The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit in the executive suite: American corporate movies in the 1950s

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how popular culture in general and movies in particular both reflected and shaped public attitudes to newly emerging corporate giants in the 1950s; to demonstrate how that view was itself shaped by political context and prevailing American ideology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper rests on a content analysis of 11 corporate films released in the USA between 1954 and 1960.

Findings

Studying corporate movies during the 1950s lends an appreciation of the salience of understanding the political/cultural context of business history. The movies also reflected Cold War realities: the constraints imposed by an anti‐communist blacklist, and the belief – hope, perhaps – that capitalist corporations would stand as a bulwark against the alien ideology of Communism.

Research limitations/implications

The films studied are all US‐made. Studying films from later decades might also lend additional perspective.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the value of considering political context and ideology in understanding business history.

Citation

Spector, B. (2008), "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit in the executive suite: American corporate movies in the 1950s", Journal of Management History, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 87-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511340810845507