Sources C and B show fans could be crazy. Source B describes the “terrified faces” of the Rolling Stones when they tried to get away from “the heaving, maniacal, screaming mob” after a concert in 1964. Source C states that fans could be rude if the Beatles ran away from them.
Sources A and B were written in the 1990s while Source C was told in 1984, the details may not be reliable. Sources A and B were written by a fan and about concert while Source C was told by a singer and about fans behaviour. McCartney is very kind by saying kind words for his fans. Sources A and C are about the Beatles while Source B is about Rolling Stones. As Source A emphasizes on the reaction of people towards the Beatles performance while Sources B and C tell the behaviour of people towards pop singers, I think Source C supports Source B the most.
3) Study Sources D and E
How useful are Sources D and E in helping you to understand why many young people believed that the 1960’s gave them opportunities that they had never had before?
There were new opportunities for young people to listen to pop music.
Source E shows that at first young people were “stuck” with their parents for the BBC programmes. Then the BBC changed to play more pop music to meet their needs as they were “the way of the future”. The source is a description of radio in the 1960s. It does not tell about the writer of the source. However, I believe the writer is a young person because “there was very little for us to listen to”. The source shows the determination and excitement of young people listening to pop music. They tuned to Radio Luxembourg even though the “reception was lousy”, “the songs were faded out” frequently and “there’d be an end” in a short interval in order to hear their favourite records. Although the source is written in the 1990s it is reliable to represent programmes being provided to meet young people’s need.
Source D shows the importance of young people as a TV programme was mainly targeted at them. The Source is an entry in the TV times in 1965. Although the writer of the source is ambiguous, I believe that he/she is a staff of the TV company. It is a special advertisement trying to attract young viewers by inviting them to meet “a galaxy of stars”. However, the source does not tell whether it is a series programme, it just says ‘the weekend’. Therefore, it is not reliable to represent programmes being provided for young people.
Both sources show that new opportunities were available to meet young people’s need of listening to pop music. They are useful in understanding why many young people believed that the 1960s gave them opportunities that they had never had before.
4) Study Sources F and G
Use Sources F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why some people came to see the 1960s as a period of bad influences on British society.
Source F is about Mrs. Mary Whitehouse’s comment that the BBC has “built-in censorship” against traditional ideas of “established Christian faith” and “national culture” which “inspire a sense of purpose and hope”. Therefore, she set up “the Women of Britain Clean Up TV Campaign” as bad programmes gave a very bad influence to the British society in the 1960s. The source is part of an article in the Daily Mail on 25 May 1964. Although the writer of the source is ambiguous, I believe the writer is a `journalist from the Daily Mail who may be a rival of the BBC. Therefore, the Daily Mail tries to use the article to attack the BBC in the hope to lose BBC’s popularity to stop its censorship. The source is not reliable to represent bad influences on British society. As “a school teacher”, Mrs. Whitehouse may over react to TV programmes she believes being deviated from traditional norm. Moreover, she cannot stand for all the viewers at that time.
Source G is about the bad behaviour of a popular singer Janis Joplin who was “a rebellious teenager”. She also took drug and “always given to excess” leading to her death of a “drug overdose” in 1970. As a “national star after a sensational performance”, some people think she set a very bad example to other teenagers. The source is part of her biography entry that was published in the 1990s. Although the writer and the written date of the source are unclear, the biography was written for people’s remembrance of Janis. The source is not reliable as it may understate the bad things of Janis’s life. The source cannot represent the bad influence of singers on British society as Janice cannot symbolize the behaviour of other singers of that period.
Sources F and G both show that there is bad influence on British society in the 1960s. Nevertheless, the 1960s cannot be described as a period of bad influences on British society as the information in the sources cannot represent the views of all viewers and the behaviour of all the singers.
5. Study all of the sources
‘Popular culture in the 1960s did more harm than good.’
Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this view.
The 1960s was a time of teenage expansion. They could find jobs more easily, had more “spending money” and leisure time to explore different ways of life. The effect of popular culture in the 1960s would be explored through the study of young people behaviour, the influence of pop music and media.
In the 1960s the emergency of pop bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the behaviour of singers like Janis Joplin who “died of a drugs overdose in 1970” as revealed by Source G affected young people’s attitude and lifestyles greatly. Pop singers were portrayed as leaders of the younger generation and were imitated by them. The writer of Source A found “it was very heaven to be alive” for the Beatles performance. Although McCartney in Source C stated that fans were not “as crazy as” some people said, Source B describes some fans as a “heaving, maniacal, screaming mob” towards the Rolling Stones. Some young men had their hair styles like the Beatles. ‘Dutch boy’ caps were made popular by Bob Dylan and Donovan. Fashion like jeans, miniskirt, dandyish clothes and dance like twist by Chubby Checker were also very popular. There was hippy movement to protest against the Vietnam War. Hippies seemed to abandon responsibility, emphasise on sex, peace and drug taking.
Source H describes “teenagers have become a power” in an adult world but “crushed by adult obligations”. Their “tastes are studied with respect - particularly by the entertainment industry”. This is supported by Sources D and E. Source D is a special advert of a TV programme in 1965 aimed at attracting young viewers. Source E shows that at first young people were “stuck” with their parents for the BBC programmes. Then the BBC changed to meet their needs as they were “the way of the future”. Moreover Source F shows the accusation of the BBC’s “built-in censorship” against the national culture. These show television and radio play a special part in spreading teenage culture.
By the end of 1960s, family was no longer mattered the most in society, but individual. Young people emphasized on freedom and self-expression more than responsibility and obligation. However, most of them still respected their parents, went to school and hoped to find a good job after school. This can be supported by Source I which shows the number of full time students in Britain, from “200,000 in 1961” to “390,000 in 1969”. Therefore I disagree with the view “popular culture in the 1960s did more harm than good”.
