Topic 4 - C3 - Cultural Challenge Flashcards

1
Q

What could it be argued about US culture between 1980-1992?

A

Could be argued that there was no longer a dominant culture in the US. Young Americans challenged older Americans.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What trends existed within youth culture?

A

Challenged conservatism over issues such as sexual and social freedoms, drug taking and race.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What was heavy metal characterised by in the 1980s?

A
  • Initially popular with young white malesin the 1970s
  • Lacked radio play
  • Dominated youth culture in the 80s - lost outisider status
  • Popular themes included men victimised by female fatale.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Who were popular Heavy Metal artists in the 1980s?

A

Van Halen was popular, as was Dokken from 1983

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How popular was Heavy Metal in the 1980s?

A
  • MTV promoted it
  • HM market share rose from 8% in 1983 to 20% in 1984
  • 1988 - 11 of the 50 best selling albums were metal
  • Alienated young white male fans, few women or blacks listened to it.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What opposition did Heavy Metal face?

A
  • From the RR and Parents Music Resource Centre.

- 1985 - PMRC pressured MTV to end promotion of HM and its explicit lyrics and videos.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

How did MTV respond to opposition to Heavy Metal?

A

Headbangers’ Ball created specifically for HM by MTV, - 1.3 million viewers weekly.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What controversial themes existed in rap in songs like ‘How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise’ (1980)?

A

Black separatist group - Public Enemy - ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ (1988) showed incarcerated black Americans - referenced disproportionate number of young black males in jail

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Why was rap ignored by mainstream radio?

A
  • Bigoted - Public Enemy made anti semitic comments
  • Sexist - Ice Cube’s hit album in 1980 made continual references to the masculinity crisis - spoke about wanting to kick a pregnant women in the tummy
  • Violent - 1988 Fuck Tha Police by NWA (Niggas With Attitude)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Who were the few examples of women in rap and what did they encourage men to do?

A

Queen Latifah and Salt N Pepa - male rap groups started a stop the violence campaign in 1988.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What made rap more mainstream?

A

Late 80s, Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer showed how rap was becoming more mainstream

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Why was the Parents Music Resource Centre established?

A

Motivated by sexually explicit lyrics, and lyrics of a violent nature or that glorify drugs and alcohol. Cited songs like Prince’s ‘Nikki’ and Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Why did the PMRC lack success?

A

Music industry hard to police and rate lyrics like movies. Thousands of songs compared to hundreds of movies made per year, lyrics also subject to misinterpretation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is an example of the PMRC misinterpreting lyrics and having their accusations under investigation from 1985?

A

John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High wasn’t played on the radio because the PMRC thought it was singing about drugs when it was actually a hymn.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What did 1988 concerns of suicide from the PMRC lead to after a suicide note contained the lyrics from Metallica’s ‘Fade to Black’?

A

Voluntary rating system due to publicity from several highly publicised suicides.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What influence did Madonna have after her first disco single Holiday?

A

Had 12 top ten hits in a row between 1984-87. Used controversy to generate sales. Talked a lot about sex, promoted safe sex in her interviews, distributed condoms and performed at AIDS benefits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Why was Madonna a key target of the PMRC?

A
  • ‘Justify My Love’ (1990) most upset PMRC - hinted at homosexuality and group sex. Banned by MTV - became best sold music video ever.
  • 1989 Pepsi advert had Madonna singing ‘Like A Prayer’- video contained religious symbols and Madonna making love to a saint - upset RR and Pepsi dropped their sponsorship.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Which artists aside from Madonna were the PMRC also concerned about?

A
  • Jello Biafra - leader of the Dead Kennedys - arrested in 1986 for distributing harmful material to a minor - young LA girl bought the group’s album and in it contained a poster picturing 10 penises and a vulvae
  • ‘As Nasty As They Wanna Be’ (1990) album by 2 Live Crew - first album to be deemed obscene
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

How was opposition to the youth culture depicted in TV in Family Ties (1982-89)?

A

About two ex hippie and liberal parents with a young Republican son and a highly materialistic daughter - both believers in Reaganomics. Demonstrated fragmentation of US society.

20
Q

How did personal computers become popular?

A

1960s and 70s - confined to gov and corporate officials. 1981- IBM sold small desktop personal computers for use in the office or at home.

21
Q

How did Bill Gates exploit the popularity of PCs?

A
  • Launched Microsoft, then microsoft word in 1983 and other programmes controlled by a mouse.
  • ¼ of US possessed a PC by 1990.
  • Microsoft’s employees grew from 3 to 6000.
  • By 1992, Microsoft’s annual income exceeded $1 billion.
22
Q

What impact did remote control devices have?

A

Enabled viewers to channel surf and avoid advertisements

23
Q

What happened after the VCR was invented in 1960s but became popular in the 1980s?

A

Mass production made them cheap and SC allowed recording TV shows from home. 1990 - ¾ US owned a VCR. Could rent films and play games.

24
Q

What impact did cassettes and CDs have after vinyl had previously been the means of listening to music?

A

Customers from the 1970s could now record music onto blank cassettes or buy pre recorded cassettes and play them on their Sony Walkman or on a boombox. Late 1970s - CD became popular, offered entertainment solely for one.

25
Q

What impact did the deregulation of TV have in the 1980s?

A

Encouraged expansion of cable services. Number of channels rose from 5 to several hundred. By 1990, 90% had cable TV.

26
Q

How did TV change after deregulation?

A
  • ESPN started focussing on sports
  • C-SPAN covered federal gov activities
  • CNN - 24 hour news coverage from 1980 - covered the Gulf War in 1991- only news station with reporters inside Iraq
  • The 700 Club by Pat Robertson reached 50 million homes
  • Home Shopping Network advertised consumer products
  • Disney targeted children aged 6-14
  • MTV aired non stop music from 1981
  • Porn was more widely available
27
Q

Why was there far more sex and violence in 1980s film and TV?

A

Programmes not subject to Federal Communications Commission. 1990s study showed profanity once every six minute pre cable but every 2 minutes on cable.

28
Q

What impact did MTV - the first 24 hour music cable channel and most influential music outlet - have?

A
  • 85% of its mostly white, suburban audience was aged 12-34.
  • Most effective way to obtain a national audience.
  • 23 million viewers by 1982.
  • Inspired the development of other channels like Black Entertainment Television (BET) and The Nashville Network which offered country music.
29
Q

Why was MTV’s initial choice of music criticised by the popular press?

A

Black artists rarely shown on TV and one employee admitted that this was due to not wanting to alienate the Midwest.

30
Q

When did MTV begin to show more black artists?

A

When Michael Jackson’s popularity soared, MTV showed his videos like Thriller (1982).

31
Q

How did MTV try to appeal to young white men by objectifying women?

A

Van Halen’s ‘Hot for Teacher’ (1984) and Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted to Love’ (1985) in order to encourage male viewers to continue watching.

32
Q

Which artists retaliated with feminism to female objectification?

A
  • Donna Summer’s ‘She Works Hard for the Money’ - single working mother exploited in the workplace.
  • Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ (1984) considered a feminist anthem.
  • Madonna made money objectifying herself in ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Material Girl’.
33
Q

What characterised the AIDS crisis in the 1980s?

A
  • No cure in 1984 - virtually a death sentance
  • Associated with gay men and drug abusers
  • Thought it was God’s punishment for sexual deviance
34
Q

How many people had progressively died from AIDS?

A
  • 5,500 Americans had died from in 1985
  • 46,000 by 1989
  • 80,000 confirmed cases in 1989
35
Q

After being advised to promote safe sex through sex education, how did RR respond to the AIDS crisis?

A

His budget required a cut in AIDS research rather than finding the cure - meant HIV crisis was far worse is US than Europe.

36
Q

How did AIDS impact the gay community after initially scaring many gays into the closet?

A
  • 1985 ¾ said they didn’t know any homosexuals
  • Anxiety generated by AIDS soon accelerated gay rights activism
  • ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) launched and in 1987 first gay pride parade in NYC demanding more rights and research into AIDS.
37
Q

What was the Ryan White Care Act (1990)?

A

RW was a haemophiliac who got AIDS via blood transfusion - became spokesperson for AIDs sufferers - died in 1990 so cong passed RWCA - granted $220 million to help victims.

38
Q

Which film was the first to show AIDS after producers had been reluctant to do so?

A

Longtime Companion (1989) was the first widely released movie to deal with AIDS - received critical acclaim but had a small audience.

39
Q

How did violence and sex increase in film?

A
  • Basic Instinct (1992) sexually explicit film.
  • Concern among Planned Parenthood Federation of America -said there was 20,000 sex scenes on TV but no condom.
  • Frank discussion of sex occured on the Jerry Springer Show (1991-present).
40
Q

How was sex depicted more within teenage culture?

A

Beverly Hills 90210 associated sex with being cool as a pre teen series. (1990-2000). The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990-96) associated being a virgin with being a loser).

41
Q

What sexually explicit film particularly upset the religious right?

A

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) took sex too far after depicting Jesus Christ as fantasising about marriage and sex with Mary Magdalene - upset RR.

42
Q

What violent films existed in the 1980s?

A

Die Hard (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - banned from broadcast and cable networks in 1990.

43
Q

Which anti war films emerged in the 1980s?

A

Anti War films - Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) based on memories of the disabled and disillusioned VNW veterans.

44
Q

How did the role of women change in film and tv?

A

Roseanne (1988-97) struggling WC women who worked hard in under skilled jobs and then came home to do the housework. Showed how much mothers really did. Most watched TV show between 1989-1990

45
Q

How didn’t the role of women change in film and tv?

A
  • Another Women (1988) and Criminal Law (1989) showed abortion as bad.
  • Fatal Attraction (1987) single career women seduces and nearly destroys a happily married man until the good mother manages to kill her off.
46
Q

How did Cagney and Lacey (1982-88) depict fragmentation in the views of the role of women?

A

2 different women, one with a nuclear family and the other, ambitious, single and with multiple partners. Cagney showed to be less content and stable than Lacey who managed to combine work and motherhood.