Society and culture- Popular culture Flashcards
how did nation connect pre 20’s and how did this change in the 20’s
-movie theatres and record industry
-changed when licences radio was introduced (but radio soon exploited for advertisement purposes)
How did the type of films produced change post-WWI?
- prewar, they had been silent, black and white films
- increasing colour and sound in the 20s
When was the first
1) all-colour feature
2) sound effects and music feature
3) talking sequences (talkie)
1922 - all colour - ‘Toll of the Sea’
1926 - sound effects - ‘Don Juan’
1927 - talkie - ‘The Jazz Singer’
What was the influence of CINEMA (from 1917-45)
1917 AND 20’S
-was the biggest entertainment media in 1917 that was introduced to cities first (silent movies until 20’s)
-1927, first ‘talkie’ called the Jazz singer, distinguished actors between look and sound
-movies boomed post WW1 and during war as a form of escapism- served as a night out
- affluent society: increased wealth (income) which people could spend on small luxuries
30’s
-Feature movies changed twice a week
-Genre movies developed
-popularity of hollywood stars started (e.g Clara bow specialised in flapper girl roles)
-movies reviewed in magazines (1 million readers of 20 fan magazines)
40’s
-by 1941 there were over 10 million movie theatre seats in the US
When/what was the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’?
1920s
- 74 million went to see a movie each week by 1929 (up from 34 million in 1922)
- film stars emerged
- movie companies were founded
What was the cult of the film star?
magazines dedicated to film stars (20 fan mags by late 30s, each with 200k-1 mill readers)
- influenced youth e.g. people wanted to dress like Clara Bow
- household names: Charlie Chaplain
Which forms of cinema became popular during the depression?
escapist forms:
- Westerns: many dreamt they could be part of a rugged group like the cowboys
- ‘screwball’ comedy: laugh at romantic foibles of upper class
How did cinema change in WWII?
- industry more closely controlled by national governments to help war effort
- wanted to depict war in positive light, propaganda
What opportunities did cinema provide for manufacturers?
exposed Americans to commericial advertising
- filled the gaps in a cinema programme with ads for their products
How did cinema benefit the economy?
- adverts would generate a lot of money e.g. MGM made a 500k deal with Coca-Cola for stars to drink it between interviews
- movie budgets were high but they would generate tons too (Something to think about, 1920, 169K budget, made 10 million)
effect of the creation of the studio system in cinema in 1917-45
cost a lot to develop but proved more profitable
eight companies worked together and had control of stars and industry
-90 percent of films worldwide were made in Hollywood
influence of stars created by cinema from 1917-45
-Clara bow made 15 movies in 1925
-1925 Clarke Gable made movies
-popularisation of the movie star
-became a source of gossip when stars didnt stick to their screen image
-large earning potential of a star, Shirley temple earned 5000 dollars a week vs average wage in America to be 2000 dollars a year
-sponsor deals (MGM and coca cola 500,000 deal- saw stars sipping coke in ads)
controversies of movie impact from 1917-45
-mainly complaints towards late 20’s due to depiction of flapper girls and gangster genre provoked violence
-all movies conformed to strict code (MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION CODE/ HAYES CODE) 1930/66
(no drug trafficking, slave trade, nudity, minimised detail of crime, no swearing, portray family life as a good thing, lust to a minimum)
influence of radio 1917-45
radio grew rapidly in 20’s and 30’s
-fisrt commercial station was KDKA in 1920- broadcasted election results
-soon exploited for advertisement purposes (roosevelt happy days are here again)
-1920 it broadcasted election results
-by 1924 there were 600 radio stations and they began to commercialise
-1926, first national station NBC
-1935, sales of record players dropped due to radio and depression meant less disposable income and radio played music for free
-spread political knowledge (fireside chats) (farther coughlin broadcasted sermons criticising KKK in 1930 with 30 mn listeners)
-1927 radio act regulated broadcasts and stations
When did the first radio station in the US begin broadcasting?
KDKA began broadcasting in 1922
Why was radio so popular from the outset?
- very important in communicating news as not everyone could read
- people wanted to listen to jazz which was becoming more popular
- could listen to sports matches (50 million listened to the 1927 Dempsey-Tunney boxing match)
How did the radio industry grow and survive (economically)?
companies paid to advertise their products on the medium
What was the impact of increased radio sales?
- sales of gramophone records fell
- the use of radio for advertising helped to fuel the economic boom of the 1920s
- encouraged new music trends (e.g. jazz = modern)
How did the popularity of dance increase with the popularity of radio?
- dance halls increased demand for pro musicians and dancers
- ballrooms sponsored dance contests (new moves developed etc)
- electric lighting led to evening dance halls and live music
- most popular = waltz, tango and the Charleston (feat. in two 1922 broadway shows)
Why was television arguably the most impactful medium on American post-WWII culture?
- main source of political information, defined electoral campaigns, used to maximise impact on the electorate
- increased standard and scale of cultural entertainment (growth of non-commercial networks)
- spread US culture worldwide
Who tended to have TVs post-WWII?
- metropolitan-area, wealth bias: of the 102,000 TV sets in 1948, 2/3 were in the New York area
- this was because tv station = high cost, only economically viable in heavily populated areas
what was the influence of MUSIC from 1917-45
POPULARISATION OF MUSIC
-jazz introduced implementing diversity in music due to African American roots (spread through radio and movies)
-jazz dances (like charleston0 were sexually suggestive and jazz swing players often black leading to discrimination and controversy
-by 1929 50 percent of homes had a gramophone and record industry was booming (75 million dollars of records sold that year)
-1935 record sales dropped due to depression
what was the influence of television in the 50’s
-FDR first president on TV
-1939, first commercial television shown at 1939 worlds fair
-media businesses given tax breaks post ww2 to help development of commercial TV
-deloberately were unliscenced to boost media from 1948-50
-no black americans shown till 1963
-increased consumer culture in 50’s due to commercials as people had more disposable income, post baby boom advertising grew larger
-helped transformation on views of racism
-used to show politicians (aired candidates) e.g nixon won due to televised debates, kennedy became known as good looking and a persuasive speaker
How did the ownership of TVs and number of stations increase in the 1950s?
- ownership increased from 0.4% in 1948 to 56% in 1954 and to 83% in 1958
- no. of stations rose from 16 in 1948 to 354 in 1954
How many people owned a TV by the 1980s?
98%
What was unique about TV compared to other household technology?
- no other technology had ever spread so rapidly into so many homes (incl. the telephone and indoor plumbing)
- the most important form of entertainment (TV dinners introduced in 1954)
What was the relationship between TV, the baby boom and suburbanisation?
explains why the uptake of TV was so rapid:
- baby boom incentivised people to buy a TV bc networks had children’s programmes
- the babysitter shortage and commuting bc of suburban living meant parents watched TV at home instead
- those without kids were the last to buy TV sets
What did TV and radio do to entertainment?
they ‘privatised’ it, as more and more people stayed at home, isolated from others
How did the nature of TV alter American politics?
- benefitted candidates who were good looking (JFK, unlike Nixon) and could think quickly and cleverly on live tv
- allowed politicians to be marketed in adverts
- tv invited people to critique and evaluate
impact American consumerism?
- 1954 Toledo Ohio, Water demand increased rapidly over 3 min periods every evening due to ad breaks
- Disney began Davy Crockett series 1955, $300 million of dolls, toys, t shirts and caps sold.
educational non commercial television influence
–Public broadcasting system 1969- aimed to show educational programming and had a liberal agenda (spread liberalist views0
-Sesame Street 1969 taught children racial tolerance, counting, reading and had a racially balanced cast
-1970’s MAS*H made korean and vietnam war a point of discussion and helped fuel anti war sentiment
-showed Kennedy-nixon debate 1960
-political satire;Rowan and Martins laugh in
-gave positive image to black families in the development of sitcoms (e.g the Jeffersons- showed black people in normal life)
How did TV help the Civil Rights Movement win support?
- prev, events like Till’s murder were ignored bc lack of media
- Little Rock made headlines because film was shot of the abuse of Elizabeth Eckford
- MLK etc. realised the propaganda value of media
- Freedom Riders and sit-ins were intended to publicise the daily prejudice in the South, the nation listened
- Scenes in Birmingham of hoses and police dogs shocked the nation
impacts of broadcast news from (20-80)
-roosevelts talks held at Whitehouse (political agenda within America)
-ed murrow reporter based in europe during ww2, post war broadcasred a story about the consequences of the red scare- you man losing his job
-1954 ed murrow show showed McCarthy as a liar shifting public view on him
- 1960’s cuban missile crisis and moon landing reported
-1973 Watergate hearings, all 250 h reported shifting opinions on Nixon.
-vietnam war reported by walter cromite, 1969 critical documentary of vietnam war and confirmed worst fears created critical look on gov (he had gained trust of public)
Why was radio powerful as a form of broadcast news?
- quicker way of getting news to people
- voices seemed more authoritative than newsprint
How quickly did presidents appreciate the power of radio as a form of broadcast news?
almost immediatel
- Wilson = recorded a speech which was broadcast to US troops crossing the Atlantic in WWI
- Harding = spoke on radio in 1922
- Coolidge = state of the union address was broadcast in Dec 1923
How did radio news reporting worsen the Depression?
reporting on the stock market crisis fuelled fears about falling share prices, causing people to panic and sell their shares, making the crisis worse
Which president made the most significant use of broadcast radio?
FDR’s ‘fireside chats’, gave 16 during his presidency, created the impression that he was talking to them, restored trust in the banks
How was news important in WWII?
- Ed Murrow broadcasts from Britain during the Blitz helped to persuade US citizens to offer support
- from 1941, CBS would broadcast weekly 30 min programmes
- shortwave reports from correspondents in different battle theatres
- interviews with those in the conflict
influence of jimmy carters relationship with the media
-at first presented in a positivelight
media turned on Carter making the public turn on him (decided he was incompetant due to bad handling of administration and congress)
-1979- showed Carter collapsing in marathon, and filmed attacked by a rabbit (shows incompetence- groweing influence of media- e.g roosevelt never photographed to show his polio as weak)
How did broadcast radio help to turn public opinion against McCarthy?
- 20 Oct 1953, Ed Murrow’s CBS series ‘See It Now’ broadcast a story about a young airman who lost his job because of possible family communist sympathies
- 9 March 1954 - did a whole episode on McCarthy exposing him as a liar and a bully
Which war was TV the most influential in?
Vietnam - it was a ‘television war’ - during Korea, tv was still in its infancy with a limited audience
How did TV influence Vietnam?
it was an anti-war influence
- brought the horror of war into people’s homes and inspired opposition
- less censorship, unlike WWII or Korea
What was the broadcasting of Vietnam like at the beginning?
- less than 1/4 of film reports showed images of dead or wounded, often not graphic
- upbeat coverage, WWII feeling of progress
- personal reporting, emphasised the bravery of ‘American boys’
How did broadcasting of Vietnam change after the withdrawal of US troops in 1969?
- still sympathetic but more emphasis on human costs
- Thanksgiving, 1970, Ed Rabel reported the death of a soldier and interviewed his friends who expressed how they felt the war was senseless
- Walter Cronkite, 27 Feb 1968, concluded his report from Vietnam by saying that the war was unwinnable
How did broadcast media play a key role in uncovering political corruption?
1973 - Watergate hearings - all 250 hours were broadcast on live TV for the first time, dramatic edited events were replayed on the news, vital in changing public opinion about the presidency and the gov’tb
How did broadcast news shape the opinion of its viewers/listeners?
- gave own interpretations on events, sometimes unclear distinction between fact + opinion (views of programme makers/company)
- news anchors = teachers, trusted, if they critiqued something it would confirm the public’s fears
