Exploring the Sixties

Exploring the Sixties

We often hear the sixties referred to as the ‘swinging’ decade bye

people who were around at the time, but really how true is this

statement. Were the sixties really swinging or is that just the way

people want to remember them. Could the term ‘the swinging sixties’

really have been created to mask the tragedy and suffering of many

during that decade?

The sixties was, undoubtedly one of the most internationally hostile

decades of the century. Through many separate events there was a

breakdown in international trust. I will go into these later. No one

can deny however that the sixties were swinging, at least in the world

of fashion. Music too was a big influence on the cultures that came

into being during the decade. The sixties were the first times that

things were directed at the young and youth culture throughout the

period became more and more socially acceptable.

For this piece of coursework I have interviewed three people alive

during the sixties and also people of my own age who weren’t. I will

then compare these perceptions with the reality.

Firstly we will look at my primary sources who were around during the

period. The first person is my grandmother Mary Gammage; she was aged

30 at the start of the sixties. She lived in England throughout the

decade.

Her husband (my grandfather) was also 30 at the start of the sixties

and lived in England. He shared her views on most things he too

thought that there were mixed feelings about Vietnam. He too is an

admirer of Martin Luther King and the work he did for black

liberation. He said music in the sixties wasn’t really a big deal

altho...

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...ident Kennedy and the persecution of black Americans. But

also times of joy like when England won the world cup.

No one can deny that the 1960’s were definitely a time of change. A

change in the fashion world, the musical world. The sixties produced

some of the best musicians ever to be seen, such as Jimi Hendrix and

Eric Clapton. A change in the way black people were treated in

America and a change in attitude towards young people all over the

world. In these respects it could be called ‘the swinging sixties’ but

in others maybe not. Things such as Vietnam I don’t think could be

considered ‘swinging’.

So in conclusion I would say that the sixties was a mixed decade with

its ups and down but from what I have read and seen I wouldn’t say

that everything about it was as swinging as some people make it out to

be.