First available in 1998, HDTV products were initially extremely expensive, priced between $5,000 and $10,000 per set. As of 2010, nearly half of American viewers are watching television in high definition, the fastest adoption of TV technology since the introduction of the VCR in the 1980s (Stelter, 2010). At the start of the decade, there were about 3 million TV owners; by the end of it, there were 55 mill","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"
One of the most popular products in the 1950s was the TV. Early television programs were developed and produced by a single sponsor, which gave the sponsor a large amount of control over the content of the show. From middle class culture, to beatniks, Despite the television industrys support for the new technology, it would be another 10 years before color television gained widespread popularity in the United States, and black-and-white TV sets outnumbered color TV sets until 1972 (Klooster, 2009). Web1950s America was a time a prosperity and conformity. Conformity and Its Characterization of The 1950's America. Their parents had generally been strict and harshly critical of those who fell short of their standards. WebPeter Lev was a man who lived during the 50s and experienced the impact of television: In 1950, more than 7.3 million TV sets were sold in the United States, and US TV sales were never less than 5 million in the years 1950-1959. Much, if not most, television in the 1950s did present a vanilla, whitewashed picture of American life in which family settings were ideal and untroubled. Salinger (1951). As with his black-and-white television system, Baird adopted the mechanical method, using a Nipkow scanning disk with three spirals, one for each primary color (red, green, and blue). Icons of Invention: The Makers of the Modern World from Gutenberg to Gates (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009), 442. Many in the 1950s strove for the comfort and conformity depicted on such TV shows as Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver. Rural parts of Pennsylvania, which had only three channels (one for each network), soon had more than double the original number of channels as operators began to import programs from independent stations in New York and Philadelphia. Such gaffes as Beaver wanting to wear a piece of clothing that might embarrass the family were harshly condemned, while conformity was praised. Each response should be a minimum of one paragraph. KC Library, Lone Star College: Kinwood, American Cultural History 19301939, http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html. Crystal-Clear, Maybe Mesmerizing, New York Times, May 23, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/media/24def.html. It has a much higher resolution than standard television systems, using around five times as many pixels per frame. What were some of the causes of suburbanization during the 1950s? Segregation in the schools, the lack of a political voice, and longstanding racial prejudices stifled the economic advancement of many African Americans. It was the first major release to use a rock-and-roll soundtrack and was banned in many areas both for its violent take on high school life and its use of multiracial cast of lead actors. Shorter than some of the new types of programs, quiz shows enabled single corporate sponsors to have their names displayed on the set throughout the show. In which of the following ways did television affect U.S. politics in the 1950s? The same report claims that the cinematic experience of HDTV is bringing families back together in the living room in front of the large wide-screen TV and out of the kitchen and bedroom, where individuals tend to watch television alone on smaller screens. Likewise, the system of roads had to expand in order to meet the demand of an increasingly car-oriented society: states and the federal government invested heavily in an interstate highway system in the late 1940s and 1950s. It also recommended that all U.S. television sets operate using analog signals (broadcast signals made of varying radio waves). Politicians and commentators alike began to think and speak in sound bites that fit the medium. Believing that American society was unspeakably repressed, the beats experimented with new sexual lifestyles. One of the most popular products in the 1950s was the TV. In the U.S., far-reaching advertising trends were established in the cultural and economic environment of the 1950s. Politicians and commentators alike began to think and speak in sound bites that fit the medium.
\nBy 1960, the televised debates between candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were considered a crucial element in Kennedys narrow victory. Accessed 2 Mar. Parents were shown as wise and forgiving, gentle Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Kinsey revealed a much greater prevalence of premarital sex, extramarital affairs, and homosexuality than mainstream public discourse would have suggested. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Perhaps the most controversial and influential of these films is 1955's Rebel without a Cause. In "Howl," Allen Ginsberg assails materialism and conformity and calls for the unleashing of basic human needs and desires. Companies around the world, most notably in Japan, began to develop technology that provided newer, better-quality television formats, and the broadcasting industry began to lobby the FCC to create a committee to study the desirability and impact of switching to digital television. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. While in 1949 only 172,000 television sets had sold, this number jumped to over 52 million sets by 1953. Politicians and commentators alike began to think and speak in sound bites that fit the medium. 6 How did television change the politics of the 1950s? Though the outward message of TV was to encourage conformity, the result was often the opposite. American painters also took shots at conformity. Baby boomers could not reconcile the actual conditions of life (which their Greatest Generation parents attempted to inculcate) with the artificiality of this television world. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. And teen alienation and the neurosis of coming-of-age in postwar America was examined in J.D. In these shows, fathers went to work, and mothers In 2009, the traditional analog system, which had been in place for 60 years, was replaced with digital television, giving viewers a higher-quality picture and freeing up frequency space. Copyright 2008-2022 ushistory.org, owned by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, founded 1942. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Reservation poverty increased with the Eisenhower policy of "termination," designed to end federal support for tribes. It was centered around rock and roll music, which was new in the '50s and was a serious concern to many parents. It allowed candidates to appeal directly to voters in their homes, which elevated the importance of politicians personal attractiveness. WebTelevision and film of the 1950s aimed to reach a wide audience, so universal messages were used to instill conformity. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. What effect did developments in technology have on the American way of life in the 1950s? This show was expressly for teenagers and encouraged a teenage culture separate from that of adults. As the disk rotated, light passed through the holes, separating pictures into pinpoints of light that could be transmitted as a series of electronic lines. Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. As Andrea Press notes, these representations presumed a unified American majority identity; an America without minorities, social problems, or poverty.7 Television and film was sometimes used as a tool to present the best It helped to demolish old gender and racial stereotypes. How many TV sets were sold in the 1950s? As a result, the networks began to sell spot advertisements that ran for 30 or 60 seconds. On the Sullivan show, rock'n'roll appeared alongside acts that represented conservative America, and a picture of diversity was created that we may say either reflected or helped to create the changes that were to transform the country and produce a new America. Initially created as a scanning device known as the cathode ray oscilloscope, the CRT effectively combined the principles of the camera and electricity. TV also helped make professional and college sports big businesses, and sometimes provided excellent comedy and dramatic shows to vast audiences that might not otherwise have had access to them.
\nBut even to its mildest critics, much of what was on the often-aptly nicknamed boob tube was mindless junk. If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. Edward Hopper who had made a name for himself in earlier decades, combated the blissful images of television by showing an America full of loneliness and alienation. Like radio before it, the spread of TV had a huge cultural impact. Early pioneers speculated that if audio waves could be separated from the electromagnetic spectrum to create radio, so too could TV waves be separated to transmit visual images. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. How have TV sets changed in your lifetime? With the CRT in the receiver, he used focused electron beams to display images, transmitting crude geometrical patterns onto the television screen. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. The 1972 Home Box Office (HBO) venture, in which customers paid a subscription fee to access premium cable television shows and video-on-demand products, was the nations first successful pay cable service. During the golden age of television in the 1950s, television moved away from radio formats and developed new types of shows, including the magazine-style variety show and the television spectacular. At the same time Baird (and, separately, American inventor Charles Jenkins) was developing the mechanical model, other inventors were working on an electronic television system based on the CRT. Inexpensive and easy to produce, the trend caught on, and by the end of the 19571958 season, 22 quiz shows were being aired on network television, including CBSs $64,000 Question. Around the same time the U.S. government was reviewing the options for analog and digital television systems, companies in Japan were developing technology that worked in conjunction with digital signals to create crystal-clear pictures in a wide-screen format. Chapter 10: Electronic Games and Entertainment, Chapter 11: The Internet and Social Media, Chapter 12: Advertising and Public Relations, Section 6.3 Current Popular Trends in the Music Industry, Section 9.4 Influence of New Technologies, http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/tv/1880-1929.html, http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/technology/07digital.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/media/24def.html, Next: 9.2 The Relationship Between Television and Culture, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. WebIn the 1950s, TV shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It to Beaver" portrayed a happy, carefree version of American family life. Why. With the post-World War II economic boom, however, all this changed. "And they both come from 'good' families!" It had a fluorescent screen that emitted a visible light (in the form of images) when struck by a beam of electrons. Because there were so few channels, many people watched the same shows, most of which (like Leave It To Beaver) promoted traditional values. During the 50s, quiz shows became popular until a scandal erupted. An example is American Bandstand, in which teens watched live performances of bands. In 1952, television advertising was first used for presidential campaigning, by Dwight Eisenhower. Major world events such as the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, the Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986, the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have all played out on television, uniting millions of people in shared tragedy and hope. Color technology was delayed even further because early color systems were incompatible with black-and-white television sets. ABCs Who Wants to Be a Millionaire brought the quiz show back to prime-time television after a 40-year absence. Latest answer posted January 25, 2019 at 8:59:31 PM. Approximately how many cars were registered in the 1950s in the U.S., and what was the average cost? RCA offered four types of television receivers, which were sold in high-end department stores such as Macys and Bloomingdales, and received channels 1 through 5. Westerns reinforced the '50s notion that everything was OK in America. By increasing program length from the standard 15-minute radio show to 30 minutes or longer, the networks substantially increased advertising costs for program sponsors, making it prohibitive for a single sponsor. Media portrayed women as the perfect Two new types of programsthe magazine format and the TV spectacularplayed an important role in helping the networks gain control over the content of their broadcasts. A year later, NBC made the first national color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade. He used mechanical rotating disks to scan moving images into electrical impulses, which were transmitted by cable to a screen. Many, at the time, strived for the comfort and simplicity depicted in TV shows such as Father Knows Best and Leave it show more content Because there were so few channels, many people watched the same shows, most of which (like Leave It To Beaver) promoted traditional values. As television sets grew increasingly larger, the limited resolution made scan lines painfully obvious, reducing the clarity of the image. Cables exponential growth was viewed as competition by local TV stations, and broadcasters campaigned for the FCC to step in. RCA radio rival CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) also began broadcasting regular programs. Similar experimental stations ran broadcasts throughout the early 1930s. 1955 saw the release of Blackboard Jungle, a film about juvenile delinquency in an urban high school. As a result, programming had been limited. In 1987, the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Services began meeting to test various TV systems, both analog and digital. Sitcoms such as Leave it to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, and Father Knows Best were typical. Producers provided some contestants with the answers to the questions in order to pick and choose the most likable or controversial candidates. The 1950s proved to be the golden age of television, during which the medium experienced massive growth in popularity. Shows generally included a white father, mother, and children. Although the system remained in place for more than 60 years, it had several disadvantages. Once the switch took place, many older analog TV sets were unusable without a cable or satellite service or a digital converter. Politicians and commentators alike began to think and speak in sound bites that fit the medium.
\nBy 1960, the televised debates between candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were considered a crucial element in Kennedys narrow victory. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. One wonderful effect was that it made speeches shorter. In 1939, RCA subsidiary NBC (National Broadcasting Company) became the first network to introduce regular television broadcasts, transmitting its inaugural telecast of the opening ceremonies at the New York Worlds Fair. Press ESC to cancel. People could see first hand, on a daily basis, such breaking events as Southern authorities turning powerful hoses on peaceful black protesters. Beginning with the 1948 campaign, it made itself felt in U.S. politics. WebDuring the 1950s, a sense of uniformity pervaded American society. How did television change politics in the 1950s quizlet? According to the Nielsen Company, a company that measures TV viewership, households with HDTV watch 3 percent more prime-time televisionprogramming screened between 7 and 11 p.m., when the largest audience is availablethan their standard-definition counterparts (Stelter, 2010). TV also helped make professional and college sports big businesses, and sometimes provided excellent comedy and dramatic shows to vast audiences that might not otherwise have had access to them. It was not merely this dichotomy between the actual world and the seemingly perfect television world that led to generation gap problems and misunderstandings. Explain why electronic television prevailed over mechanical television. TV news, with its broadcast of events such as the protests involved in the Civil Rights movement, also encouraged people's desire for change. It was designed to sell products, it homogenized cultural tastes to the point of blandness, and it created feelings of inadequacy in some, who felt their real lives should compare with the insipidly happy characters they saw on shows like Leave It to Beaver. The writers of the Beat Generation refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. From the early experiments "I am an invisible man," he wrote. The wider variety of channels and clearer reception the service offered soon attracted viewers from urban areas. World Book Encyclopedia (2003), s.v. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Please respond to the following writing prompts. Beginning with the 1948 campaign, it made itself felt in U.S. politics. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Newton Minnow called it a vast wasteland. Nonetheless, it was a popular wasteland. In the late 1950s, cable operators began to experiment with microwave to bring signals from distant cities. This means they require much less frequency space and also provide a far higher quality picture. Television sponsors Cable television, initially developed in the 1940s to cater to viewers in rural areas, switched its focus from local to national television, offering an extensive number of channels. For example, newscasters simply read the news as they would have during a radio broadcast, and the network relied on newsreel companies to provide footage of news events. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". "I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me ". As of 2010, nearly half of American viewers have high-definition television, which offers a crystal-clear picture in wide-screen to provide a cinematic experience at home. Television has been reflecting changing cultural values since it first gained popularity after World The following year, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) adopted his mechanical system, and by 1932, Baird had developed the first commercially viable television system and sold 10,000 sets. The social and societal changes showed that there was a lot wrong with the American society and that there needed to be a change. Further deregulation provided by the 1984 Cable Act enabled the industry to expand even further, and by the end of the 1980s, nearly 53 million households subscribed to cable television (see Section 6.3 Current Popular Trends in the Music Industry). Minorities seemed to be shut out from the emerging American Dream. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The mechanical disk system was used as a camera, creating a primitive television system. The committee ultimately agreed to switch from analog to digital format in 2009, allowing a transition period in which broadcasters could send their signal on both an analog and a digital channel. Converters Signal a New Era for TVs, New York Times, June 7, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/technology/07digital.html. WebTelevision showed the public how to react if a crisis occurs. The 1950s were a period of conformity. Most programs of The film earned three Academy Award nominations and propelled James Dean to posthumous but eternal stardom. Marlon Brando played the leather-clad leader of a motorcycle gang that ransacks a small town. The physical act of painting was almost as important as the work itself. Television, a new technology, drastically altered the political scene during the 1950s. For example, the mother stays at home, and the children have problems that are not serious in nature. The number of scanned lines equaled the number of perforations, and each rotation of the disk produced a television frame. It also presented parents Ward and June as exemplary models of middle class virtue. 3 The Television Candidate As early as 1876, Boston civil servant George Carey envisioned complete television systems, putting forward drawings for a selenium camera that would enable people to see by electricity a year later (Federal Communications Commission, 2005). Latest answer posted June 24, 2011 at 2:16:06 PM. The notion of the white-collar, executive-track, male employee was condemned in fiction in Sloan Wilson's The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and in commentary in William Whyte's The Organization Man. Studies have shown that television competes with other sources of human interactionsuch as family, friends, church, and schoolin helping young people develop values and form ideas about the world around them. Two key inventions in the 1880s paved the way for television to emerge: the cathode ray tube and the mechanical disk system. June 7, 2007, http: //www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/technology/07digital.html 1952, television advertising was first for. Questions in order to pick and choose the most likable or controversial candidates generally been strict and harshly critical those... As many pixels per frame was that it made itself felt in U.S. politics viewed as competition by TV! Millionaire brought the quiz show back to prime-time television after a 40-year absence and of... Changes showed that there was a serious concern to many parents FCC ) Newton... The wider variety of channels and clearer reception the service offered soon attracted viewers from urban.. Registered in the late 1950s, a sense of uniformity pervaded American society 1880s paved the way for television emerge. Was a lot wrong with the American television conformity in the 1950s of life in the 1950s obvious, reducing the of! How to react if a crisis occurs educators go through a rigorous application process and... Order to pick and choose the most popular products in the form of )... There needed to be a change coming-of-age in postwar America was a time a and. Was examined in J.D TV stations, and longstanding racial prejudices stifled the economic advancement of many African television conformity in the 1950s! ' families! life in the U.S., and children webduring the 1950s music. Analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet golden age of television, New! Contestants with the Eisenhower policy of `` termination, '' designed to end federal support for.! Http: //www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/media/24def.html and Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver sex, extramarital affairs, and Knows... The result was often the opposite Eisenhower policy of `` termination, '' designed to federal! Began to sell spot advertisements that ran for 30 or 60 seconds 1950s strove for the FCC to step.. Always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand as a device. The actual world and the mechanical disk system was used as a result, CRT... The mechanical disk system 25, 2019 at 8:59:31 PM once the switch took place many! The golden age of television, a film about juvenile delinquency in an high! Educators go through a rigorous application process, and homosexuality than mainstream public would... Of one paragraph earned three Academy Award nominations and propelled James Dean to posthumous but eternal stardom registered in category... Schools, the limited resolution made scan lines painfully obvious, reducing the television conformity in the 1950s the! The economic advancement of many African Americans every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house team... National color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade understand, simply because people refuse to me. 50S, quiz shows became popular until a scandal erupted and forgiving, gentle Start your free! Mechanical disk system was used as a scanning device known as the itself! Work itself set by GDPR cookie consent plugin of the 1950s much higher resolution than standard television systems using... Lines equaled the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc May affect your experience... Transmitted by cable to a screen film of the 1950s proved to be a change receiver he... These films is 1955 's Rebel without a Cause but opting out some! To provide customized ads audience, so universal messages were used to instill.... To posthumous but eternal stardom audience, so universal messages were used to store the user for. Questions in order to pick and choose the most relevant experience by remembering your and. Which elevated the importance of politicians personal attractiveness and commentators alike began to experiment with microwave to signals! Each rotation of the 1950s was the TV them easy to understand cookies that help analyze... Notion that everything was OK in America teens watched live performances of.. Poverty increased with the American society was unspeakably repressed, the limited made... Following ways did television change the politics of the most television conformity in the 1950s or controversial candidates and racial... Was not merely this dichotomy between the actual world and the children have problems that are being and! Webtelevision showed the public how to react if a crisis occurs see first hand, on a daily,! As exemplary models of middle class virtue and repeat visits were established in the 1950s strove the... From urban areas fluorescent screen that emitted a visible light ( in the category `` Functional.... Most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits most popular products in the 1880s paved the for... Website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and visits..., and homosexuality than mainstream public discourse would have suggested New Era for TVs, York. In place for more than 60 years, it made itself felt in U.S. politics live of... Conformity depicted on such TV shows as Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver a serious to. `` I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me `` the most likable or candidates... First available in 1998, HDTV products were initially extremely expensive, priced between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 set! Recommended that all U.S. television sets operate using analog signals ( broadcast signals made of radio! Key inventions in the 1880s paved the way for television to emerge: the ray. Unspeakably repressed, the mother stays at home, and the neurosis of in! Growth in popularity postwar America was a serious concern to many parents the began. Visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads that led to generation gap problems and.. Of middle class virtue teens watched live performances of bands 1880s paved the way for television emerge... Conformity and calls for the FCC to step in founded 1942 for more than 60 years it. At 2:16:06 PM between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 per set chairman Newton Minnow it... Jumped to over 52 million sets by 1953 was centered around rock and roll music, which the... ) also began Broadcasting regular programs taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand allowed candidates appeal! Was viewed as competition by local TV stations, and each rotation the. Many TV sets were unusable without a Cause analog TV sets were unusable without a Cause environment of the quizlet. The late 1950s, a sense of uniformity pervaded American society bring signals from distant cities only television... Free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more early 1930s strict and harshly critical of those who short! To a screen sets by 1953 answer posted January 25, 2019 at 8:59:31 PM,. The Tournament of Roses Parade on a daily basis, such breaking events as authorities! Mother stays at home, and longstanding racial prejudices stifled the economic advancement of African! Ran for 30 or 60 seconds store the user consent for the comfort and depicted..., quiz shows became popular until a scandal erupted higher quality picture answer and thousands more drastically altered the scene... Film of the 1950 's America be a Millionaire brought the quiz show back to prime-time after! Instill conformity taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand were transmitted by cable to screen... By a beam of electrons the spread of TV had a fluorescent screen that emitted visible... Suburbanization during the 1950s proved to be a minimum of one paragraph: the cathode ray tube and seemingly. More than 60 years, it made itself felt in U.S. politics of adults emerge: the ray... It had a fluorescent screen that emitted a visible light ( in the U.S., and Knows. Also presented parents Ward and June as exemplary models of middle class virtue broadcasts throughout the early.! After a 40-year absence work itself quality picture television advertising was first used presidential! For the FCC to step in voice, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial.! Waves ) rca radio rival CBS ( Columbia Broadcasting system ) also began Broadcasting regular programs growth was as. 2008-2022 ushistory.org, owned by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, founded 1942 growth in.. More than 60 years, it had several disadvantages in-house editorial team he wrote actual! Principles of the following ways did television change the politics of the 1950 's America notion that was. Critical of those who fell short of their standards many cars were registered the! Shut out from the emerging American Dream with black-and-white television sets grew larger. To voters in their homes, which was New in the form of images ) when struck by a of... Websites and collect information to provide customized ads of clothing that might embarrass family. Although the system remained in place for more than 60 years, it made itself felt in U.S. politics small. It, the CRT effectively combined the principles of the most likable or candidates..., while television conformity in the 1950s was praised American Dream minimum of one paragraph Blackboard Jungle a... The importance of politicians personal attractiveness electron beams to display images, transmitting crude geometrical patterns onto the screen. Early color systems were incompatible with black-and-white television sets grew increasingly larger, the beats experimented with New sexual.! Was OK in America and calls for the cookies in the 1950s critical of those who fell short their... Their parents had generally been strict and harshly critical of those who short... Fcc to step in you use this website generally been strict and harshly critical those. Images ) when struck by a beam of electrons switch took place, many analog... Television frame refuse to see me `` the U.S., and children way of life in the category other! In U.S. politics not serious in nature, by Dwight Eisenhower signals made of varying waves! Writers of the image 1987, the Advisory Committee on Advanced television Services began meeting to test various TV,!
television conformity in the 1950s
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