influences on cultural changes 1960-1970s Flashcards
music
previous there had been no uniform teenage culture. experience had varied due to age, gender, location UNTIL mass culture
1962- “love me do” = Beetlemania, screaming girls
TV appearance watched by 73.9 million people
Beatles commercialised music -£100 million through merchandising
1964: Birtish invasion (British pop and rock became popular in USA) - music became globally influential = benefit of exports
David Bowie + Elton John “glam rock” - fluid attitudes to sex and gender
= gave young people a generation and expression
TV
demand increased due to coronation
1955- 40%
1960-80%
1969-95%
popular use of leisure time
elderly - 16 hours per week
men and women - 23% of leisure time (x2 as Belgium and Italy)
Colour Tv . 1.7% 1970, 70% 1978
= blurred class divisions
satire questioned and mocked establishment
BBC tried to influence public taste to “intelligent content” but coronation street was most popular
cinema
talkies had increased popularity in interwar years
1914-3000 1930-5000
audience- young urban working class , women
peak at 1946- 1.46 million
1950 ; average person go 28 times a year
BUT
fell until late 80s - half of all cinemas close in 1955-63
(due to television)
70s - prior control by BBFC - middle class conservatives men but obscenities act and theatres act loosened censorship = more sexual films and violent - eg clockwork orange and Emmanuelle
permissive society
family planning act- made pill available on NHS
= 1 million on pill by 1967 (+ condoms became thinner and available in boots)
Abortion Act- legal abortions on NHS
Theatres Act and obscenities Act = more sexual content published - Joy of sex ; implicit sex . 4th most popular film in 1974 was a porno
sexual offences act - decriminalised homosexual relationship between males in private = camp behaviour shown on TV “what a gay day” , Elton John and David Bowie
Aboriton Act BUT was it due to consequences - 40 backstreet abortion deaths in a year
Sexual offences Act BUT magazine article, sex and marriage young people , 1/4 gay was “revulsion”
+ criticised but Mary White House ;1977 launched a legal battle against magazine Gay News for publishing a poem- won her case
campaigned against pornography
consumerism
1966- credit cards
1974- consumer credit act clarified rights and responsibilities = increased lending in later years
“never had it so good” - Harold Macmillian
with growth of television = growth of other domestic goods
1965- necessities + clothing on 30% of income (real disposable income rose 22% in 60s , 30% in 70s) - rest home, entertainment
home ownership increased from 29% to 50% by end of period
homes became more comfortable and clean - gas sales more than doubled in 1951 and 1970+ electricity sales quadrupled - shift from open fires
hire purchase debts
- 1/3 housebolds
-1/2 furniture
-1/5 cars ; Car ownership from 16% to 52%
= labour saving devices
= teenager buy clothes etc
= home became a leisure spot
