1960s Culture
1960s Culture Books & Literature During the 60s, authors strived to relate their stories to the struggles and successes of the public. These struggles and successes included poor race relations, gender issues, feminism, and society roles. Books and Authors of the 1960s • To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)- Struggle between races and social status • Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)- Centered on the growth, emotions, and change of children • The Silent Spring (Rachel Carson)- Brought about the environmental movement of the 1960s • In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)- One of the first books with graphic details and suspense based on facts and real events • The Feminine Mystique (Betty Friedan)- Discusses the unhappiness of women of the time and sparked a second round of feminism Music & Radio Music in the 1960s was marked by the “British Invasion”, the Motown record company, the “culture of drugs”, and the “peace and love” songs. Many of the songs became tunes for popular dances such as the Twist, the Mashed Potato, the Watusi, and the Swim. (*Woodstock) The British Invasion: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks Motown: The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix Drugs, Rock, & Roll: Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Steppenwolf, Simon & Garfunkel, Mamas and the Papas, ELVIS PRESLEY!!! Folk Peace and Love Songs: Peter, Paul, and Mary “Blowing in the Wind”, Jackie DeShannon “Put A Little Love in Your Heart” POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1960s: Chubby Checker, “The Twist”, The Beatles, “Hey Jude”, The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”, The Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself”, Elvis Presley, “It’s Now or Never” Woodstock Known as one of the most pivotal moments in music history, Woodstock was a Music Festival in 1969 in which more than 500,000 people attended. The event took place on a dairy farm in New York. Thirty-Two bands and individuals performed over a span of four days. Woodstock signified peace, cultural expression, and youth. Performers included: Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, the Who, Janis Joplin and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Movies & Television Movies and television in the 1960s reflected the many social changes and cultural movements of the decade. There were only three channels on TVs- ABC, NBC, and CBS. Most shows were family oriented and upheld good morals. Most families only had one TV per household. TV was used for advertisement, and certain shows were played at specific times to reach the appropriate audience. For example, cartoons were shown every Saturday Morning for kids. Popular TV shows: -American Bandstand, Batman, Bewitched, Gilligan’s Island, Leave It to Beaver, Lassie, The Andy Griffith Show, Popeye Movies were based on realism and honesty. Many Broadway musicals were made into films including The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. Morals were ignored, as sex, language, and violence became more involved in films. Actors, Actresses, and Movies: - Julie Andrews, Audrey Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Burt Lancaster, Peter O’Toole -The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Oliver, West Side Story, Goldfinger Sports Three Olympic Games were held in the 1960s. America claimed many gold medals including: -Muhammad Ali was a gold medalist boxer in 1960. -Wilma Rudolph, and African American woman, who was not supposed to walk again after being ill as a child, proved everyone wrong by winning three Gold Medals as a runner. -The U.S. Ice Hockey team defeated all odds by winning the Gold Medal in 1960. -The U.S. Men’s Basketball Team collected Gold at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics Baseball player, Roger Maris, set a home run record that was not broken until 1998 by Mark McGwire Jackie Robinson was the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 The first Super Bowl was played by the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967. The Packers defeated the Chiefs. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a NBA game, setting a record still unbeaten. The Mods The Bikini The Miniskirt Jackie Kennedy HAIRSTYLES CHIGNON hairstyle PIXIE and SHORT Hair BANGS and LONG hair Bangs and long straight hair was considered “sexy” during the 60s. Younger women and teenagers were going for this look. MALE hairstyles Men living in the 60s were influenced by the shaggy hair of the British boy band, The Beetles. Square toed shoes became popular with the colors red, white, and blue. The 1960s were a time of colorful clothing. Bright colored shoes were thrown together with bright color outfits. The shoes always matched the purse. Chunky heels with big buckles and extravagant ties were worn by women. Bright colored stockings were worn with bright colored shoes and mini skirts. It was not uncommon to see designed stockings coming all the way up to the woman's knee. Go-go boots became popular after movie star Honor Blackman, as Cathy Gale and Diana Rigg, as Emma Peel in The Avengers, were seen wearing knee high, black leather go-go boots. Boots became a trademark of the show world. However, it was Nancy Sinatra's 1966 hit, "These Boots Were Made For Walking" that captured the public imagination and launched the boot on its road to hipness. They started off ankle-high and moved up to knee-high by 1966. The Mini Skirt The mini skirt created by Mary Quant became a high fashion trademark during the 60s. The Bikini Bikinis made their appearance in the 1960s with bright colors and patterns. They did not show as much skin as they do today because they were hip riding bikinis that gave a baby doll look. Suits Suits were worn by both men and women and were popular in the 60s; however, they were mainly popular and worn by men. In the 1960s suits changed from bland colors to extravagant colors with patterns such as plaid. With extreme versions of ties ranging from really wide to really skinny. s London Modernists known as “Mods” were the fashion drivers of the 1960s. They were the production of the baby boom and quite different than the generation of fashion seen in the 50s. They had a modern approach to fashion by redefining clothes using bright colors and lots of geometric patterns rather than pastel colors. They also had a modern approach to makeup use by using bright colors and more makeup such as eyeliner and fake eyelashes. Late 60s Tie-died shirts, headbands, beads, bellbottoms, sandals, buck-skin vests, Mexican peasant blouses, scarves, and being in public without a bra and no shoes were the fashion trends of the late 60s. SOCIETY roles -Women During the 60s women from WWII baby boom were beginning to enter the work force at higher numbers than ever before demanding equal rights and equal pay. There were problems with sexual harassment and unequal and discriminatory actions against women in the workforce. Since the federal government approved birth control in 1960 over 80% of women were using the contractions. This affected the rate of child birth significantly as less children were being born. SOCIETY roles -African Americans African Americans were still being treated unfairly, although in the 60s a number of legislations were passed to help them out including the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964, that banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in employment practices and public accommodations, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that restored and protected voting rights, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, that banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. African Americans re-entered politics in the South, and across the country young people both white and black were inspired to action. Religion The mainline Protestantism no longer represented all of society's spiritual interests in the 1960s because the baby boom produced a large population that had different ideas and opinions which gave birth to more complex diverse religious groups and practices. There was an increase in the belief of separation of church and state.
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