During the late 60’s and early 70’s there were many social issues, and political hardships. This is the time when America had to deal with some of it's greatest challenges. Like The Vietnam War, The Civil Rights Movement, Drug Abuse, and The Women's Movement. All of these issues have made an Impact in the world today, especially America. The Vietnam War has made one the greatest history in the world.
The song "Ball of Confusion" by The Temptations, which is written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, emphasizes a critical tone, in elaborating the usage of drugs by teenagers, the Vietnam war, government, and racism. Whitfield and Strong wrote this song to focus on the issues in the late 60’s and early 70’s. This song points out
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all the problems that the world is facing, especially America. The Temptations use this song to serve as a message to the world on political issues that is going on around the world (Sykes Dme 9). Discrimination, The Vietnam War, and Segregation are some of the most influential topics that was pointed how in the song. The song portrays the social, political, and economic impact in the world during this time. Some of the negative impact of the late 60’s and early 70’s are still going on in the world today. Making the song as an expression of political hardships that continue today. The lyrics of the song have lasting effects on today’s culture, the sound of the song grabs the audience attention in making them listen to the song and instantly know the meaning of the music. The introduction to the song starts with counting from 1 to 4, and then the first line says "people movin'out people movin'in why, because of the color of their skin./ Run, run, but you sho' can't hide..."(The Temptations line 1-2) this instantly focuses on segregation between people in the 60’s and 70’s. This shows that people are always moving away from the violence that is going on. Another verse says "well the only person talkin about love thy brother is the preacher.../And it seems, nobody is interested in learnin ; but the teacher..." (The Temptations 5-6), The world is going through violence because of The Vietnam War. These concerns are all about The Vietnam war which is happening outside of America. People are not really concerned about the other issues going on inside America. Their focus is not really on all the problems. Just a few issues that are happening, and seemed to be on the media. The line " people all over the world, are shoutin' end the war..." (The Temptations 28), this is focusing on the peace movement by the hippies trying to protest for peace in America. Some people do not want the war to continue, which made the protest even bigger. Families that had soldiers at war, started to protest against the war. Which resulted in people demanding for their soldiers back home. Although people were protesting against the war, the government chooses to ignore the protest and continue to follow and support The Vietnam War.
There are a lot of issues with politicians exceeding the federal budget that led to confusion that led to people doubting the government (Meyers 1). Liberals wanted the war to continue there were more supportive of the government, while Radicals was protesting against the law. The Temptations emphasize every line of the song and made it very known to the audience. For example, the line "politicians say more taxes will solve everything..." (The Temptations 14), shows the government asking the people to pay money to fund for the war. Practically this line shows that the government is trying to persuade citizens to pay higher taxes, which means people are encouraging the war to go on. Another line says "segregation, determination, integration, aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation..." (The Temptations 7-8 ), these words describe every political tribulations and the impact it has on people's life. The line "the sale of pills at an all time high, young folks walk around with their head in the sky, cities aflame in the summertime, and the beat goes on..." (The Temptations 12-13) ,this phrase of the song makes the world aware of teenagers doing drugs to escape their deep depression that they are going through. This is a way young people found to get rid of their problems. This is a form of them committing suicide, killing …show more content…
the pain and trying to run away from the world's trouble, but the world does not care about making an effort to stop it. People only focus on the mass media and whatever is portrayed in the media. In conclusion, this song reflects back on the dark period in which the world was in.
This period was one of the saddest and most terrifying time, that people were are not aware of. People seem to ignore most of the problem that was going on. This song has influenced the world that we live in today, because of Racism, Drug use, and Equal Rights that were major issues in back in the 60’s. Without this song influencing America's culture, we would oblivious to the issues that the song discusses. Therefore "Ball of Confusion" contributed to the people's awareness of social and political issues that made a impact people’s lives
today.
During the 1960’s, there was a rising tide of protests that were taking place. College students began to stand up for their rights and protest for a stronger voice in society. The United States was going through a tough period marked by the Cold War against communism and also the war in Vietnam. From Truman to Nixon the United States government involved the country more and more in Vietnam. Nixon announced a new policy in 1968 called Vietnamization. (Foner, 4th edition, pg.1028) This policy would bring American troops back home, but it neither limited the war nor ended the antiwar movements.
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
The 1960s were turbulent years. The United States was unpopularly involved in the war in Vietnam, and political unrest ran high at colleges and universities across the country.
The Temptations’ 1970 hit “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” bravely sheds light on the political and social issues plaguing the world during the 1960’s. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, this song deviates from Motown’s usual clean and charismatic approach and serves as a prelude for songs like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Through the use of shrewd lyrics, psychedelic instrumentals, and intimidating vocals “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” serves its purpose in making a statement against the tumultuous world America created.
I chose to analyze the sitcom That 70’s Show, a show that follows the lives of a group of teenage friends: Jackie, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Eric, and Fez. The show addresses several social issues of the 1970s, including: sexism, sexual attitudes, drug use, politics, and the recession. I selected certain episodes from Season One based on their titles and descriptions; ones I thought may deal with sexism more in-depth than other episodes.
...ed the rest of his life. My grandfather told me that the sixties were some of the best years of his life. He married the love of his life at the beginning of the decade and by its’ final few years he had three beautiful children that would all go on to live happy lives. The decade had several near disasters but none of them materialized. Overall the sixties was a great time for America. The people were happy, technology was on the move, and the economy was booming. It was also a time where it finally looked like the U.S. was finally pulling ahead of the Soviet Union. We defused a crisis that forced the Soviets to stand down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They may have beaten us into putting a man into space, but we won the final battle when we landed on the moon. The sixties no doubt had their lows, but they were outweighed by all the highs they brought with them.
Springsteen wrote “Devils & Dust” during the Iraq War. He has been openly against the war and has been quoted saying to Rolling Stone, “As the saying goes, "The first casualty of war is truth." I felt that the Bush doctrine of pre-emption was dangerous foreign policy. I don't think it has made America safer.” The song itself could be interpreted as a soldier’s point of view about the war but overall it stands as a critique on our society betraying its own principles. The first couple of verses in the song already evoke the image of a soldier stuck in a war. “I got my finger on the trigger / But I don’t know who to trust” could be understood as a soldier’s experience in war but it could also have a deeper meaning. It could also signify that our society has to make these important choices that will end up affecting people’s lives but it is all too ambiguous, there just isn’t any certainty. We are left with the desperate feeling of not knowing what to do, not knowing wh...
Woodstock became a symbol for a whole generation by the coming together of the political environment, the pop culture, and the current events of the time. The ‘baby boomers’ were searching for ways to separate themselves from their parents’ generation and see themselves as a more loving, compassionate, tolerant group of people. Woodstock came at a time of the youths desperation for authority and gave them beliefs they could live with. They wanted to revolt against the political chaos that they had been enduring during this memorable decade, and Woodstock was a symbol of this for the youth.
In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own marks in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decays, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
The 1960s was the era of rebellion. It was a time when views of many people started to change dramatically as unexpected things were happening from the Cold War to the assassinations of nation’s leaders. So within this disturbed era, many citizens started to rebel and question the authorities saying that they were ruining the country. The younger generation, especially, stood firmly in front to lead the action to change the ideas of the older generation. One of the main methods they used to speak their opinions was through music and we can see the power it had on the people through one of the main protest anthems called “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. The song speaks out to the elite controlled America and becomes one of many instances of the younger generation questioning and rebelling against the authority in the late 1960s. They send people a message that the citizens of United States do not live in a fair world and the authorities are not doing their jobs. By creating images through the comparative and descriptive lyrics such as who “waves the flag” , and “some folks are born with silver spoons in hand”, its repetition of the chorus “it ain’t me” and the instrumentation of the song which sounds like the cry of the working class to signify that the Vietnam War is a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, this song by the Creedence Clearwater Revival shouts to the world that the elite-controlled America is unfair as it can get; and becomes a big part of the counterculture movement. However, contrary to the message of the song, challenges to authority and privilege did not come exclusively from the working class. Rather, members of the upper class were also involved in opposition movements, for instance vi...
The 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time that eternally changed the culture and humanity of America. It was a time widely known for peace and love when in reality; many minorities were struggling to gain a modicum of equality and freedom. It was a time, in which a younger generation rebelled against the conventional norms, questioning power and government, and insisting on more freedoms for minorities. In addition, an enormous movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War. It was a time of brutal altercations, with the civil rights movement and the youth culture demanding equality and the war in Vietnam put public loyalty to the test. Countless African-Americans, Native-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women, and college students became frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the turmoil around them.
Political issues such as the war on terrorism is evoked as an issue throughout the song. American was divided “All across the alien nation” when troops were sent to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction. Metaphorical language was used to explore the issue. Audience positioning from techniques indorse concerns with a country divided and positions them to feel the need to cooperate and sort things out other than civil unrest and debate.
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music has progressed since that time and has slowly become what it is today. Though music has been around for such a long time, protest music just started to develop in the Vietnam Era, the year 1954. The war started the era of protest which, in turn, created a new form of music which incorporated a specific type of lyric that was a way of expressing protest through the song. Since music in this era was already a big thing, artists thought it would be a good idea to get their political viewpoints out there. They did it through something that affected everybody in that time and space. The artists view spread quickly through the country because of the catchy tune and the viewpoints that are listed. In the United States of America, it is a very common thing to conform to others in a group (Conformity…). Since conformity is such a common occurrence in a large group, all the artist has to do is find a couple of people in the group, group being an audience, who agree with the artist and the rest will unfold on its own. The artist will keep on performing while the word of him and his music will spread from person to person. Conformity will ultimately bring people together on the same viewpoint until eventually, there are thousands of people there with the artist to protest. These artists have grown over time along with the style of music that they bring along with them. Protest music still exists today and is one of the most effective forms of protest that we have.
The 1960’s was a time of war and fear for the United States and many people were turning their accusations towards the government. “Masters of War” was written by Bob Dylan in late 1962 and early 1963. The focus of this song is a protest against the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that was happening during the early 1960’s. The song is protesting on the American government having its citizens live in fear of a constant attack and hiding behind their shroud, unaffected by anything that would happen to the people. It shook the nation with its fierce and angry tone against the “military industrial complex.” Dylan’s lyrics stated that it was not contained by declaring a pointless war and not taking responsibility for the problems it was causing. “Masters of War” is a powerful song against the government and the military. The protest song “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan highlights how the looming aspect of the Cold War affected the people of the United States and demonstrates Dylan’s view on the governments involved.
The song that I choose to do this assignment on is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Fight the Power was written in 1989 and quickly became a street anthem for millions of youths. It reflects with issues dealing with both the Civil Rights Movement and to remind everyone that they too have Constitutional Rights. This particular song is about empowerment but also fighting the abuse of power that is given to the law enforcement agencies. It gave citizens of the U.S a more modern outlook on the many struggles that not only the African American community is up against but the other minority groups as well. The song’s message was eventually supposed to bring people together and make the world a better place, even though some teens saw it as a way