Pop Culture in 1960's and 1990's
In comparing the sixties and the nineties, my first thought was how much popular culture has changed since then and how different society is today. The strange thing is, the more I tried to differentiate between them, the more similarities I found. Both the sixties and the nineties were about youth, creativity, free-thinking, and expression. With the nineties coming to a close and the popularity of anything ?retro," I decided to compare the fashions, people, music, and issues that defined pop culture in the 1960?s and its influence on pop culture in the 1990?s.
In the 1960?s, society was changing by the minute and fashion was ?anything goes?. In the early sixties, Jackie Kennedy influenced fashion with her elegant, stylish outfits and her trademark pillbox hat. In the late sixties, the ?mod look? was popularized by go-go boots and mini-skirts, while bellbottom jeans, tie-dye shirts, long skirts and peasant dresses were worn by the hippie culture. Glance through any fashion catalog or magazine in the nineties and you will see models wearing the same fashions popularized in the late sixties. This illustrates how the 60?s contributed to today?s fashions. In the sixties, people in television, film and movies became the new socially elite and their influence had a profound impact on fashion, attitudes, and social values. In the nineties, supermodels and sports figures have joined this group. The fascination the public has with c...
1965 say the change in women’s fashion from the 1950’s tight blouse, even tighter waist and poof, knee length dress into slacks and sweaters. Women all over the world was running out to buy labels from Britain, the birthplace of vinyl knee boots and geometric fashion.
The 1960s was a decade overloaded with signifiant life changing events. From Martin Luther King Jr. to the Vietnam War, the reign of Muhammad Ali and the Beatles reaching to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the moon landing. The result of these history changing events: a new culture emerging at the beginning of the Vietnam war in the early 60s. A radical movement would start to take off called Popular Culture. First witnessed after the Industrial revolution when amusement and entertainment got more and more appealing to society, the 60s was an era when everything changed and nothing would be the same again.
Historically, popular culture has been seen to evolve along with the era in which it is generated. The analysis of the predominantly popular genre within a given generation can serve, therefore, as a window into that particular generation’s prevailing way of thought. One thing that greatly affects that way of thought is the recent history immediately preceding that time.
The article “From counterculture to Sixties Culture” clearly demonstrates that the hippie movement was not just founded on pure rebellion from what their parents had prescribed. The article reveals that the 60s culture was a product of many factors including the youths reaction to the Vietnam War, the outpouring of self expression on college campuses around the continent, the constantly dynamic civil rights, and especially the rejection of the counterculture by the mainstream society.
The 1950s in America was a time that was peaceful; five years after winning World War II, America established themselves as a power country. Society was optimistic; soldiers were coming back from war to start their new jobs, families getting new homes and the baby boom is about to begin. American industries expanded and people began to get products that were not available to them during the war. Televisions were coming up in family households and becoming a main staple in America. Coca- Cola was in the golden age of their product. With growth of televisions in homes, Coca- Cola began making advertisements that featured relaxing, and being comfortable on the television, billboards and magazines which appealed to America. Even though America recently came out of war, America was headed into another one called the Cold War against the Soviet Union that lasted until the late 80’s. The 1950’s was a time of feel good in America and there are many reasons why it was including Coca- Cola, sports and breaking down racial barriers.
The sixties were a time of growing youth culture and youth fashions, which had already begun in the late fifties. In the west, young people were benefiting from the postwar industrial boom, and had no problem finding work. With extra cash in their pockets, they were able to spend more and had begun to refashion themselves accordingly. This higher demand in the fashion business brought out a new generation of designers. The freedom of extra cash meant room for more imagination and creativity, bringing out new and provocative fashion ideas.
Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and culture is a significant way of forming people and the way they live. Although not always seen directly culture has an overbearing influence on the music that is produced and made popular. The political Climate of the early seventies was full of fire with issues such as Vietnam and constant protest throughout the county. Later in the 70’s the end of the Vietnamese conflict brought the rise of the Watergate scandal and Iran Contra. These issues swept headlines and ingrained people’s thoughts. Social issues also played a big role in the developing culture of the seventies. Protests and constant outbreaks about gay rights and women’s rights seemed to overtake the country in storm. Later in the Decade the social climate changed to a celebration of the Past and a can-do attitude. Political and Social climates had an overbearing influence on the attitude that was being developed throughout the seventies. This climate was also transparent in the music world of this decade. In the early 70’s music lyrics were being created that were representative of the popular method of protest and social change. Music is a common way of expression and during this time artist and groups took the most of their popular music by expressing viewpoints on present issues. In the mid to late seventies the birth of new styles that broke from the old seemed to dominate the music industry. These new types of music ranged from disco to television pop. The music of the decade represented the culture and was greatly influenced by events and beliefs of the 70’s. At this time in American history, music and life became closely nit. In the late 1970’s, national issues settl...
Popular Culture in Britain in the Beginning of the 1960s Popular culture is related to the interests of the youth. Before the 60s, there was no such thing as a teenager. In the beginning of the 60s wages increased and more jobs were being offered so youth had more money. In the beginning of the 1960s British youth spent an average of eight pounds a week. This gave them more chance to be independent and more freedom.
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
From the earliest days of America, social change has been thoroughly linked with public voice and identity. Social movements provided those who had viewed themselves as isolated to join with others to declare their identity. These movements, however, tended to have an integral moralistic value, rather than political rhetoric. During the 1960s, American society experienced one of the most influential social changes in the nation’s history. The social change of the 1960s was a movement away from the conservative fifties and towards revolutionary ways of thinking, defined by a discovery of identity and intense agitation for public voice. Changes that occurred in the sixties are still evolving today and influencing modern living.
A Single Youth Culture Youth culture and youth subcultures have been a subject of research since the early 1930s. It is most certainly true today that there is not one singular youth culture but a variety of different youth subcultures. The 90's can not be described as the same as the 60's or 70's or even the 80's. There are many reasons put forward by sociologists for this such as there are more styles available today, media influences us more and there is a higher disposable income per household to spend on fashions. This paper will explore the reasons behind the existence of youth cultures in previous years and why the same format has not occured in the 1990's.
The 1960s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest thrillers of all time, Psycho, to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, to the infamous Woodstock festival. This era changed history completely and made the United States think twice about its youth. Events of the 1960s are still impacting our country as we know it today. The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles.
The swinging 60's were at their height. Women's hemlines were very short. Fashion in the 60's tended to encourage exhibitionism. Miniskirts, bold colors, and see through dresses were all geared to showing off women's bodies, and on rare occasion men's bodies. Gaudy accessories such as perspex rings and earrings and fold chain belts.
Television and movies were at its golden moments as majority of Tv shows and movies classics came from the 90s like the simpsons which is “The series currently holds the record for the longest-running prime-time sitcom in the US, running for 25 years since 1989, and becoming the longest-running program on FOX”(Wiki). American movie classics were born like Titanic, Forrest gump, Toys story, and The Matrix. Movies and Tv shows were amazing during this time but the “icing to the cake” of Entertainment came from videogames as gaming companies fought to get more support and purchase of their consoles and games as gaming became popular because of these games Super mario, Pokemon, Mortal Kombat, Sonic, Zelda and Tetris. Fashion of the 1990s was wild and colorful with crazy geometric shapes and If your clothes were not baggy then you were considered lame. Plenty of popular clothing brands in the 21st century made their launch to popularity because of the 90s. The group who molded 90s fashion to be greatest where the youth, the youth were the ones who started so many popular fashion trends that would make the 90s have a unique look. You were not a 90s kid if you did not have a pair or a bunch of Levi’s jeans, Levi’s was the go to jean as the popular 517 and 501 were born and everyone was cutting their Levi’s, Rolling up their Levi’s, or even
Moreover, it also was a remarkable change with dressing styles under the circle of mini to maxi. Generally, in the 60s people’s dressing was stilted, unattractive and confined (Tracy Tolkien, 2002). However, young people experienced the highest incomes period after the Second World War. Therefore, they began to put more attention outside the basic human supply.... ...