They viewed the alluring imagery of American popular culture and its consumerist lifestyle with a sense of irony and a little bit of envy ("Pop Art - The Art of Popular Culture.") Despite lingering flaws such as racial and gender inequality, American culture appeared free from restrictions of class and freedom of expression was exalted (in theory, at least). America was accepting of the younger culture and mass media and consumption. Pop Art was an outlet for these attractive, even alien, ideas that were not yet so widely appreciated and accepted in the UK. For example, 'Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?', a 1956 collage by Richard Hamilton, a member of the "Independent Group", was the quintessential piece of early Pop Art. It was an explosion of celebrities, color, sex, advertisements, newspaper, and cinema. That only got the ball rolling. .
"The years following World War II saw enormous growth in the American economy, which, combined with innovations in technology and the media, spawned a consumer culture with more leisure time and expendable income than ever before" (Spivey, Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe). The movement electrified the minds and creative spirit of young people born between The Depression and into the Post-World War II Baby Boom. Many were primed to reject the class traditions and economic views of their elders. "Rebelling against the esoteric vocabulary of abstract art, they wanted to express their optimism after so much hardship and privation in a youthful visual language" (Gersh-Nesic, Pop Art - Art History 101 Basics.) The message appeared simple: Now, you can attain anything the heart desires. Seemingly everyday, America was introducing new cars, makeup, fashion, furniture and appliances for mass consumption. Ads portraying the beautiful housewife washing her dishes with her shiny new dish washer, promising you, the consumer, that if you buy now you can be just as content and joyful as she is.