Embedded Files
Film: Eva Antoine
In the 1960’s, film was reflected on social changes and cultural values/events like equality and racism. To Kill a Mockingbird is one movie that had to do with the theme of equality. The famous book, now turned into a movie is about a black man who was wrongly accused of a crime of a caucasian woman in Alabama. One example of equality in this well known film is when Atticus, a white father, refused to lay off Calpurnia, the family’s African American cook, just because Alexandria wanted her gone. He did this because he cared a lot about Calpurnia and I think that's very kind of him. A popular movie and an Oscar winner of it’s year that was very similar to, To Kill a Mockingbird, is called, In the Heat of the Night. This film is about a Black Detective who was framed and arrested for the murder of a local sheriff. This murder mystery may be a great movie, but it was still incredibly racist. One racist slur that was said in the movie was, “All right black boy…. You want to be a policeman, in my opinion you should quit now and get a typical occupation for someone of your race, like a farm boy, or a mechanic. Something like that.” Honestly, this one sentence is truly disgusting. the fact that someone can judge another because of their skin color, and tell them that they can't do something, is really wrong. Fortunately, America has changed a lot over the years, and these types of films aren't really there anymore.
Another movie that was based on equality is called, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. It’s about the hardships of an interracial marriage and racism between the characters. Other movies like this such as, A Patch of Blue, and, Flame in the Streets, also deal with issues of an interracial marriage and relationships and people judging them for this reason because of their different skin colors. I think this is wrong because people should be able to be with who they want as long as they love them.
I think that overtime, films became more diverse and more races are being shown and appreciated in movies. And although we may not all be equal, America did change a lot about how they do films overtime.
Music: Jackson Bowen
Many people think of music as a source of entertainment and entertainment only. However, from the 1960’s onward music has also been used to affect the world around it by reflecting attitudes of society, or even taking a stand on public issues. The 60’s was a decade of many important movements including civil rights, women's liberation, and the anti-war movement were deeply under way.
Stylistically, in the 60’s many of the top songs were very upbeat, with light, fast drums, high-pitched background guitar, but mainly with melodic young voices, with lyrics often centered having a good time and looking forward to a better future.
The Beatles were the most influential band of that time (and still are today). They inspired hundreds of bands with their upbeat and intelligent music. Some of their most famous songs, like the All You Need is Love and Come Together is clearly about equality and togetherness. With lyrics like “Give peace a chance” and “Come together, right now, over me” clearly promote pacifism, tolerance and equality.
The Beach Boys were seen as points of their career as the American rival to the Beatles. However, many of their songs, especially, early ones were undeniably sexist. Songs like Barbara Ann had lyrics like “Tried Peggy Sue, tried Betty Lou, tried Mary Lou, but I knew she wouldn't do, Barbara Ann, Barbara Ann, take my hand.” Which made it seem like women were just things one could cast aside and should be told what to do.
The Rolling Stones were a rock band often compared with the Beatles as well, however they were much more like modern hard rock with a blues influences and a much more prominent drum and bass, but still had some light percussion, like the tambourine in Satisfaction. Their songs did not have much of a theme, however, they've had a couple very sexist songs, including the sinister Under My Thumb, sums up to say it’s down to the singer what this girl does, that he has full control over her.
We Shall Overcome, which was written by the folk singer Pete Seeger and recorded by the folk singer Joan Baez in 1962 was one of the most important songs of that generation because of its use as a protest song for civil rights. While it was first a gospel song, it was later sung by many prominent singers at protests, and it was referenced by Martin Luther King Jr in his final sermon before his assassination. At his funeral a half a million people sang We Shall Overcome, and it has been used at thousands of protests worldwide ever since.
The Time Are A-Changin’ is a song by Bob Dylan, one of one of the most notable protest artists and folk singers. He decided that he would use 20’s grade recording technology, to show that the quality of a song did not matter, only the message. This song was a call to action, first beckoning to people to look around at what’s happening in the world and then telling the senators and congressmen to get out of the way of change that needed to happen. This is an important message reminding people of power that america is a democracy, not a monarchy.
Advertising: Emma Celentano
1960’s advertising really shows how people were portrayed. For instance some of them are stereotypical, and show what everybody thought that person should be like. An example is that most of the ads for cleaning show a women cleaning, but rarely a man. These ads were also racist. There are almost no ads with black people. All the ads either portray a white woman or man. This proves clearly that the American Value System for Ethical Equality was very messed up back then. Their was basically no equality, and people grew up thinking they had to do a certain thing, and be a certain person.
I feel like in the 1950’s it wasn’t as “enforced” that people had to do things. I think this because in an episode of I Love Lucy, Lucy and her husband switch jobs to try and prove that Lucy can get a job, and her husband can do the housework. They both fail in the end, which is stereotypical, but they at least got to switch responsibilities. In the 1960’s, you get more of a vibe that people would never try to switch jobs like that. Of course over time lots of things have changed. There aren't as many ads like that now and men and women work. Either can do the housework, cook, clean, vote, and much more. Yet their are still ads that are stereotypical and racist today, so the 1960’s is still “seen” in many places today.
Another very popular advertisement where about cars. You could find any type of car, but only if they’re American. American cars were very popular back in the 60’s. So since they were being advertised so much, American cars started to be bought so much. That meant a lot more money for America. More money meant more jobs, and more jobs meant more equality. It opened up spaces for people who didn’t work, and gave people a chance to make more money. So naturally more people working meant less of the poor and needy.
T.V: Shawn Robinson
An example of a racist T.V show in the 60s was the Looney Toons show. The Looney Toons is a cartoon made for comedy and entertainment. Back in the 60s all the episodes from the show were banned for all of their racist and sexist remarks until about ten years ago. The episode Jungle Jitters shows how Indians/Native Americans are portrayed as dirty savages. In this video it shows monkeys that are dressed up as indians while screaming and dancing like wild. It shows the monkeys being savages and trying to eat the man.
Another example of a racist show is the Jetsons. The Jetsons was a show in the 60s that was about the future of technology. This show was known for excluding any other race but white people on the show. In all of the seasons that the Jetsons had made there was never a African American, Native American, or Hispanic person on the show. According to the website Global Grind, it states that the show was meant for only white people to sore in the clouds and the other races were to stay below!
The sitcom The Little Rascals had many racist remarks just like in the other shows. For example, during one of the episodes, one of the characters in the show shouted out “Hey Buckwheat!” to one of the black characters! The term “buckwheat” is a term that is used to make fun of African American’s hair. The term buckwheat was a very inappropriate term to say in a kids show and to top it off, it was said to an African American.
The Modsquad; one of the first T.V shows to air in the 60s that featured a black person as one of the main characters. The Mod Squad is an American crime drama series that ran on ABC from 1968 to 1973. This T.V show was a show that showed people that Black people are equal to everyone else. It shows that Black people can actually be amazing and can be as superb as everyone else.
Lastly, All in the Family was a very racist show. Most of the racist jokes and comment on the show weren’t easily recognized. It made jokes about Homosexuals, ethnic minorities, and women were unnecessary and very inappropriate. The fact that until now, people did not realize that all of these shows are racist is somewhat sad. It’s sad to say that these jokes and comments are still around. This shows how no one cares and will do nothing to stop this.
News and Politics:
Emma: In the 1960’s there was a big conflict about the Vietnam war. When Kennedy died, and LBJ and and Nixon took office, the war turned into a mess. As a result there were protests about whether we should even be in Vietnam and many more issues. The only problem was a lot of the people protesting were “hippies.” So when they went out to protest about how we should take out troops out, most people didn’t take them that seriously. That was the case until a very famous and respected news anchor named Cronkite came out and talked about the Vietnam war. He talked about how we’re not close to winning, and how this battle will “end in a stalemate.” Once the President lost Cronkite’s support, he really had no choice but to end America’s presence in the Vietnam war.
Eva Antoine: In 1968 on Christmas eve, the Apollo 8 became the first manned aircraft to orbit the moon. While being launched on December 21st and landing on the 27th, Astronauts Jill Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman orbited around the moon 10 times, and became the first humans to ever travel to the moon. The mission lasted for about a week and they were able to take photos of the moon and broadcast the exciting event on live television. This mission was inspired by former president John F. Kennedy from his wishes of reaching and landing on the moon by the end of the decade. Although Apollo 8 didn’t land on the moon, Kennedy's wish came true when Apollo 11 landed 7 months later. The mission was also fueled by their competition with the Soviet union.
Jackson: It was just after noon on November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy was driving in a motorcade, which is a barricade of cars around the president's car. People suddenly heard gunfire in the area. A sniper named Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F. Kennedy in the neck and head and shot the governor of Texas in the chest. Both were rushed to the hospital. It was 1 pm when John F. Kennedy was announced dead.The governor survived. While Lee Harvey Oswald was being transferred to the county jail, a man ran up and shot Oswald with a pistol, ending his life.
Shawn Robinson: On the date of April 4, 1968, was the day that the most inspirational man, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the civil rights movement through the 1950s up until his assassination. He was a non- conformist who stood up for racism and segregation. The that assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. was James Earl Ray. He assassinated a man for standing up to racism, segregation, and equality.
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