4B - Popular Culture and Entertainment, 1945-1979 Flashcards
What are examples of the popular Ealing comedies produced 1947-57 that entertained and explored the changing quality of life?
- 1947 Hue and Cry - about school boys who thwart a criminal gang, filmed in bomb ruins of East London.
- 1953 Meet Mr Lucifer - film about TV set that is cursed and is passed from owner to owner causing chaos. Reflects growth and anxieties of television ownership.
Why were war films prominant in the PW period even though GB’s world role had declined after WW2?
Reminded people of war record. Important due to relative economic decline, loss of world power status, end of the empire, growth of immigration and sense of uncertaint
What are examples of patriotic war films?
The Dam Busters (1955) and Sink the Bismark (1960)
What did James Bond movies reflect after beginning in 1962?
Reflected improvement in living standards - expensive cars, clothes, drinks and international trave
What are examples of the new wave of film making in the 1950s and 1960s that produced dramas based on everyday experiences of GB working class?
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1960) - WC man resentful of his class status, looks at community of Nottingham and dreams of better things. Materialistic - shows WC man with more money
What are examples of 1970s films depicting a darker GB with harsh economic problems; fears of rising crime and permissive society?
1971 Get Carter - gangster seeking revenge for the death of his brother, made due to the relaxation of film censorship. Included drug abuse and prostitution
1971 A Clockwork Orange - Film of future GB where violent gangs kill and rape for enjoyment, reflects anxieties over hooliganism of 1960s. Withdrawn from cinema.
Why did cinema decline in the 1970s?
Couldn’t compete with US, lack of funding
What soft porn cinema comedies became popular in the 1970s?
Confessions of a Window Cleaner and TV series spin offs like On the Buses were popular
Who were the popular rock n roll artists of the 1950s/60s?
Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry reinvented black blues music for a youth audience
What was skiffle?
GB style of Rock n Roll, Lonnie Donegan - most successful Skiffle artist, had 31 top 30 singles, 3 number 1s by 1962
Who replaced skiffle?
Beatles, Kinks, Rolling Stones and the Who replaced skiffle and American Blues and invaded America from 1963
What music was popular in the 1960s?
Mod music - tensions would often arise between the mods, often riding highly decorated motor scooters, and their main rivals, the rockers, a British subculture who favored early rock’n’roll and rode motorbikes
What music was popular in the 1970s?
Glam rock - David Bowie appeared androgynous and made statements about sexuality. Found fame in 1969 with Space Oddity - wore make up and rejected male hetrosexuality
What genre of music came from carribbean immigrants in the 1950s?
Reggae - First reggae song to ever hit number 1 was Desmond Dekker The Israelites in 1969, reflected changing ethnic makeup of GB
What genre of music was similar to reggae, popular in the 1970s?
Ska - adopted by Black and White musicians, known as two tone music. Drew from punk, 1970s group called The Specials wrote about lack of opportunity for young people in 1970s
What are examples of 1970s Punk bands and what did they aim to do?
Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Buzzcocks captured the mood of trying to appear shocking and offensive through piercings and tattoos, people linked the appeal of punk to
What did people link the appeal of punk music to?
A decline in living standards, labelled ‘the music of the dole queue’
What did Glam Rock represent?
Changing attitudes towards gender roles and sexuality, David Bowie wore make up, shocking to older generation and fascinating to newer generation
What was the most popular music of the 1970s?
Feel good pop music - Elton John
What was radio caroline?
Pirate radio station playing pop music while BBC wouldn’t, audience of 10 million people by 1964.
Why were illegal broadcasts popular?
No effective way of stopping illegal broadcasts. Gained huge teen audiences because they played the latest music. PW baby boom = growth in teenage market.
What did Pirate radio force the BBC to do?
To broadcast pop music. 1967 reorganisation of radio into Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4. Many pirate radio DJs hired to radio 1.
When did commercial radio come in?
1975 BBC loses monopoly on radio. Commercial stations began to appeal to niche markets through selling airtime to advertisers.
What was the impact of radio?
- Important component of the development of popular culture
- Shaped music and fashion trends
- Eventually replaced by TV
When was the first TV broadcast?
1936 - Only 20,000 viewers of TV in 1939
Why did TV grow significantly in the 1950s?
Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 attracted mass audience. 8 million viewers.
How did people view the BBC in 1960 and what happened because of this?
Elitist tone of BBC seen as old fashioned and outdated, New programmes emerged that challenged elitism and deference: That Was The Week That Was - ridiculed snobbery and challenged establishment
What are examples of films depicting social issues like abortion and homelessness?
Up the Junction (1968) dramas about social issues and Cathy Come Home (1966)
What is an example of a popular 1960s escapist tv programme?
Doctor Who (1963) national sensation due to impact of Daleks
Why and how was TV so popular?
3 channels - tended to be a captive audience
Over 20 million people watched Morecambe and Wise 1977 Xmas special
Comedies like Dad’s Army and Fawlty Towers emerged
What impact did TV have?
Took up people’s leisure time at home. Price of TV sets decreased and TV no longer a pleasure for the minority. Intellectuals worried it destroyed family time.
What was the most successful programme on ITV?
Most successful programme on ITV was Coronation Street - began broadcasting in 1960
What did the 1954 TV Act do?
Allowed for commercial rival to establish itself, ITV. Financed through advertising not a licence fee. Attempted to be more classless and modern, offered entertainment the viewer wanted not what they needed
How successful was ITV by 1959?
Greater ad revenues than all newspapers put together.
What evidence is there that there was a baby boom in the PW period and what impact did it have?
1 million births per year in PW period vs 750,000 in 1930s. New teenage market emerged as young people had jobs and increased spending power.
How did new teenagers differ to older generations?
Previous generations had left school to go to work at 14 whereas school leaving age raised to 15 in 1947 and many stayed on to do exams and from 1960s onwards go to university.
What impact did the end of national service in 1960 have on teenagers?
More teenagers. Full employment + apprenticeships = more money
How did TV cater to teenagers?
1964 Top of the Pops designed specifically for teenagers
How did teenagers try to differentiate themselves from their parents?
- Teddy boy gangs of 1950s with slicked back hair and listened to Rock n Roll.
- Mods and Rockers replaced by rockers with leather jackets and motorbikes.
- Mods also emerged, italianate suits and riding vespas.
- 1970s - punks with torn clothing and chains and mohican hairstyles.
