Influence Of American Pop Culture

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According to Cooper and Wayne, the American pop culture comprises of “tastes, preferences, customs and behaviors embraced by the broad mass of the American public at any given point in time” (p 7). The American pop culture entails the following categories television, movies, radio, music as well as games. These categories and many other factors act as a social glue that holds together the American society. The factors have been established to influence the behavior, perception or culture of the society in one way or another. Each era/ period in the U.S. has its unique pop culture as social systems (beliefs and perceptions) seems to be constantly changing. The American pop culture in the 60’s and 70’s was very unique as it experienced so changes …show more content…

To date some of the effects are still being experienced. The war started in mid 1960s and ended in 1973. During this time, Americans were divided as some supported the government whereas others did not. The government had resolved to recruiting young men into the military and deploying them in Vietnam. Most of them died and others were injured and the act led to social unrest. Civilians began organizing social movements such as the anti-Vietnam movement. The movement aimed at encouraging the government to withdraw its troops from Vietnam. The government eventually agreed to their demands and this act led to a different approach of addressing international affairs. To date, American citizens can push its government to withdraw troops from any foreign lands if they feel it’s necessary. For instance, the 1991 incidence in Somalia (black hawk down) (Leventman 36). Therefore, the pop culture of this era defined a different way of addressing social issues. At the same time, the Vietnam war paved way for the film industry. Most companies begun shooting movies that were related to the incidence. Two movies that had described this era sufficiently and in depth were Dazed and Confused, and Saturday Night Fever. As discussed in class, While Dazed and Confused showed a happier part of the 70s, with it being the last day of school and seeing what teens did for fun in those days,

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