Preview

Describe Popular Culture in Britain at the Beginning of the 1960's Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
556 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Describe Popular Culture in Britain at the Beginning of the 1960's Essay Example
Question 1
‘Describe popular culture in Britain at the beginning of the 1960s’

Popular culture describes how many people appreciate styles and interests of that current day. Features such as music, colours and entertainment are commonly liked by ordinary people. Britain in the 1950’s was still gloomy; people were still getting over the devastation of World War Two as they had lost their loved ones. Rationing had ended in 1954-1955 and they were still recovering from the economic hardship. But as the result of couples putting off children until after the war, there was a baby boom in 1945 - 1947. In the time of the 1960’s, consequently there were many teenagers. They came into their own and energised popular culture.

People finally had money to spend, especially the teenagers (£8.00 a week). This was the result of increasing employment and income tax decreasing from 47p in 1950 to 38p in 1959. This change let sales increase and advertising took off. Teenagers spent their money on new fashions, different to their parents. Magazines they bought encouraged these fashions and television enabled them to follow the style.

In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, teenagers would follow their parent’s styles. Girls wore full calf-length skirts with petticoats (swing skirts), hairstyles were tidy and well-groomed. They often wore corsets or girdles perfect their figures. Boys wore suits, scraped back hair and suede shoes, overall fashion was rigid. At the beginning of the sixties, fashion designer Mary Quant changed this as she made clothes which allowed women to be free and have fun. However, Chelsea dominated these changing styles and also popular culture.

Regional accents were unheard of before the sixties, the radio and the television had the voice of an educated, wealthy individual. TV was educational, cooking, gardening and toddlers bedtime hour was more or less what was on. A few programmes such as ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘Wagon Train’ were occasional. American

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    U.S. Cultural Trends (50’s/60’s): Conformity was common -rebellion within literature and art *Jackson Pollock (artist) *Beat generation (Gregory Corso, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg) *James Dean and Marilyn Monroe Traditional gender roles Boom period -economy *construction *increase in military spending *low unemployment rates and inflation -suburbs *G.I. Bill (lower cost for returning soldiers) *women were expected to stay in the home -baby boom (~77 million) The Civil Rights Movement -Brown v. Board of Education -Rosa Parks (1955) and bus boycott -Martin Luther King Jr.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Teddy Boy Research Paper

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The consumer boom of the 1950s America did not reach Britain until the 1960s but nevertheless working class teenagers could for the first time afford good clothes, a bicycle or motorcycle and entertainment.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The intent of this essay is to explore the research question “How did cultural events from 1914-1945 affect women’s fashion and their means of self-expression?” Within this essay, various cultural events were investigated such as World War I, Women’s Rights Movements, The Jazz Age, The Great Depression, and World War II. Each of these events is explored in order to obtain knowledge of how they affected and shaped women’s fashion. Women were introduced into the workforce during both World Wars which influenced women in a way that made them desire more rights and privileges. Women’s fashion underwent various reforms as women began to gain more freedoms. With the birth of the Jazz era, fashion took a turn. Flapper dresses were produced and took…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the 1950s teens became the dominant consumer in pop culture. They brought about the want and interests fashion and music McDonald’s was built and became one in pop culture in the 1950s as well as other fast food restaurant chains.…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Teenagers were the driving force of fashion in the 1950s. Until the time, clothing trends had been set by the adult market and the way young people dressed was simply set on what the adults wore. As cinema, television and rock ‘n’ roll came into the world, the youth market began to copy the style of stars. The 1950s fashion changed from the restraint conservative dress code to a freer, looser and informal style and therefore having a great impact on Australian culture and what we wear today.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1950s and 1960s were times of unprecedented change, and Australian society was influenced greatly by American popular culture, through various mediums, such as: music, film, television and fashion. This especially affected teenagers. It will be explained how Australian society was impacted by American popular culture, and also why American popular culture had such an affect. Australian developed its own responses to these influences, and the extent of this will also be explored.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    70s Recession Essay

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the 1970’s, clothing designers, manufacturers and retailers were quick to exploit the lucrative teenage market, by 1967 50% of womens clothes…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Flappers In The 1920's

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Talking media and the Model-T were also invented. But for many, the first thing that comes to mind is the swinging jazz music and the risqué women known as flappers. These flappers challenged the traditional roles of women in society and personal liberty, along with freedom, were important elements of flapper thought. They were young rebellious women who shifted from the traditional outlook amongst their gender and decided to revolt, causing them to cut their hair, wear revealing clothing, smoke cigarettes and take part in sports. All of these new ideas and such tested the boundaries with these kids’ parents. The jazz age transformed the modern women in many ways that can either be looked at in a positive light, or a negative light. Overall, the twenties revolutionized young women for the most part, fashion sense and…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1865 To 1900 Analysis

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Popular culture is defined as the ideas, interests, attitudes, etc. that are prominent among the majority of people, not just a specific group. With new developments in media and communications, such as the telephone and mass media, it was much easier for people to spread ideas across larger areas. As more people in an area began to have access to the same ideas, a popular culture began to emerge. Modernization, which was especially prominent in cities, also contributed to popular culture by allowing for the mass production of and wide-spread access to the same forms of products and entertainment.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1900s Beauty Standards

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Makeup in the 1960s consisted of bright eyeshadows like blue and white with heavy, black eyeliner, and big, bold eyelashes. The hair style for the 60s was long, loose curls with high volumized hair. The fashion style was the “hippy” style. High waisted, knee length, and tight skirts with matching jackets. Towards the end of the 60, the hourglass body figure came back, but it didn’t last long.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, fashion was also a big topic in the sixties, and it still is. In The Watsons Go to Birmingham it describes how Joetta dressed; “ She had on a fluffy white skirt, a regular blouse and little white gloves…” Not many people dress like that today. Today, most people wear shorts, fitted clothing, and different types of clothing that would not be accepted in the 60s. Not only…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fifties Essay

    • 256 Words
    • 1 Page

    As we all know, television from the fifties to television in the present has undergone major changes. Of course quality has improved as technology has but not only that, the themes of TV have changed. Television in the fifties portrayed the ideal family. The ideal family was that the wife stays at home doing housework and taking care of the children while the husband is at work. She then greets her husband at the door when he comes home and has supper ready. This scenery is presented in “Leave It to Beaver”. In the fifties, there weren’t any computers or cell phones so the children played outside. This is not the same today. Today, most mothers/wives work, there is divorce, there are interracial families, and children sit inside watching TV and playing video games. As we all know this idea of an Ideal Family has changed just because our way of living has changed.…

    • 256 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women’s dresses were usually heavier and quiet. This involved women covering most of their body except their face. This was also called vintage dressing. As time went on clothes became lighter and lighter. By the early 1960s miniskirts were pretty common and vintage dressing was seen as sign of women’s freedom’s restriction in the face of a male dominated society. Women’s fashion changed with women’s role in society. They began to wear skirts with slits, shorter and tighter dresses. They also began to cut their hair shorter into bobs, bold and vibrant make up. However as time has moved on many things have changed for women’s fashion. Instead of most women being completely covered and conservative they are nude photos on the cover and inside of many magazines. Many women today were more jeans, slacks, even blazers, clothing that men are supposed to…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Consumerism In The 1950's

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 1950s was an exciting time for many, the war was over and the economy began to flourish once more. Men were back home and ready to work and women were back to doing their womanly duties again (cooking and cleaning) this reflected the social position of the women following the war. The 1950s was all about family and being home and the clothing changed because of it. Women were back at home no longer needing to work and wearing clothing that would prevent them from doing anything but womanly tasks. Society was putting women back “were they belonged,” with the males back in town and working. Also the distinction of clothing and class was being brought back to the table after being forgotten for the wartime periods. Women were excited about…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the late 1950s in Post-War Britain, life for the average teenager was somewhat bleak. The rationed mind-set of the WWII generation was still a part of the social consciousness by the mid 50s, and the economy was slow to bounce back from the ravages of the war. Unlike America at the time, few people in Britain had the freedom for social pursuits or the lifestyle of leisure,(a phenomenon enjoyed mainly in the United States), and, especially if you were "working-class", your choices were much narrower.…

    • 5695 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Better Essays