Preview

American and British influence on the Australian Pop culture in 1950s

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
615 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American and British influence on the Australian Pop culture in 1950s
Both the American and the British has influenced Australia a lot during the 1950s. America, however, influenced them in more ways than the British. After the WWII, Australia was more dependent on the United States than Britain, therefore, their attachment grew stronger. America became Australia's largest trading partner and was dominated by American music, dance, movies, tv programs and foods. Australia was so influenced by the American culture, that it is said that none of our culture belong to us and instead a reflection of the American lifestyle.

Due to the technological advances, transmission of American products and ideas into Australian Society became less complicated. Therefore, it was easier for the American to have a cultural influences on Australia.

During the 1950s, both British and Australia fell under the influence of American rock n roll music. People such as Bill Haley and Elvis Presley became extremely popular. This was the generation of the teenagers and teenage rebellion. An Australian performer, Johnny O'keefe became Australia's "Elvis". American culture was helped by the development of radio, that enable them to influence foreign culture in more ways. This technological development opened a gate like a one way communication where popular culture from other country can travel worldwide.

The newly formed "teenagers" followed the american teenage way of life. Teens starts to get jobs to earn some cash to spend on fashion, movies, music and other form of American entertainment. Movies based on teenage rebellion such as the wild one and rebel without a cause was very popular. On the other hand, parents thought that this was an unacceptable behaviour. Teenagers, who were non existent in previous years was known as a specific group with a specific appearance.

In 1956, television was invented and radio stations relied on the teenage american music for their popularity. Playlists were dominated by a lot of American and British music. Furthermore,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    World War 2 made a significant impact on Australia and its people. It opened the eyes of society and made Australian people realise where they fit into the global view of the world. Although much of the history of WW2 revolved around politics, diplomats, military and naval battles, it touched all Australian lives. Some of the important issues in World war Two were the woman 's contribution in the war, government changes to the economy and the foreign policy in the war. These are the topics this essay will be discussing.…

    • 833 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If it wasn’t for the slave trade, President Obama wouldn’t exist and without expansion, Hawaii wouldn’t be a state, so Obama couldn’t be President.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apush Chapter 33

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The invention of the phonograph was the key that opened popular culture to global audiences. Phonographs spread American popular music—jazz, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll–around the world.…

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Modern Australian culture has been influenced by many different countries. Many of the people who have come to Australia since 1945 were motivated by a commitment to family, or a desire to escape poverty, war or persecution. Great Britain colonized Australia with the purpose to explore new lands and alleviate the burden of over crowded prisons in Great Britain. People of the Asia Pacific Region immigrated to Australia because they were geographically close and it was largely due to the Gold Rush. During World War 2, many US Soldiers were stationed in Australia mainly for training and some for rest and recreation. Apart from their accents, the visiting soldiers brought lots of money, goods, clothes and music that had never been seen or heard in Australia. As there were so many soldiers, they were abundantly supplied with their luxuries and comforts from their home country. All of a sudden, Australia was introduced to American culture. Since then, and prior to the new media era, Australia has also been exposed to many varied and different American television shows eg The Brady Bunch, Get Smart,…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before 1945, many people, including Australians themselves, considered Australia to be nothing more than a British colony whose national identity was virtually the same as the British. During this period of Australia's history, our modes of entertainment, food, fashion, sporting culture and our social values and attitudes were largely dictated by British culture.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our second step involved strengthening our ties with America. Even after the war, Americans continued their defence role in our regions through the ANZUS and SEATO pacts. We accepted American communication bases and satellite ground stations, and they became one of our major trading partners. American investors and companies (most importantly those in the media business) saw the business opportunities in Australia as radio and film became the most popular sources of entertainment for us due to falling prices (i.e. of the radio) and rising living standards (more spending money).…

    • 1107 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War II did indeed influence changes in the Australian home front; some long term and others short term. The evident threat of invasion by the Japanese forced the Australian government to turn to their American allies, forging new foreign policies and a sense of ‘Americanisation’ of Australian cultural. Minority groups including women and Indigenous Australians also experienced changes pushing for equality. Amidst the pinnacle of World War II, forsaken by her mother country, Australia felt vulnerable to the emerging threat of the Japanese in the Pacific; so in turn, then Australian Prime Minster John Curtin called upon the United States allies for support. This new allegiance came as a shock for many older Australian citizens who still…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If we look at the early history of Australian television, virtually all program material until 1963 was of foreign origin, of which eighty three percent was American and the rest British (Cited in an article by Cunningham Stuart ,"History, Contexts, Politics, Policy".) Philip Bell discusses in his article that even in the first two decades of television ‘American programs and formats dominated commercial channels' ( Cited in an article by Bell Phillip, ‘Television'). So Americanization of Australian television is not just a recent development. This problem has been there right from the beginning with American shows like Leave it to Beaver and I love Lucy dominating the TV screens of Australian households.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Popular culture has no fixed forms because pop culture is made up from many different types of cultures which is always changing.…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Teenage films are a type of film made to attract an adolescent audience. The main ways that film makers try to attract teens to a teenage film are to create an unreal adolescent world, to make the teenager the hero, the adults stupid and incompetent and to use stereotypes that teens can relate to. By doing all this they can manipulate the teen audience and suck them in to the film, making it an affective one.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lifestyle trends of Australia were also, to a great extent, impacted by the trends of America. During the 1950s the lifestyle of a typical American was very different to that of a person during the forties. The lifestyle was more laidback, mainly due to the end of the war; people believed that they were entering a new age, where anything was possible. Australia followed Americas lead, and many…

    • 1604 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Until the British invasion, the transatlantic trade in popular music flowed one-way. Much of American popular culture – including Rock ‘n’ Roll – transmitted by American troops during…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The social and political developments also play a role in the transformation of Australian music. I found it interesting how some artists and bands really brought attention globally to Australia and their unique style of music. The music of Australia and America is similar in the way that it sounds and the instruments that are used. All in all, Australia’s music plays an important role when it comes to understanding their culture.…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the British migrated to Australia they helped continue to keep the population of Australia mainly British.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australia Political Links

    • 873 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Australia in a Global context is not only considered as a country, but also as a continent and thus the important of Australia became significant to other countries and to Australia to build a relationship with other countries so it can express itself as a nation that seeks to provide various resources including natural resources, scientific knowledge and technology to other nations. Australia can benefit from political links with its allies and good friends in different forms such as economic exchanges, military support, logistic support, experiences and many other things.…

    • 873 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays