Britain's Popular Culture In The Early 1960's example essay topic

In this essay, while completing the task of describing popular culture in the early 1960's, I hope to cover four main aspects; pop music, radio, television, film, fashion and changes in society. The term popular culture means a contemporary lifestyle and items that are well-known and generally accepted, it is a cultural pattern that are widespread within a population. A popular culture was being spread in Britain during the 1960's. The 1960's is considered by many to be the best decade in living memory. Popular culture during the 1960's mostly consisted of music, television, magazines and fashion. In the early 1960's popular culture was changing rapidly in Britain, fashions changed and people began to have a great interest in music as new bands and music genres were being formed, most of the music was directed towards youths.

There was a lot of changes in society which affected a lot of peoples lives. The 1950's was a conservative period. The country was recovering from the ravages of the war and many people wanted society to return to how it was before the war. In the 1950's, popular culture was rather dull and boring and only aimed the family as a whole unit.

For example, the style in music was in general, slow and crooning. The older generation disliked the changes in children. New music was appearing such as Elvis Presley and cliff Richard. A very well-known quote can summarise the transformation in popular culture during the 1960's, "in the 1950's, daughters tried to look like their mothers.

In the 1960's, the mothers tried to look like their daughters". This famous quote illustrates the amazing change of popular culture from the 50's to the 60's. during the 50's, daughters were happy to become like their mothers and have similar morals and views on life. But from the 60's things began to change and teenagers wanted to look different to their parents and have a different lifestyle to theirs. Young people had more freedom, they no longer had to follow in their parents footsteps and were able to be themselves. Teenagers had more pocket money to spend on music and fashion. At the beginning of the 1960's, more consumer goods could be afforded by the middle classes due to a higher standard of living.

Televisions began to be purchased widely as did refrigerators and washing machines. The standard of living for the average person living in Britain rose during the 1950's. the popular catchphrase used in the 1959 election by Harold Macmillan was "you " ve never had it so good" which in my view sums up the 1950's; and by 1960's change was imminent. Britain was a nation finally shaking off the doldrums of post-war austerity. There was an increase in leisure time, particularly for women, the burden of domestic drudgery was lifted by labour-saving gadgets such as automatic washing machines; which was introduced to Europe in 1951. Electrical steam irons was another machine that was used, which was brought out in 1952, this indicated an increasing affluent middle class.

The culture of the 1960's reflects Britain at this time. Attitudes of many people in Britain were still very conservative entering the 1960's. However things had soon began to change. The term 'teenager' was used for young adults which was taken from America during the roaring twenties. Young people became liberal, they had free will and did what they wanted.

During the 1950's a range of influences including film, television, magazines and the rock music scene created a new market grouping called teenagers. The children that were the result of the baby-boom after the Second World War grew up to be the teenage youth of the "swinging sixties", and pop culture of the sixties was aimed at them. Shortages and austerity was still part of every day life in Britain in the 50's. British youths consoled themselves with their dreams and with pale imitations of the delight and images they saw on the big screen of life of the American children. Thus, British youth culture was totally dominated at that time by American trends and styles. Most people didn't like the changes in youths as many kinds of sub cultural youth groups rivalled against each other and became violent.

The teenagers set a trend so unlike 1950's. A youth group called the hippies came about, this wouldn't have happened in the 1950's as society wasn't free enough, they took drugs like marijuana which definitely would not have happened in the 1950's. The British music industry relied almost exclusively on American imported products. The music charts in the 1950's and early 1960's were frequently dominated by American singers, still quite heavily influenced by 50's rock 'n' roll themes. Such stars included; Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Ricky Valance, Eddie Cochran, and Neil Sedaka. The British artists-Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Billy Fury and Adam Faith were all modelling themselves on these American singers.

There was also a new style of music beginning to appear. In 1954 Lonnie Donegan had started to record a new style of music, which was called 'Skiffle'. Skiffle started to become very popular at the end of 1950's and the beginning of the 1960's. Television also started to become very popular as the young people had more leisure time. in the 1950's television was ruled by the ideas of John With, he said "Television had to be educational and entertaining" in the 1950's all the television presenters were white, upper class, male, privately educated, Oxbridge graduates and had southern accents. Television was quite boring, it showed plays, shows, educational programmes, cookery and children's shows but not a wide enough variety to suit everyone. This started to change in 1956, when ITV formed they brought in comedies such as 'I love Lucy', and many more American programmes and game shows.

Later on another hit was produced called Coronation street which revealed working class families in Manchester; this was popular because it was the first show where people could relate to everyday problems. Coronation street was a big success as people could relate to it and it was a welcome change. Other shows that were realistic produced by the British TV channels were; Z cars which was broadcasted on BBC. There were British comedies that featured the lives of working class people called; Steptoe and son, and The likely lads. Another TV show that became very popular amongst young people in the early 1960's was 'Jukebox Jury'. It was a jury based show that commented on new singles.

This show enabled people to make their own decisions about new music that was around. It entertained young people and brought out new styles of music. At the beginning of the 1960's, radio was still a very dominant means of entertainment. Comedy shows were becoming popular, like, 'The Goon Show'. another well-liked radio show was 'beyond the fringe', a show that critizied the way the country was run, in a light-hearted comedy way. This also made people think more about politics and changed the way people thought. During the 1950's very few people could afford to go to the theatre, it was very boring as most plays were only classics or light comedies, often showed the lifestyles of high class rich people.

However in the 1960's these plays became more realistic as it showed the life of 'teenagers' and there frustration in the 1960's. A new generation of British fashion was being formed. Mary Quant designed clothes, which: "allowed people to run, to leap, to retain their precious freedom". This could be described as "styles that were more daring, more colourful, and more exciting than ever before". This was a radical change from the clothes of the older generation who used to wear tight and restrictive clothes, this showed the dramatically change in popular culture. Change from the modest 1950 look to the new immodest look in 1960.

In the 1950's there was no such thing as 'teenage fashion', it went from children's clothes to sensible and smart adult clothes, but this changed in the 60's as children got a chance to act there age and wear clothes they'd only saw American children wear in films. Before the 1960's Britain was largely conservative and relied on imports from the USA such as Elvis Presley and 'I love Lucy' but in the 1960's they took the initiative and started to produce quality media themselves such as the Beatles and Coronation street. Britain's popular culture in the early 1960's was a mix of American influences and remaining styles from the 1950's. However, changes were just beginning to develop. Britain was starting to pull away from America, and create a new popular culture and era of its own. This was only a start though, soon a dramatic culture change was on its way.

Society was changed forever as it became less conservative and more open. In 1963, a cabinet minister called John Profumo was caught having a affair with a 19-year-old employee called Christine Keeler. John Profumo was a big representative of the establishment who were so against 'free love's o therefore was seen as a big contradiction. For the first time in British history there was a "generation gap" created by teens by rebelling against the establishment and every authorities figure in their lives.

It gave the permission to propose that there was something wrong with society. Things started to change at the beginning of the 60's but the changes happened slowly and was very selective. There was different changes for different social classes, different ages, different races and different genders. The early 60's were still interlocked with the late 50's but there was a sign of change.

Most children's relationships with their parents had started to change during the 1960's, children or "teenagers" started to rebel and not follow what their parents told them, they weren't like this before the 1960's. The teenagers felt they were independent and deserved more freedom, this was all due to the changing society. In the 1950's children would follow the footsteps of their parents and lead the same life as them, they would dress like them and behave like their parents. But all this changed in the 1960's as new fashions and music came out. All young men had to do National Service in the 50's in some point in their lives, they didn't have a choice they had to do national service as their wasn't enough people to so. This meant that they didn't get a chance to enjoy the prosperity of the 1960's.

By the early 1960's popular culture was starting to change but the majority of it was still quite safe and 'proper'. Before the 1960's, after the 1929 Dangerous Drugs act everyone saw drugs as filthy foreign stuff which should be suppressed for the foreigners' own good, but during the 1960's youth groups like the hippies started to take illegal drugs to rebel. By the early 1960's popular culture was starting to change in many areas and the 1960's have become by many, to be the best decade in living memory, however the majority of it was still quite secure. For example, homosexuality was illegal in the beginning of the 1960's, as it was said in the bible to be 'unholy' Leviticus 20: 13 from the Hebrew scriptures (old testament) "if a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a women, both of them have committed a abomination: they shall surely be put to death". the 1960's were also safe because an act was brought out to stop sexual offences this was called the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Later on a law was passed that made Homosexuality legal but only behind closed doors so it couldn't influence others. This explains that the 1960's wasn't that open, there was still a few safe aspects of Britain.

Why did groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have such a great impact during the 1960's? Music bands played a large role in changing the popular culture in Britain. There were two main reasons why the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had such a great impact during the 1960's. firstly, the timing was right as young people had more pocket money due to the economic prosperity, they were able to spend more money on fashion, music and their interests. Secondly, the bands themselves were the reason why they created such an impact as they were so special and unique. Nothing like them were produced in Britain before, and so they were seen as different and special music bands. In the 1960's the timing was right for pop and rock bands like the Beatles and Rolling stones to create a big impact.

The timing was right because at that time everyone was able to listen to their music as new technology was brought out to allow teenagers to listen to affordable and easily carry able music, this was the 7 inch record invention. The other advanced technology was the radio. At the beginning of the 1960's many teenagers were listening to the latest hits on the caf'e jukebox and a little time on the radio Luxembourg. But then in the 1964 came the up rise in radio stations and the reorganisation of the BBC radio into radios 1, 2, 3, and 4. This made a huge impact on everyone because music was now available to listen to in for a longer time.

The music bands also had a great impact on society in the 1960's because the baby boom generation had more power. They had more freedom to do what they want and more pocket money to spend on music as many people at that time were wealthier due to the economic prosperity. There was a huge population of young people in the 1960's (the baby boomers). The new generation of young people were different, they were more liberal and forward looking, they were ready for a change. Groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones changed the face of the international music scene from the 1960's to the present day.

There are a number of factors that explain why they were so significant. One of these was the economic boom. There was full employment, which meant that almost everyone was getting reasonable pay and they could afford to buy consumer goods. The economic conditions at the time were very different compared to those of the 1950's, when the post-war environment made day-to-day life harder. This was mainly due to some goods including foodstuffs still being rationed. Therefore, for the first time since the war, young people could buy records, go to concerts and enjoy more free time.

They were able to support bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones because they were better off economically. As a result the band became popular. The timing was right for pop and rock groups to have a great impact, because the British were no longer looking for idols in America because there were new extremely talented artists in Britain already. As British was taking over in other aspects like television and film industries, many people enjoyed the British entertainment.

So the Beatles and Rolling Stones being British was loved by many of the British population. In the 1950's, American rock and roll music was imitated by British groups who then refined it and improved it. In the 1960's, they exported their version to the United States with such success that American commentators spoke of a "British invasion", led by groups including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The timing for the bands were also right because contraception was invented so songs like 'lets spend the night together' wouldn't have influenced youngsters and caused them a lot of harm in the 1960's. In the 1960's music bands had more creative and artistic freedom than they had ever had before.

Music bands were including lyrics that would never had been allowed before the 1960's, for example the song 'All my loving'; "close your eyes and I'll kiss you, tomorrow ill miss, remember I'll always be true" this type of lyrics would have been very harmful before the 1960's, but as society and thinking's were changing in the 1960's, lyrics like this was allowed and enjoyed by many people. The 1960's was a period of great experimentation in popular music and youth culture. One of the many reasons that The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had such a big impact on society in the 1960's was because they showed the voices of the teenagers in that period of time. Teenagers no longer wanted to look like their parents and these groups shared their opinions. These groups were keeping up to date with the latest fashions around in the 1960's, styles and attitudes of teenagers. Teenagers in the 1960's rebelled against their parents and these music bands also had the same attitude and sang lyrics which the older generation disliked.

Before the Beatles there were very few pop groups, so when the Beatles came about, they became very popular. The timing was right for music bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to have a big impact because things had been very different in the 1950's and everything was changing so the music bands fitted right in. the music bands came in, in the right time because everyone especially teens wanted to experience something different and not jus listen to American influenced songs they used to listen in the 1950's like Elvis Presley. The timing was right because Britain had just finished with a war and now teens just wanted a calm life and just have fun. The Beatles were so special because the public made them popular. They were popular because of their music, their music was very influent and was the type teenagers ears desired at that time, because many of their lyrics reflected the teenagers lives like the song 'bad boy'; "just sits around the house and plays rock and roll music all night well, he put some tacks on teachers hair put some gum in little girls hair" these lyrics reflects a attitude of a child, this was on of the many reasons young adults liked their music because the lyrics were mostly about what teenagers liked and did. What made the Beatles so popular was the fact that they were completely different from other rock and roll groups, they were influenced by rhythm and blues but they developed this into a new kind of sound that earned them respect.

The Beatles were groomed Mods being the kind of boys your mother would love. They produced harmless songs that wouldn't influence teenagers like 'your mother should know' but later on during the 1960's, this changed. the Beatles; John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, all had Liverpool accents that were very popular at that time. The Beatles music and image developed during the 60's, all youngsters listened to their music and most of them became mods'. along with the music came British fashion, such as miniskirts, longer hairstyles for men, and the 'twiggy' look. The 1960's were a period of great change. Previous ideas were no longer 'hip' or 'happening'. for many people the 'swinging sixties' began in 1963 with the release of the Beatles first single and No. 1 hit. The Beatles had an amazing impact on the 60's and on the future decades.

It can be argued that they are greater than any other pop group including the Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones were known as 'the greatest rock and roll band in the world' they were quite popular amongst the youngsters as they sang about rebellion 'Brown sugar' this song was also quite racist. Everyone was outraged by their lyrics like "Now I need you more than ever lets spend the night together". Nevertheless they became the 'voice of teenagers'. the Rolling Stones often encouraged bad behaviour with their appearance and their song lyrics, their song lyrics often consisted of 'sex, drugs, rock n roll'. The Rolling Stones had several incidences were they got bad publicity, but that's what they wanted, because of this lots of teens started liking them as they were very rebellious. In one incident they were found 'urinating against a wall in a service station'.

As a result of their drug takings they were charged for possessing four tables containing illegal stimulants, which heightened publicity, even if it portrayed a bad picture- that's what their fans loved about them. They were also arrested for assaulting a photographer in Warwick. Overall they took advantage of bad publicity and as their manager was best at exploiting this bad view they were nearly always in the public eye. This pushed them to a global and the young fan's hysteria also aided to them making a difference.

They promoted a rebellion that the teens wanted, and they got. The Beatles were the groomed Mods' being the kind of boys your mother would love as their songs weren't that much of bad influences because they mostly just sang about girls and teenage problems like the song 'back in the USSR'; "well the Ukraine girls really knock me out". however the Rolling Stones were much different, they were the leather-jacket-wearing rebels known as rockers. Their songs were quite a bad influences and parents didn't allow their children to listen to their songs. Most of their songs were about sex, drugs and rebellion. Like the song 'brown sugar' and 'I just want to make love to you'. 'Down home girl'; "every time I kiss you it tastes like porn and beans".

The Beatles later on made a song about drugs called 'Lucy in the sky with diamond', in my opinion they were being influenced by the Rolling Stones and wanted to be slightly rebellious like them and didn't just want a image of 'the good boys'. These music bands completely changed the society and tastes of Britain in the 1960's, without these bands we wouldn't have today's music. The two bands; the Beatles and the rolling Stones both had their different styles that were followed by youths. Some say they were rivals in the music industry. In my opinion the music bands had such a big impact because their was something special about the 1960's, which allowed the bands to be open and break out of being conservative. So they could sing about what they wanted and not be critizied.

To some people the 1960's were the best of times, to others it was a period when many things went wrong in society. Why do people have such different ideas about the 1960's? The swinging sixties have been the best decade in living memory for Britain. Without the swinging sixties, today we possibly wouldn't have our own entertainment and would have still relied on American imports.

The 1960's was a decade were many changes were made, in a short period of time, in the British society. The changes affected a lot of peoples lives, some liked the changes and some disliked them. Some people fitted in with the changes and followed the popular culture, however some people preferred the old lifestyle as they thought it was safer. I believe the 60's were great, and I would love to be in the 60's, I believe they were the most enjoyable times of Britain. The 60's were the best of times, especially for teenagers. They had a great time and enjoyed life than ever before, they didn't have to dress as the society thought they had to dress, the development in fashion allowed them to dress their age and not just go from childish clothes to sensible adult clothes they were able to dress like what they wanted.

The clothes were also affordable as teenagers had more pocket money. Music was made to suit teenagers tastes and the lyrics were related to teenage life in the 1960's. Television was transformed from American programmes to British comedy, this was a dramatically change and was liked by everyone of all ages. On the other hand, many people criticised the new developments in fashion, music and television. Many people believed that new developments would give teenagers to much of a enjoyable life and they wont think about their responsibilities. Some people also believed that a lot of this would influence teenagers and they wouldn't carry out a good future and would just have fun.

The 1960's brought out a lot of new social legislations that changed a lot of peoples lives in many good ways. For many women, the pill seemed to be a simple solution to a difficult problem. The pill allowed women to build up their career and enjoy life, they didn't have to become mothers at a young age. In 1967 abortion also became legal in Britain for the first time. Until then the only way of terminating a pregnancy was to use a "back street" abortion, this was an illegal process that proved to be very dangerous. Nevertheless a predicted 100 000 women used this method every year.

Although, Christians opposed abortion and contraception, as they thought it was stopping birth, and just giving people to much of a enjoyable life, the developments stopped people from learning about responsibilities. Some thought that abortion is killing a living creature, and therefore it is murder. Many people thought that the 1960's was a collapse in society because of the unimportance of family and marriage. There was some evidence to support the view that marriage and the family were becoming less important. During the 1960's, marriage appeared to become less important in a lot of peoples lives. Another reason why the 1960's could be seen as a fall down in society is because homosexuality was introduced.

Again, in 1967 parliament voted to legalize homosexual relationships. Despite the sense of freedom given of in the 60's, homosexual relationships could only take place in private. However, there was very little tolerance for homosexuality anyway. The bonds that held together marriage and the family also appeared to be weakened by three important Acts of the parliament that allowed women to divorce bad husbands, gave women a much stronger legal position in marriage. These acts of parliament were intended to provide women equality before the law.

To allow women to obtain justice when a marriage is broken down. This was a very good act for women as it helped women to stop injustice against them, and they didn't have to just tolerate bad husbands. On the other hand, this could have been seen as a bad rule because to some people, these changes in the law appeared to encourage the break down of a marriage and weaken peoples ambitions to succeed in a marriage. To conclude, there is no doubt that Britain in the 1960's was very different to the 1950's. the family was the most important social unit and it was usually dominated by the husband or the father before the 1950's.

But by the end of the Swinging Sixties, what mattered most in society was no longer your family, but the individual. Freedom and self-expression now seemed to be more important than responsibility and obligation. The 1960's were the best of time because people were more liberal and open minded. They didn't let traditions interfere with them having a good time. They were liberal in terms of how people dressed and behaved.

This was a advantage especially for teenagers. However, many teenager took advantage of this and behaved disrespectfully and violently. Sub cultural groups often rivalled against each other and reacted aggressively. As the popular culture grew fashion and style groups grew like the 'mods' and the 'rockers'. these two groups had a major battle during the 1964 and caused outrage from the forces of law and order. Teenagers rebelled and started to take illegal drugs, which seriously affected their health. Drug taking, especially cannabis and LSD increased with the help of pop groups' lyrics, for example the Beatles song 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds' (L-lucy in the S-ky with D-iamonds -- LSD) seemed to explain how it feels to be on drugs and what sort of things you imagine.

Youths were getting influenced by these songs. Drug taking caused more crime and disorder in society. For youths, crime and drug taking was fun, but for the older generation it was a worrying development in society. Two famous US performers, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, died of drug overdoses, as well as many youngsters. Lyrics of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the late 1960's started to talk about sex, drugs and experimental lifestyles, which influenced young people of doing more of that stuff. In the 1960's young people felt that they weren't being heard and there opinions weren't valued.

So they started protesting there opinions. They protested in political issues and other matters. They protested against the Vietnam war. Teenagers questioned things and did not just accept authority.

Another advantage of the 60's was that children stayed in school for longer as they didn't have as much responsibilities as before and didn't have to make a family at a young age. There were more young people in higher education than ever before. This meant that there was more good jobs and educated people in Britain in the 1960's. The 1960's were the best of times because it brought improvements in many peoples standards of living. Many peoples wages raised and they were able to afford more of things. More consumer goods were purchased like televisions, washing machines etc. this brought a lot of luxuries to peoples lives and gave women a lot of leisure time as they didn't have to spend a lot of time on cleaning.

Teenagers also had a lot of pocket money to spend on leisure time, music and fashion. They had more fun than ever before. a lot of people were happy with this. The 60's was a time when things started to go wrong in society and this was one of the many reasons, in the 1960's unemployment raised as there were more benefits laws. Many people were out of jobs and lived on the governments hand outs. People had very different views about the 60's. some feel it was a positive era, like Joanna Lumley and Roy Jenkins.

However, others see it as a period when things went wrong with society like Malcolm Muggeridge and GK. Chesterton. A lot of people in the 60's had been brought up to respect the church, politics and monarchy all of which now suddenly became targets for satin e. The class system was attacked as well which a lot of people didn't like.

An awful lot of morals had been thrown out of the window as well. So for some this is just exactly what they wanted to happen and for some this was their worse nightmare. The 1960's was a time of change, especially for teenagers, for some people the changes were good and some they were bad. There were to main groups of people who each had separate views about society. The liberal minded teenagers, middle / working class people, modern women and homosexuals, and the conservative minded older generation with traditional ideas, the establishment- the monarchy and the church. We should be careful not to confuse the image of the 1960's with reality when analysing the 1960's. it wasn't all bad in the 1960's most teenagers didn't take drugs and became hippies, most of them had responsibilities, had ambitions in life, had respectable jobs and a strong family.

It takes rime to judge a period in history, many of the effects take years to become obvious. Some people argue that the social problems Britain faces today are partly the result of the permissiveness and freedom of the 60's, but we cant entirely blame the popular culture of the 1960's, as not much of the things happen today, for example drug taking. Drug taking is not so popular today as it was in the 1960's. There are more points on why the 60's were the best of times, so I think we should celebrate the decade as it brought a lot of good times.