With all the social, political and cultural changes occurring in the 1960s, youth culture was embracing the ideologies of rebellion and counterculture. The Folk music of the sixties was giving way to the new Rock revolution and with this came the iconic Rock Rebel. The Rock Rebel is a romanticized existential figure who revolts against social conventions in a quest to find value or a sense of freedom beyond the pre-existing conforms of society. (Camus; 1967) Through analysing, in a sociological context, the way the music industry utilized film to help create or reinvent star image of Rock icons The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, we can see how the signifier of the Rock Rebel has evolved with the developing Rock culture. (Dyer; 1979:1) Even before first staring in the 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night (HDN), The Beatles had already become acclaimed on a global scale and it was this initial film, made purely for soundtrack marketability, which proved instrumental in evolving The Beatles from teen idols into more complex figures worthy of acceptance into “the pantheon of family favourites.” (Neaverson; 1997:11-12) Emulating aspects of The French New Wave, this kitchen sink, mock-documentary film revolted against the classic dramatized jukebox film which previously standardized the British pop film. (Medhurst; 1995: 61) The two main factors in this film which helped reinvent the band’s image were Alun Owen’s script and Richard Lester’s control over the bands reflective working-class provincial image. (Neaverson; 1997: 21-22) The script, which was infused with colloquialisms and Liverpool slang, not only rejected the overly paternalistic moral code evident in previous pop culture films, but also helped develop the individual personalitie... ... middle of paper ... ...ure, pp. 94-105 Medhurst, A. 1995, “It Sort of Happened Here: The Strange Brief Life of the British Pop Film,” Celluloid jukebox: popular music and the movies since the 50s, pp. 60-71 Neaverson, B. 1997, “You Can Do That! A Hard Day’s Night,” The Beatles Movies, pp. 15-30 Schowalter, D. 2000, “Remembering the Dangers of Rock and Roll: Towards a Historical Narrative of the Rock Festival,” Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 86-101 Sinyard, N. 1985, “2. Swingin’ Sixties.” The Films of Richard Lester, pp 19-38 Films: A Hard Day's Night. 1964. [film] England: Lester, R.; United Artist. Cocksucker Blues. n.p. [film] England: Frank, R. Gimme Shelter. 1970. [film] England: Maysles A. & D. & Zwerin, C.; Maysles Films. Help!. 1965. [film] England: Lester, R.; United Artist. Yellow Submarine. 1968. [film] England: Dunning, D.; United Artist.
The Beatles were arguably one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed phenomena in popular music history. According to the former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield, “In the form of popular music, no one will be more revolutionary, more creative, and more distinctive than the Beatles were” (Whitehead). It is evident that The Beatles have impacted—and continue to impact—society and politics all over the world, especially in the United States during the 1960s. In late 1962, they quickly gained popularity after releasing their first hit, “Love Me Do”, which enkindled the ‘Beatlemania’ frenzy (Charness). Their newfound acclaim allowed them to completely revolutionize the music industry, and with their portraits and album covers appearing everywhere, it wasn’t long before The Beatles revolutionized the fashion industry as well. By the late 1960s, the band had become so world-renowned that they were able to take their influential potential to a new level by inciting movements against societies’ leading issues and promoting recreational drug use and spiritualism.
Rock n’ roll gave people the voice they did not have in the early years. As the genre of music became more wide spread, people actually began to speak out. Altschuler touches on the exploration of how the rock n' roll culture roughly integrated with replaced and conflicted with preceding cultural values. Many of these values were very touch topics. Besides black civil rights, sexuality were one of the most sensitive t...
The Beatles are an iconic English rock band and are widely regarded as the “foremost and most influential act of the rock era” (Unterberg). Formed in Liverpool in 1960, the Beatles were comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass guitar in January and Pete
Since that mesmerizing time during the August of 1969, numerous books have been written about the Woodstock Musical Festival. The books allow people to dig deeper and go behind the scenes to find out what made Woodstock such a success. On the other hand, one can always search the newspaper archives and retrieve an account of Woodstock from a reporter’s view at the same time the festival occurred. The only difference between a book written at a later date and a newspaper article written during the summer of 1969 is the formality. ...
Mark S. Spicer, "A Review of Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the counterculture, by Edward Macan," review of Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the counterculture, by Edward Macan, Contemporary Music Review, Vol. 18 part 4 (2000), pp. 151
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.
...rickson, Steve. "No Ordinary Fad: Making Sense of the Beatles, Whose Music Has Been Digitally Remastered and Featured in a New Video Game." Los Angeles Magazine 1 Sept. 2009: n. pag. Print.
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
Without the Beatles, paving the way, leaving such a big impression on Americans, and fueling the fascination for British culture, perhaps it would have been harder for the British invasion to even occur. Beatlemania caused things related to British culture to be a trend, without that important element, there would not really have been such a place for the British invasion. The author talks about how the Beatles were different because up until the end they evolved in new directions, expanding their audience. They were different because they were authentic British musicians, and some of the musicians from the British invasion were American groups that attempted to mimic distinctive aspects of “British style”, whether it be by their outfits, hairstyles, or even a pseudo-English accents. In addition, the Beatles did not stick as close to their roots as other groups did during the British invasion. They experimented so much that at one point their music was essentially
While there have been many successful musicians throughout the twentieth century, none have come to define the era in equal measure to the four men from Liverpool who called themselves The Beatles. Widely considered the most influential band in Rock and Roll’s history, The Beatles have made a lasting impression on the industry and the world at large. In order to better understand the immense impact The Beatles had upon popular culture, I will discuss the bands history within the music industry, the personal connection I share with the band and the societal changes their music inspired. By understanding these aspects of the band’s music, their legacy as the forefathers of popular music becomes ever more evident.
In order to explore this idea in relation to visual arts, one must narrow the genre down to a specific art form. This paper will address whether or not music videos released by grunge artists in the 90s fueled their counterculture movement or if they ultimately perpetuated the very ideals they were fighting against. Simply put; did these music videos fight the man or did they feed the man? Specifically, three music videos will be dissected in order to formulate an answer to this counterculture debate. First, arguably the music video that mainstreamed the ideals of grunge, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Secondly, Pearl Jam’s chart-topping song “Jeremy” from their album Ten. Lastly, “Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog whose front man Chris Cornell formed multiple grunge bands. By exploring the book The Rebel Sell: Why culture can’t be jammed by philosopher Joseph Heath and researcher Andrew Potter, one can decide whether or not these music videos successfully aided the grunge
"All Nature is but Art: Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Vogue. December 1969:194-201. "Big Woodstock Rock Trip." Time. August 1969:14b-22. Ewen, David. All the Years of Popular Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.,1977. Fass, Don. "The Sixties." http://www.sixties.net (19 March 1999). Frike, David. "Minor Epiphanies and Momentary Bummers." Rolling Stone. August 1989:62-91. Grunwald, Henry. "Youth Trip." This Fabulous Century: 1960-1970. 1986 ed. Hertsgard, Mark. A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. New York: Dell Publishing Groups Inc.,1995. Huges, Rupert. Music Lover’s Encyclopedia. New York: Doubleday Inc.,1984. "Rock Audience Moves to Dusk-to-Dawn Rhythms." New York Times. 18 August 1969:25. "Tired Rock Fans Begin Exodus From Music Fair." New York Times. 20 August 1969:1-3. "What Happened in the Sixties?." http://www.bbhq.com/sixties2.htm (19 March 1999). "Woodstock: Dawn of the Bigtime." Economist. August 1989:75. "Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Newsweek. August 1969:88. "Woodstock: Peace Mecca." Billboard. August 1969:1,10.
On May 14th, 1970, Rolling Stone printed an article called, “One Guy Standing There, Shouting ‘I’m Leaving.’” The Beatles had split up. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr had broken up one of the world’s most popular and loved bands. It had been a hard and fast decade for the British Fab Four and only six years of real time and direct influence on the tumultuous counterculture movement in The United States. Like The Beatles, America started the ‘60s off clean cut but ended the decade entirely different; transformed. The Beatles evolved with and within the 1960s and reflect a time of great social change, and their psychedelic phase coincided with the hearty years of the counterculture movement, forever placing them in the discourse of that era.
This essay will look at how Pink Floyd The Wall can be perceived as a postmodern film and will attempt to further analyze certain characteristics and influences of a postmodern culture through illustrated examples within the film. By considering the significance of postmodernism within the television industry, music and arts, Pink Floyd The Wall will be effectively deconstructed to exemplify what a postmodern film consists of. Furthermore, the theory of celebrity culture and its noticeable elements in Pink Floyd The Wall, will be knowingly applied an briefly discussed to reveal an intriguing yet indispensable relationship between Pink, the main character, and its faithful audience.
RELIABILITY: The article incorporates statics and a recount of the career of the Beatles. The reciting of quotes from members make the source more reliable because it is directly spoken by the members so is a primary source. The Rolling Stones magazine is a reliable source as they are a trustworthy music source and the Beatles throughout their career