Pop culture by the decade

Pop Culture by the Decade is an attempt to demonstrate different trends through the decades of 1960-1990 (Roughly defined by generation, this means late baby boomers through generation X.) This will describe trends and pop culture in any areas from music, to technology, to cinema and television.

1960's

The sixties was a time of both war and peace, youth, and consequently great change in American popular culture. The youth of the generation, called the “baby boomers” due to the unusually high birth rate after the Second World War, would come to take charge in the late sixties. With people being drafted to Vietnam, protester numbers rose greatly affecting almost all aspects of culture in America. The highs of rock and roll music, rises in black rights, and the summer of love were contradicted by the lows of the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and the disaster of the Altamont Free Concert.

Music

When you look at music from 1960-1969 you will notice that it’s almost as if there are two separate decades put into one. The music from the beginning of the decade was very upbeat with what one could say weaker lyrics.
“Rock n’ Roll music underwent a remarkable transformation during the 1960’s-from songs with fluffy lyrics set to a catchy beat to the more sophisticated and hard hitting approach of rock. Compare anything by the Beach Boys with Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love”, or, for that matter, anything by the early Beatles with anything by the later Beatles, and one can hear the difference” (Layman, Richard 1995).

Early `60s

Simple beats ruled the radio in the early ‘60s with hits like “I Fall to Pieces”, “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Surfin’ USA”, and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Beach Boys, and The Beatles respectively. In this “simply” beginning to the decade favorite artists included Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Beach Boys, and Elvis was still cracking the charts. The biggest part of this era was the 1964 British invasion, when the Beatles and many other rock bands, made their debut in America. The British invasion would prove to be one of the biggest pop culture engagements in history.

Late `60s

The radical change in music could be contributed to a number of things including the counterculture movement, the Vietnam War, or simply a demand for more refined music. Many of the artists from this time are still remembered as some of the most influential people in pop culture. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Doors, Bob Dylan, and many other bands would become the front runners of popular music. Not only would the bands change but the music drastically altered as well. Bands started to become the voice of the anti-war movement, shouting out lyrics of peace and unity. Not all bands used the stage as a way to voice their political views, the Grateful Dead were never known as political. Bill Kreutzmann, a drummer for the band, once said “Cause you know the Grateful Dead is not a band to get into causes. We’ve never pushed any political candidate”. The psychedelic age started here as well, and music started to experiment with sounds and instruments. A great example of this is comparing an early Beatles album such as “Please Please Me” to one made later like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely hearts Club Band”. In 1967 American culture was at its highest point of anti-war unity, the summer is known as the summer of love. The summer of love had an up rise of art, fashion, and music. Drugs played a big role in all of this, as bands started to experiment with them, which greatly affected their music. In 1969 the Rolling Stones allegedly asked the motorcycle gang “Hells Angels” to watch over the stage, which both sides deny, during the concerts three deaths occurred, two people were killed in hit and run accidents, a third was stabbed to death by some members of Hells Angels. The `60s came to a peaceful end with the historical Woodstock festival in 1969.

Film

Films began to diversify in the `60s as well. A number of hits are being remade by today’s film industry, like The Nutty Professor, The Manchurian Candidate, The Odd Couple, The Love Bug, and The Planet of the Apes. Film series that started in the decade are still around today like Batman and James Bond. The decade started off to a bad start with the March 1960 actors strike that shutdown seven of the eight major studios of the time. Movie makers started to turn Broadway plays into films.
Musicals that proved popular on Broadway were made into movies, including Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. After Marilyn Monroe died, Audrey Hepburn, star of My Fair Lady and Wait until Dark, was the idol of young girls. Disney offered family entertainment in 101 Dalmatians and Pinocchio. Movies became more political, commenting on the arms race as in Dr. Strangelove. Sex became more explicit, and occasionally nontraditional… (Goodwin, Susan 2006)
In no time the industry was up and running again producing such classics as 1961`s West Side Story, 1962’s film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, 1961 and 1968’s Disney animated classics 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book, and the great Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and Psycho. The Sound of Music became the all time box office leader in 1967, with gross earnings of around 70 million dollars. In 1969, due to the increase of sex among other things the Motion Picture Association of America started their rating system.

Literature/Books

With all the changes going on in America, literature wasn’t left out. Classic books and authors filled the decade, with works like To Kill a Mockingbird, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Godfather. In the early `60s books with sexual themes were greatly controversial, like John Cleland’s Memoirs of a Woman’s Pleasure which was banned in several cities. As the decade grew, however, the grip on sexual topics seemed to slip. In 1961 the book Stranger in a Strange Land became the first science fiction book to be on the best sellers list, redefining what was considered popular. In 1962, following Mark Twain’s death, the highly controversial because of its anti-religious views Letters from Earth, a book written by Mark Twain, is released.

Fashion

Fashion in the `60s was drastically different from past decades. With the young generation in control, many things that would be deemed inappropriate in the past would become popular, and more expansive. Miniskirts were introduced in 1965, and women began to commonly wear trousers. The presidential elections proved to be a fashion show for women, with the first ladies the top models. As a result of the new fashion craze clothes were more expensive than ever before, because of the influence of European fashion fads. Hippies would also play a part in fashion, introducing simple and colorful clothing. The hippies also wanted cheap, preferably homemade clothing, using macramé and beads to design original clothing. They introduced bell bottom pants, which are very much still popular today.

Technology

An age without video games, computers, and microwaves; the `60s weren’t exactly the pioneer technology age. The first tape to record both audio and video was introduced in 1960. The color TV gained popularity in the ‘60s after Walt Disney’s Wonder World of Color premiered in September, 1961. In the science world, the first man, Neil Armstrong, walked on the moon in 1969. Also, there was a huge advancement in the health field when, in 1967, the first artificial heart was planted in a human by Dr. Denton Cooley.

1970s

The 1970s is sometimes thought of as the decade were nothing of significance occurred. It is the decade that followed the 1960s when there was an abundance of social change, music was politically powerful, and technology was making great strides. However, the 1970s, which is easily over looked, did indeed have a lot to offer.

Music

The seventies had many forms of music; some of the most popular types were Soul music, Disco, and Punk rock music. Soul music can be described as a mixture of funk, gospel, and R&B. Much of the Soul music from the 70s is still popular today. Some of the great Soul artists from the era include; Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, James Brown, and Sam Cooke. Some of the artists known for Southern Soul are Otis Redding and Joe Tex. Another area of Soul that maybe better known is Detroit Soul. Detroit Soul includes The Supremes, Diana Ross, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye.

Another popular form of music was Disco. Disco was a form of music that was popular in dance clubs; it’s a form of dance pop. Disco was very popular in the early to mid seventies. Not only was it a popular form of music and dance but it crossed over into the cinematic industry with Saturday Night Fever. Disco music stemmed off from some of the soul music that was popular in the 1960s. Some of the most well known disco artists of the seventies were; Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Village People, KC and the Sunshine Band, Jackson 5, Barry White, and Abba.

The 1970s also brought about Punk Rock. Punk Rock music became popular during the mid-1970s. Punk was anti-establishment rock music. It was different than all other forms of rock music. Punk songs were faster and harder rock songs that other genres of rock music. Many of the punk bands that were popular in America came from Britain. Some of these bands include Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash.

Fashion

Fashion in the 1970s is hard to pinpoint. Unlike many of the decades preceding it the 70s fashion had a variety of popular clothing styles. Hemlines were long (peasant dress) or short (miniskirt or hot pants). Large colorful patterns were popular at the beginning of the 1970s, but towards the end solids in whites and grays were more popular. Glitter and metallics were also very popular. Pants had gained more popularity and it was more acceptable to see a female in pants now than ever before. Men became more casual as well. Some of the male clothing became jock inspired. During this decade a little bit of everything was popular and some styles of clothing were more socially acceptable than previous decades.

Technology

A lot happened during the 70s in technology. During this time scientists discovered the danger of DDT and CFCs; the realized that use of these chemicals was depleting the Ozone layer. They also discovered the after affects of Agent Orange, a chemical used in Vietnam to destroy the heavily covered jungle areas. They released studies that proved Agent Orange caused birth defects, cancer, and nerve damage for those who came in contact with it.

There was also a lot of space travel that occurred during the 1970s. In 1971 and 1972 there were two lunar landings a year. In May of 1973 Skylab orbited Earth. Apollo 14 landed on the moon and Alan Shepherd hit a golf ball on the moon.

Literature

During the 1970s more African American works were published than ever before thanks to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. For instance the famous poet Maya Angelou published some of her first works. Also more works by women were being published.

Television and Movies

During the 1970s Science Fiction became very popular. An example of this is George Lucas Star Wars. Some other popular TV shows were Hee Haw, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and the Mod Squad. Some of the most popular movies were Love Story, M*A*S*H, and Joe.

1980’s

The 1980’s was definitely a decade of greed. The yuppie (Young Urban Professional) culture emerged based on selfishness, they were also very materialistic. In the early eighties technology took a huge turn. Apple, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Xerox all had their own versions of the personal computer, which was continuously improving, and scientists were beginning to become close to entirely mapping out all three billion nucleotides of the human genome.

Technology

Technology had come a long way by the 1980’s. Computers, which were previously used mainly for business, were becoming more common in households, and even started appearing in schools. In the year 1981, The Columbia was launched. The Columbia was the first ever reusable aircraft. The first mission (1981) only lasted from April 12 to April 14. The shuttle lasted until the 2001 mission. The seven crew members never returned home because upon re-entry of its 28th mission the shuttle exploded. The Challenger’s first voyage was in 1983, and it completed nine missions before bursting only 73 seconds after liftoff in January of 1986. The Challenger was NASA’s second space shuttle orbiter, after the Columbia. The cell phone came into being in the late 80’s. Mainly used for business in the early stages, the big, bulky mobile phones would become smaller and more reliable with technological advances. The 80’s was also a decade for the invention of cable television.

Music

MTV revolutionized the world of music. It was mainly created to debut albums, but later became the home of many types of television shows (especially reality TV). The eighties brought the birth of the compact disc (CD). The first CD was capable of holding up to 99 songs, or a little less than 80 minutes of audio. New genres of music were popularized in the 80’s such as pop, punk, new wave, rap, country, rock, and hip-hop. K.C. and the Sunshine Band’s single Please Don’t Go hit the top of the charts in the early eighties along with the famous Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen.

Fashion

The movie Flashdance (1983) highly influenced eighties fashion. It was very common to see teens wearing tank tops, leg warmers, and tight fitting or torn jeans. It was also a time when things were very big, bold, and brightly colored. It was quite common to see a woman wearing tight bottoms (often leggings), with an oversized top (often a sweatshirt hanging off one shoulder). The decade’s top designers included Donna Karen, Anna Klein and Calvin Klein. Madonna’s leather, chains, and fishnet stockings were a common choice for those not wearing designer clothes, and even Michael Jackson’s glove became a hot item. Teens displayed their individuality with their big asymmetrical haircuts, studded bracelets and belts, along with skinny ties worn over t-shirts. Sneakers were also a huge necessity of the eighties. Pant suits often worn by yuppies had thick shoulder padding, giving a sharp triangular shape to the woman’s figure. During the eighties, it was not uncommon to wear underwear as outerwear. Designers began to create clothes to display the brassiere and underpants (Fukai et al. 622,625).

Books and Literature

10 of the 13 books from the eighties that sold over one million copies came from authors Stephen King, Danielle Steele, and Tom Clancy. Ken Follett, Martin Cruz Smith, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, and John le Carre were popular fiction writers of the decade. Popular children’s books include Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (1984), Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1986), and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (1986).

Art

The eighties was a huge decade for art, as artists were controversially pushing the envelope. Artists of the decade were mostly modern inspired such as Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Marisol, Jasper Johns, and Roy Lichtenstein, just to name a few. Andrew Wyeth’s Helga pieces were refused by some museums. Over the fifteen years it took him to complete the project neither Wyeth’s wife nor Helga Testorf’s husband knew. It was a huge surprise to find out so abruptly about “Andrew Wyeth’s Stunning Secret- The Helga Paintings: A Portfolio” (Andrew Wyeth’s Helga, Time Magazine). The works were finally shown at the National Gallery of Art in 1987. The Mapplethorpe exhibits were also highly controversial, and many people protested against them. The photographs displayed homosexual issues, along with sadistic and masochistic acts. Although much of his work was graphic, he also displayed portraits of famous people, which perceived as acceptable. Auctions also brought record prices. In the early eighties ‘Yo’ by Pablo Picasso was bought for $5.4 million, and later in the decade ‘Sunflowers’ was purchased for $39.9 million, and ‘Irises’ went for $53.9 million, both by Van Gogh. In the 1980’s museums became larger, and more widely distributed than ever. When The Museum of Modern Art reopened it was twice as large, and multi-million dollar museums were being opened all over the U.S.

Film and Television

In the early eighties VCR’s became a common household item, and by 1989 over half of all American homes subscribed to cable service. Popular movies of the decade include E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Tootsie, Arthur, Flashdance, Cocoon, Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, Star Trek, Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Driving Miss Daisy. Many anti-family sitcoms were very popular from Roseanne, to Married with Children. Information based shows became bigger than ever as people tuned into 60 Minutes, CNN Cable News, and 20/20. The eighties became known as the decade of the sitcom. The top ten sitcoms of 1989 include, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Roseanne, A Different World, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, Empty Nest, 60 Minutes, and Unsolved Mysteries.

1990’s

The 1990’s popular culture evolved immensely from the early nineties to the late nineties. The early half of the decade was marked by grunge music (Nirvana,) the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Beverly Hills 90210, war in the Middle East, Schindler’s List, and the Chicago Bulls dynasty. The later half the decade was marked by pop music (The Backstreet Boys,) the Nintendo 64, Friends, war in the Middle East, Saving Private Ryan, and the start of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty.
There were many trends in the 1990s (as there were with other decades) that are unique to the parts of Generation X and Y that lived in this decade.

The Retro Trend
Pop culture in the 1990s isn’t necessarily as visible today as that of the sixties, but it is arguably the most influential of the past four decades. People tend to remember things from past decades, music, movies, things of that sort. Even things that seemed to be pulled straight from the sixties or seventies had a hint of pure nineties to them. For instance, retro fashions used in the nineties were pulled from the sixties and seventies, but worn not necessarily because of the style, but because people found the idea of being retro compelling.
The retro trend in pop culture went as far as showing up in cars (the rebirth of the Volkswagen Beetle) and movies (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.)

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