expectations

Electronics are incredible, inscrutable stuff that is handed to us by the gods. (1937)

Electronics are epic and awe-inspiring, and we have captured their essence and can now control it (via Atomic bombs).  (1949)

Electronics have given us the power to reach and control distant space(s). (1951)

We have now built a world organized and dominated by electronics.  See how dependent we are on these objects. (1959)

Electronics are for everyone!  This is the regular, comfortable stuff you are used to! Look at the variety on offer! (1963)

You don’t really care so much about the electronics themselves; they are ubiquitous.  But you do still care about their ability to impact/enhance your life. (1970)

This is not even ‘your life’ pictured.  This is a ‘hollywood’ fantasy scene that you will likely never participate in.  Perhaps if you buy some of the electronics on offer within (none of which are pictured in this image, BTW), you will get some vague sensation of having incorporated this fantasy narrative into your own existence.

***********

*******

***

Is this narrative accurate?

Which came first:  The shift in consumer’s use/understanding of these objects, or marketers’ positioning of the objects?

How much of a factor was the ‘miniturization’ and ‘cost-reduction’ afforded by the widespread introduction of the transistor (1955-ish)?