society and culture of change, 1918-80 - Pop culture Flashcards
popular culture
forms of music, drama or other artistic expressions that have large following among the people of a country
how did media change public connection
before 1920s - nation connected by early cinemas
changed when regular, licensed radio began broadcasting in 1920 (local and national radio stations)
how to Roosevelt change media
popular tune ‘happy days are here again’ when campaigning for presidency
introduced reforms of the New Deal through ‘fireside chats’
allowed people to make connection
social impact of cinema 1917-45
movies had significant influence on society in this period
by 1917 - biggest entertainment media in USA
1927 - first ‘talkie’ movie (The Jazz singer)
after war, movies boomed (especially 1920s) - entire evening out
KKK the birth of a nation - used as a recruitment tool
encouraged white supremacy
successful at the box office (grossed over $10 million)
Cinema before 1927
Charlie Chaplin - the kid
silent
overacting (‘slapstick’)
stereotypical characters
economic boom of 1920s - cinema and entertainment a luxury that can be bought
How did WW1 impact cinema
POST WW1 - Cinema form of escapism following war
had money to spend on outings to cinema
1925 - 49 million attending cinema viewings
1930 - 80 million
the hays code (regulating the movies) 1930-66
very clear rules set out for behaviours in movies
attempted to create morally good films to create better society
crimes shouldnt be shown in enough detail to be copied
white slave trade never shown (progression of mindset)
family shown positively
no swearing
from 1930-66 all movies had to conform to Hays code - thought movie should improve society by being morally improving films
due to complaints about movie industry towards end of 1920s
said films made crime and violence attractive and females smoked and drank too much
how did cinema evolve 1925-50
1927 - first ‘talkie’ movie
movies boomed after war
movies began to be reviewed in magazine - late 1930s fan magazines each with up to 1 million readers
gave people escapism
movie stars became influential (Clara Bow ‘it’ girl)
specialised flapper roles inspiring young women to behave and dress like her
the studio system
1930s and 40s - 90% of films internationally made in Hollywood
8 companies controlled Hollywood
A list movies coasted $200,000 - $500,000 to make
1925 - Clara Bow made 15 movies (busiest year(
Clark Gable (8 in 1925)
influence of the stars
expected to behave in a way fitting to their screen image (e.g., Clark Gable - handsome bachelor and not marrying, coming out as gay unthinkable)
stars earned a fortune - Shirley Temple earning $5000 weekly in 1930s
major studios’ chokehold on industry meant blacklisting someone from studio meant almost impossible to find work anywhere (e.g., 2nd red scare)
from 1930-66 all movies had to conform to Hays code
social impact of popular music 1917-45
jazz popular in cities
rise in record players - jazz sound spread to all parts of USA
many black - giving some racist reason for disliking it
popular dances sexually suggestive
by 1929 - almost 50% of homes had gramophone (record industry boom)
$75 million worth of records sold that year
by 1935 - sales dropped due to radio sales
records became more of luxury following depression
1920s - development of the radio
first commercial radio stations (KDKA) began broadcasting 2nd November 1920
presidential election day - broadcasted quicker than newspapers could print
by 1924 - 600 commercial stations
1926 - first national radio station (NBC) opened with American football game
radio ownership grew rapidly
mass production made radios more affordable
1920s - historical events and coverage
1920 - presidential election
1926 - NBC’s cover of American football inspired other radio stations to start up, causing airwaves to be jammed
led to 1927 Radio act - federal licensing of station and sharing of airwaves
father Coughlin criticising KKK
1930s - development of radio
drop of sales in 1935 (25 million) compared to 1929 (150 million)
mass production made radios cheaper and affordable
people who wanted radio had one
lower demand
1930s - historical events and coverage
by 1930 - Father Coughlin had about 40 million listeners
during depression - criticised bankers and supported Roosevelt
Great depression - Roosevelt fireside chats
radio vs newspapers
newspapers fought back as they now had pictures - Daily News first newspaper with photographs as illustration
radio played important role in depression - reports of stock market crashes fuelled fear
caused people to panic and sell shares making things worse
Roosevelt’s radio talks helped calm nation and restored confidence in banks
radios more immediate and effective in informing nation
WW2 and radio
radio reported on WW2 more thoroughly and quickly than movie newsreels
1950s - influence of broadcast news
broadcast news quicker way of passing information than newspapers
voice seemed more authoritative and so had deeper impression
red scare - McCarthy used media to spread McCarthyism
1953 - broadcasted story of red scare exposing McCarthy as a liar and a bully
1960s - impact of live news
live news coverage of Cuban missile crisis, moon landing etc
even politicians involved in crisis looked for live shows to show proceedings of USSR ships
many preferred TV because of pictures
spread information nation wide
pivotal in the uncovering certain events
media and the interpretations of events
coverage of Watergate hearing in Senate vital in change of public opinion about president and government
broadcasted news showed interpretations of what was happening - shaping how news was presented
Vietnam war - 1968 Walter Cronkite’s critical documentary confirming fears and showed that US was wastefully pursuing in a war that no one wanted
had televised reports showing shocking incidents with photos and footage in detail (Napalm photos)
1970s - impact on the president
Jimmy Carter - at first, presented in positive light (70% support levels in first few months)
once shown management of policy making and congress was bad - media withdrew support
decided carter was incompetent
brother involved in various scandals and reflected bad on Carter
oil crisis under Carter (fault for the deterioration of the economy)
1979 - fell over at marathon
thought he was morally and physically weak
early TV
first commercial TV 1939 - Roosevelt first president on TV
1959 - 85% of households had TV
TV live - tech advances changed to allow pre-recorded TV
1949 - TVs cheaper due to mass production (1953 - $200)
TV and the 50s
sponsored just as radio
advertising big part of TV
early programmes and ads showed very few black Americans (first 1963)
post war ‘baby-boom’ - ads targeted growing number of children and began selling goods using ‘special offers’
how did politicians use TV
political parties used TVs
bought ‘air time’ to promote their ideas (Eisenhower 1952 campaign and Kennedy-Nixon debate 1960)
politicians now needed to have the right look and interview well (changed traits required from candidates)
Nixon-Kennedy debate
CBS aired debate 1960
first debate reached audience of 70 million people
debates caused Nixon to become more wary of the media when coming into presidency (knew he had to appear confident)
some believe the televised debate is what made people vote for Kennedy as they thought he was more impressive)
people more informed about major issues (more politically aware)
expansion of TV
developed very rapidly
more channels and shows - watch more TV
many more shows pre-recorded allowed to edit what is shown and shape the message they gave to people
1953 - 80% TV recorded live
1970s - news and sport almost only programmes shown live
standards of commercial TV criticised late 1960s - glamourised crime and violence (especially conservatives and religious right)
criticisms of way programmes manipulated
non commercial TV (1960s)
1967 public broadcasting act set up government funded corporation for public broadcasting (CPB)
set up public broadcasting service (PBS) 1969
national stations made up of group of local station -
liberal agenda - educate, entertain and restore standards
success of PBS
Sesame street (1969-present)
teaching about racial tolerance and sharing, as well as counting and reading
popularity meant children watching in well off, all white suburbs absorbed positive view of other races
TV ownership widespread - messages reached a lot of people
limitations of PBS
1981 - conservative leadership meant government funding withdrawn
MAS*H
set in Korean war
actually considered issues relevant to Vietnam war
made war discussion point for people
contributed to extent of popular feeling against war (less significant than news programmes)
news programmes
got more prime-time broadcasting and lasted longer
more in-depth analysis of events
politically aware and interested in issues
pivotal in shaping attitudes
