In source B, it describes the screaming, crazy fans that were young and rich which meant they could afford to go to the concerts of their idol(s), “ heaving, maniacal, screaming mob.”
Source C doesn’t support source B in a way mostly because the two sources hold a different account in the reaction of the idols. Source B claims that the idols were terrified and tried to run away. Source C says that the fans were very reasonable and that if you could communicate with them, they were very courteous, “ and you could chat.” Also, source C doesn’t mention the financial situation of the teenage fans that has proved to be at a wealthy level in source B since they were able to afford the concert ticket.
As a conclusion, source C supports source A because they both prove the loyalty of the fans to their idols. Source C doesn’t support source B because although both were an account of the popularity of their idols, the fans in source C still seem more reserved than the ones in source B that produces a big difference.
- Source D is an advert of a TV programme and its origin is a brochure that lists out the programmes on TV. From source D, we can see the major role the TV played in promoting the idols. It was an easily accessible yet cheap (all you need is a TV) way of seeing your idol(s). The constant contact with idols such as The Beatles encouraged the teenagers to imitate them since the idols were packaged in a trendy and tempting way. However, we must consider the weaknesses. Firstly, it is only one advert of one programme that is not sufficient enough to give us the full picture. In other words, we cannot use one advert in a TV brochure to describe the opportunities given in the 1960’s. Therefore, it is not a useful source because TV programme cannot represent the opportunities given in a decade.
Source E is an account given in the 1990’s, talking about the radio programmes in the 60’s. Source E clearly describes how the Broadcast industry first considered the teenagers’ tastes and changed their programmes to suit the teenagers. From that, we can see how important the teenagers were seen in the society in the 60’s and that it was a revolutionary change that had never occurred in the Broadcast industry. However, it is a memory that could have been exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is a useful source because it fully describes the major changes that took place on the radio which were tailored for the teenagers.
- The 60’s were seen to be a period of bad influences as well as opportunities. This is very normal since it will be difficult for the older generation to accept the new changes that suddenly took place. For example, in source F, a middle-aged woman is not satisfied about the absence of traditional TV programmes that demonstrate Christian beliefs and cultural works. She is then prepared to raise a campaign to support her ideas that proves that there were plenty of other people who shared her thoughts.
Source G is a description of a typical singer who didn’t have a good
background e.g. singing at a nightclub; die from a drug overdose. This will be seen as a bad influence since the celebrities before the 60’s were for more reserved. Personally, I feel that the lyrics in the 60’s were more violent and contained more about sex, love and hallucinations. They probably reflected real life though as the 60’s had a lot to do with free love and sex, drug experimentation and revolutionary ideas.
- “Popular culture in the 1960’s did more harm than good” This statement is very ambiguous as it has many sides to it, therefore we need to investigate it in depth.
First of all, we must understand that the popular culture came from curiosity and the hope of finding something new to experiment with. This was because it was after the war and the society had started to ‘heal up’ which provided a rush of wealth that for the first time in history, reached the teenage group.
The teenaged were energetic and were enthusiastic about experimentation in areas such as drugs, love & sex, politics, literature, education. For example, in source B, the speaker portrays the fans as crazy and uncontrollably violent about their idols. It wouldn’t have happened in the past because the people were much more reserved, just like the music. Source E describes the music styles broadcasted on BBC radio and compares the calm instrumental with the violent rock n’ roll.
Changes in the arts industry were also seen. For example, new laws were established to protect publications which were previously seen as ‘obscene’ e.g. Lady Chatterley’s lover. (D.H. Lawrence)
On the stage, laws were introduced to reduce the government interference e.g. the Theatres act in 1968 abolished government censorship in stage plays. This allowed new concepts to be present in public performances such as nudity, homosexuality etc.
Finally, there was one incredible change in 1960’s, which was the teenagers’ involvement on the world issues. This was because the number of people who went to universities in the 1960’s was a new high number in history. Therefore, they were very well educated and had a strong concern for the world and its future. They were mostly concerned about issues such as environmental damage and global health problems. These issues hadn’t been considered in the past because they only started to come into shape after the leading countries started to develop dangerous technology and warfare.
As a conclusion, I don’t agree with the statement, ‘Popular culture did more harm than good’. This is because one society can only progress if it finds new ideas to work on. These beliefs will not be approved by the previous generation but that is expected because a society can only improve if it makes changes which have never been seen before.
