars, records, clothes and most importantly, movie tickets (Post War Hollywood). As a result of the demographic segmentation and the emergence of teen culture in the 1950s, Hollywood saw they needed to make a change. In the period following World War II when most of the films were idealized with conventional portrayals of men and women, young people wanted new and exciting symbols of rebellion. Hollywood responded to younger audience demands, with the rise of the anti-hero, with stars like newcomers James Dean, Paul Newman and Marlon Brando, replacing the traditional staring gentleman of the 1940s. In later decades, this new generation of method actors was idolized and studies by their predecessors, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino (Dirks). On the flip side, sexy anti-heroines Ava Gardner, Kim Novak and Marilyn Monroe lit up the screen with their quick witted, vibrant sexy star power. This dichotomous relationship between the nuclear family with traditional values and the restless and ever emerging teen culture in the United States shaped 1950s cinema. 

Additionally, women started to become increasingly restless with societies expectations in a postwar society. During the war women replaced men in the workforce, taking the lead in the shape of American society for the first time in U.S. history. When men returned from the war and went back to work, it displaced women and placed them back in the home where they were traditionally responsible for the cooking, cleaning and children. This initial spark of dissatisfaction among women eventually lead to the start of the women’s movement in the following decade, the 1960s.

Another area of segmentation was the civil rights movement accelerated, primarily under the guidance of pacifist Martin Luther King Jr. As a result of many civil rights activists and their relentless work towards equality, in 1954 the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education took a huge step toward ending legal discrimination, segregation and most importantly mandating school desegregation (Post War Hollywood).