Robots

According to C. Wright Mills, Americans during the 1950s were Cheerful Robots. Using his excerpt, what you've read in the text, and heard in class, why is that description fitting (don't just repeat or rephrase what's in the Mills article).

In the 1950’s, life in America was based on the desire for perfection. The average American desired little but the perfect spouse, a paying job, and wonderful little boys and girls to keep up the same routine. Americans typically did not want to be special. They did not want to reach above and beyond. There was very little room for unconformity. And so the American men donned their (very similar) work outfits, went to jobs they may or may not have enjoyed, and returned home to their wives and children for meals and evening activities. The American women would stay at home and do household chores, help raise young children, and prepare dinner for their husbands when they returned home.

On the outside, mostly every family was the example of perfection. There were smiles as the men returned from work in their nice cars to their nice homes. When a man and woman married, everyone looked upon them as the “perfect couple.” And every day would bring about the same routine, one that inspired peace and happiness within the nuclear family. However, while the surface glistened with happiness, that happiness did not likely exist at all on the inside. There was no room for individuality. Dreams did not matter unless they were dreams that conformed to society. If one was unhappy with how his or her life was going, he or she would not be allowed to show it lest they be looked down upon by their family and friends. There was no room for unhappiness in this falsely ideal world. And so people went on with their everyday routines. Cheerful on the outside with nothing to show for it on the inside.

As an added note, when I read this prompt, I thought of the movie and novel entitled Revolutionary Road. I thought the movie, at least, depicted the cheerful robot idea quite accurately and really gave the feel about how unhappy people of this era could be.