Popular Culture Flashcards
How do we measure social impact?
Change in status
Change in beliefs
Change in fashion
Change in living standards
How did cinema change living standards?
By 1941 = there were nearly 10,500,000 seats for 12.5 people.
^ became an important leisure time.
Shirley temple = $5,000 a week when the average was $2,000 a week.
^successful actors = benefitted heavily from the industry
How did cinema change beliefs?
1927 = first ‘talkie’ movie.
^ This meant you had to look sound good. Change standards of movie stars.
After the Hays Code in 1929-1930 = morality clause we written into contracts
^ expectation for actors to behave in a specific way.
How did cinema change fashion?
Clara Bow = It girl who would be a flapper in movies.
^ young people would copy her
^ only the young people = criticism at the ends of the 1920s (which led to the Hays Code) argued cinema was glorifying crime and women were scantily dressed.
How did cinema change status?
There were some African Americans in movies.
^ Gone with the Wind = 1939, Hattie McDaniel got Academy Award for Best supporting role.
How did radio change beliefs?
Father Coughlin = sermons criticising KKK. By 1930 = had 40 million listeners. During depression, criticised bankers and supported Roosevelt, when he didn’t go far enough, criticised Roosevelt. Roosevelt lost some support.
^ shows radio has the ability to change beliefs.
How did radio change living standards?
In 1939 = 39% of the population was had a radio, whereas 39,6 million used newspapers.
In 1950 = 91% had a radio and 51.8 million was using a radio.
^ this shows a change in living standards because the gap between radio and newspaper has increased. Therefore this shows, the importance of the radio has increased and changed the living standards of Americans.
^ quicker than newspaper e.g election results.
How did radio change the status of groups?
Businesses = sponsored radios for advertisement. By 1924 = 600 commercial radios
How did music change beliefs?
Jazz music because popular and many jazz players were African American e.g Louis Armstrong
^ this would have changed beliefs against African Americans. This would have supported racial tolerance.
^ H/E = only limited to the young. Older conservative generation thought it was Charleston dances were too seductive: inappropriate.
How did popular music the status of minority groups?
Race records were made as a result. This is where black people could produce their own jazz/ blues music.
^ this would increase the status of African Americans
^ H/E = could be viewed that black people still don’t have a raised status because they need to put up specialist labels such as this.
How did music change living standards?
By 1929 = almost 50% of homes had a gramophone. $75 million worth was sold that year.
^ H/E = sales dropped because of the radio and the Depression. So only the rich could afford it.
How did TV change beliefs?
Eisenhower used it for his 1952 campaign. Kennedy- Nixon Debate 1960
^ people’s attitude towards politics had changed because of TV. You need to look good as well.
TV shows about black people normalised them. It helped to change beliefs for people living in all white communities such as rural communities in the North East.
How did TV change status of minority groups?
The first black man on TV was in 1963. Children showed black people e.g Sesame Street to promote racial tolerance.
^ Despite TV being launched in the 1939 at the World’s Fair. Took a long time.
Children importance elevated = after baby boom. Adverts were targeting them on TV.
How did TV change living standards?
By 1953 = 80% of TV was live whereas in 1960 = 36% and by 1970 = only news and sports.
^ late 1960s = conservative criticise glamourised crime and outrage of manipulation of shows. This was not a problem before. The truth became an important thing.
News programmes = long and in depth so people because more politically aware. This allowed debate at work and so forth.
How did broadcast news change beliefs?
Roosevelt Fire chats = restored confidence into the public.
Ed Murrow = 9th March 1954 exposed McCarthy as a bully during the Red Scare and produced a public shift in opinion.
^ H/E = the changing of these beliefs was a just a byproduct of the companies such as CBS providing their own interpretation to get views. E.g the shocking images in Vietnam.
