4 The impact of mass pop culture including cinema, radio, music, youth culture, and sports broadcasting Flashcards
cinema
Ealing comedies :D
- passport to pimlico 1949 : pimlico becomes an independent state from the rest of Britain.
- the district then no longer has to face rationing restrictions - Hue and cry 1947
- villains loosely based on the wartime black markets - Meet mr Lucifer 1953
cinema
how did cinema reflect fears of a permissive society?
examples
- Get Carter (1971)
- drug abuse, prostitution
- portrayed a corrupt Britain
- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- gangs of young men rape for enjoyment
- concerns over ‘hooliganism’
- director withdrew film after murder was blamed on the movie
cinema
war films
- they were important to britain post war while it was struggling and other nations thriving (USA)
- bridge on the river Kwali 1957 Japanese eventually defeated, british strength
- the dam busters 1955
- sink the bismarck 1960
cinema
spy films
the ipcress fire 1965
dr no 1962 first 007 film
- reflected the boom in the 60s
cinema
social relaism
- look back in anger 1956
- a taste of honey 1961
- both were old stories of the passions, desires, and ambitions of everyday people
- Saturday night, sunday morning 1961
cinema
decline
funding began to drain due to hollywood
few successful blockbusters apart from the James Bond movies.
radio
BBC Radio 1918-1939: director general + mission
John Reith
- ‘inform, educate, entertain’ mission
- he wanted to improve the general publics understanding of the world
radio
impact
shaped trends
faster information than newspapers
national culture of radio eclipsed when TV was developed though….
radio
pirate radio: what was it? what happened to the BBC?
unliscensed radio
- By the 1950s, the 3 war channels: the home programme, the light programme, and the third programme began to lose listeners to pirate radio
- the bbc was forced to broadcast pop
- radio 1, 2, and 3 replaced the 3 war channels targetting the youth away from pirate radio
radio
pirate radio: example
radio caroline (pirate) had 10m listeners in britain by 1964.
radio
commercial radio
1975: commercial licenses for radio issued
- bbc lost monopoly
- more niche audiences
music
beatlemania
- linked to living standards being higher
- 1963-1966 they released cheerful, optimistic pop music
- 4th single ‘she loves you’ 1964 sold 750,000 copies in under a month
- stopped touring in 1966 due to exhaustion from fame
music
reggae: roots
roots reggae - rastafarianism linked
- anti racist
music
roots reggae: who was linton kwesi Johnson?
- linton kmesi johnson’s ‘dread beat and blood’ 1978 album: he was a political activist and joined the black panthers youth group
music
reggae: ska
- aggressive sound
- ‘two tone’
- eg. the specials
- wrote music that reflected lack of opportunity for young people in the 70s
music
reggae : where did it come from?
immigration in the 1950s brought sounds from trinidad and Jamaica to the UK
- 1969: island and trojan imported reggae records
- ‘israelites’ first reggae no.1 by Desmond Dekker
music
music 1918-1945
Ivor novello most popular ‘keep the home fires burning’ during ww1. (released in 1915
- lucrative? novello made £15,000 from his record company :0
music
mod music
eg. the who, the kinks, small faces
- working class reflection
- mod ‘look’ was a product of consumerism and became important to the music itself
music
jazz and swing
american forces radio (AFR) broadcast jazz + swing across the country during ww2.
- eg. duke ellington, count basie
- 20,000 dance bands by 1930 according to the melody maker magazine
music
punk: examples
sex pistols, the clash, the buzzcocks
music
punk: look and emotion
- spiked hair + piercings, ripped jeans to look ‘shocking’
- emphasised anger with the declining living standards
- most preferred disco, eg. bee gees
- first originated in nyc
music
what music paper linked punk to declining living standards
new musical express
music
most popular recording artist in 1970s
Elton John who had 16 top 50 albums
- queen - 16m records sold 1955-1977
music
rock n roll: genres, examples
- skiffle genre very popular
- elvis, buddy holly, chuck berry very popular
- Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones who replaced skiffle with their own genre
music
glam rock: what did it reflect?
- rising living standards
- financial freedom
- ## identity
music
glam rock: examples
Marc Bolan and David Bowie
- androgynous look
- ziggy stardust was Bowie’s alter ego
- first appearance was Bowie in 1972 at top of the pops
- ‘camp manerisms’ rejection of heterosexuality
music
glam rock reactions
- older people shocked by the androgynous looks
youth culture
why did it emerge?
- 900,000-1m births per year post war
- ‘baby boomers’ meant a new market based on American influences
youth culture
teenagers: developments in education?
- 1960s: university much more popular
- 1947: school leaving age raised to 15
youth culture
teenagers: ready steady go
‘ready steady go’ from 1963-1966 aimed at mods.
- both presenters and audience dressed in latest fashion
youth culture
teenagers: income and music?
- teenagers had more disposable income, latest gadgets marketed as ‘essential’
- top of the pops aimed at youth culture in 1964
youth culture
teddy boys, punks, mods, rockers
- mid 1950s: teddy boy gangs with slicked back hair and edwardian suits who listened to rock n roll
- punks: later, 1970s… chains, mohican hairstiles
- mods: italiante suits, motorscooters from italy: rhythm and blues inspired, beatles… they morphed into skinheads with short hair, braces, and ‘arrogance’
- rockers: leather jackets and powerful motorbikes. edge rock eg. Eddie cochran
sports broadcasting
sport during world war 2
may 1943: 55,000 attended a football match at chelsea
- raised £8000 for naval welfare charities
- military personnel encouraged to keep fit by organised sport
sports broadcasting
cricket! 1948.. then decline :(
1948 ashes rival viewership with the olympics.
- decline: 1955… 3473 matches. In 1961 there were 2268.
- this decline reflected britain’s imperial past.
- west indian + asian immigrants most passionate in the 1960s and beyond
sports broadcasting
spectators sports 1945-1979
- 1950s: cricket was the most liked sport in England
- 1960s: cricket seen as upper middle class
- Football world cup 1966 England beat west gemrnay, 32m viewers
- this all meant an increased government investment in sports in 1960s/1970s - sports council of Great Britain in 1972 to promote ‘sports for all’
sports broadcasting
football! 1948…1968
1948: 41 million tickets sold for football league matches
1968: decline.. around 30 million
60s/70s had to compete with tv.
- reflection? austerity… violent clashes between rival fans
