Describe Popular Culture in Britain at the Beginning of the 1960’s

The 1950s were a conservative period. The country was recovering from the ravishes of war and umpteen sight wanted fiat to return to how it was in the 1930s. the States was leading the substance forwards how constantly a lot the erstwhile(a) genesis dis identicald it. sweet harmony was appearing much(prenominal) as Elvis Presley and dip Richard. much than(prenominal) than consumer goods could be afforded by the middle classes creating a better standard of living. Televisions began to be purchased widely as did refrigerators and washing machines. The standard of living of the average mortal living in Britain rose during the 1950s. The commonplace catchphrase used in the 1959 election by Harold Macmillan was youve never had it so good which in my view sums up the 1950s and by 1960 change was imminent. The culture of the 1960s reflects Britain at this clock.Attitudes of more heap in Britain were in time in truth conservative entering the 1960s. until now, things h ad begun to change for many groups in society. Women were dummy up second class citizens unaccompanied if a large coincidence of them had begun to work. They were paid less and did near of the manual jobs. Some male attitudes towards women lock up hadnt changed in truth much and many saw women still as baffle machines. It was generally unheard of in 1960 for women to wear trousers in public, let only when when to work. Many women began to demand equal rights, and by the mid to refreshed-made 60s much had changed for women.In the later years of the 50s Britain saw a large inflow of immigration from the Common wealthiness. in that location were jobs available in Britain and better living conditions. By the 1960s Britain had become a multi- heathen society. The large majority of immigrants arrived from the West Indies and India. They suffered from large amounts of racialism and were given the poorly paid jobs. Many did menial work and failed to debauch a house for many ye ars. It wasnt until the later 1960s that Britain became a more genial society.Crime was at a low in the late 1950s to 1960. fewer needed to turn to crime due to the increase in wealth by the large majority of tribe. Capital punishment was still organism used despite an increasingly large number of heap spell against it. Crime was in fact at a lower target than in todays society.Drugs were starting to be used by a trustworthy group of great deal. It was non until the later 1960s when drugs became more widely used. Times were ever-ever-changing but the society was still very conservative with few race using drugs.Attitudes towards informal behaviour had not yet begun to change by the early(a) 1960s. It was still a very conservative society although in the later 1960s it became more permissive. The contraceptive pill had been discovered but was not widely used. Many women still believed that sex before marriage was a sin although this did change.Britain was still very much a class society although times were changing. The middle classes were expanding and the velocity classes were starting to lose the control.Cars in the 1950s became more widely available. Ownership was rapidly increasing throughout the 50s due to the simplification in price. In 1960 the Mini was brought out alongside cars such as the bubble car made by a German company. They were announce on television and on the communicate as a demand possession and fun. In 1959 the scratch line motorway to be built in Britain the M1 was opened. Travelling long distances was becoming much easier and accessible for the general public. cosmos transferral began to suffer problems due to the great increase in cars. The move trains effectively died out being replaced by the cleaner and more economical electrical and diesel powered engines. Less people were using them as a method of transport and there were large cuts in the workforce.There was a new period beginning in the holiday pains. So me were still very traditional comparable yetlins, bed and breakfasts and other holiday camps. However with people owning cars they experienced a new show freedom. Places such as the Costa del Sol became popular with British holiday makers. Package holidays grew in popularity as did camping and caravanning holidays. The new found freedoms experience with the new transport was shown in various ways throughout culture in the 1960s.As in any period of time the media always shows how the culture was changing. Until the early 1960s the British television was dominated by the upper classes. There were only two channels, BBC and ITV with BBC 2 starting in 1965. However the television industriousness underwent a period of change in the early 1960s Programmes began to get shown with people from middle and working classes on. Coronation Street was first broadcast in 1960 and others before long followed. The television started to reflect the society around it and soon became the most popu lar activity. Dramas began to be shown like Cathy Come Home which were watched throughout Britain and had great impacts on society. Campaigning programmes to a fault began to be broadcast for example Tonight and other news based programmes. There were more programmes for the teenage and child food markets. The 6 -5 Special was first followed by Ready Steady Go. These had major impacts on the youth culture of the 1960s.During the 1950s radio was the most accessible and widely listened to row of entertainment. There were such stations as Radio 2 and 4. These were listened to by adults and children alike. However by 1960 things were changing. The teenage market had certain and they were demanding their own radio station playing their music. Many pirate radio stations do up, such as Radio Caroline. These played popular music of the time and aimed themselves to the teenage market. In the late 1960s Radio 1 was created. This was aimed at the older teenage market. The 1960s were a peri od of change for the music industry.Newspapers were widely canvas although there were less tabloids than today. These were aimed towards the adult generation and left most teenagers and puppylike people to find out the news from the television. They were generally more proficient which reflects the culture of the early 1960s. Magazines were also much more serious. Women read Womens Own and slide fastener else was available. Young children had many different comic books at the time, Dandy, Bunty etc. It was not until the mid to late 60s that more revolutionary magazines like Cosmopolitan were created. There were very few music or hobby orientated magazines either.The traditional British film industry was in decline in the late 1950s. Typical romances were shown along with early action films. They all contained only upper class people. By 1960 new comedies were becoming popular. A change was underway with more people with working class accents getting into the film industry. Thes e were more popular with the general public who enjoyed being able to watch a film that they could relate to. The first person to enter the new film industry was Michael Cain, who soon became a teenage icon.The media of the early 1960s reflects the change that was occurring in British society and culture of the time.Around 1960 there were 5 million people who now classed themselves as teenagers. This had become a whole new market for companies and advertising in the late 1950s. More of these young people had more money than ever before and could afford many new products. passim the 1950s the influence of the Statesn culture had been great. British teenagers wanted to be like their American counterparts and have coffee bars and their own fashion and music tastes. The society was changing and the demands of the new market were met.New music in 1950 and started the revolution in youth culture. Elvis Presley was frowned upon by the older generation but the youths were fascinated by the new concept of Rock and Roll. Cliff Richard became the British teen symbol and began the British music industry. Adults however were still listening to Frank Sinatra and the Joe Loss Orchestra. They couldnt understand the new music with their sexual lyrics and movements. In 1962 the Beatles released their first record. They were still relatively unknown playing in places like the Cavern and Hamburg.New fashions were starting to become the new way to be revolutionary. Teddy Boys began to make a statement in society as did the Rockers. Many teenagers and young people in the early 1960s though, still wore their parents fashions. Boys wore curt trousers and shirts whilst girls wore skirts. Fashion as everything else in the late 1950s to early 60s was still very conservative.Popular culture in the early 1960s was still much the selfsame(prenominal) as it had been throughout the 50s. Although a teenage market had emerged, little had in truth changed by 1962. The British culture was st ill very conservative. However things were soon to change. The 1960s were dramatically different to the ways the older generation had comen up. America looked to Britain as the culture capital of the world. New pop groups emerged and life became swinging for many young people. The older generation still did not approve but were powerless to do anything. The early 1960s can be described beat out as a grey period and not as the swinging sixties which came later. depict popular culture in Britain at the beginning of the 1960sTo many people at the time, they were the swinging sixties. They were a decade when fashions changed unendingly and young people appeared to have more freedom then ever before. It was time that many people look back on with found memories, but which other blame for some of the failings in society.The sixties consisted of stars like Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and Marlin Monroue which I will be mentioning in this judge as well as other stars. These stars were l ike the modern David Beckham, gobbler Cruise and J-lo. In 1958 the National Service ended which was a huge relief for some. People in England were looking to America for their icons, but America band members or artists were not allowed to enter the country, then so people like Cliff Richard was formed. notwithstanding in the 1960s Britain had not yet demonstrable its own style therefore was still in Americas shadow. The traditional and cultural values in the 1950s were now nigh to change. These were many due to the culture of TV, radio and theatre which I will be exploring in this essay. By the end of the 1950s music was still heavily influenced by America a lot of people were listening to American stars like Elvis Presley. But by the beginning of the 1960s British artists like Billy Fury, Cliff Richard and rapture Faith all started to appear in the charts. Many of these British starts were producing new records but mainly basing them Elvis rock music.The British fashion was c hanging very rapidly and stars like Jackie Kennedy influenced them a lot. Wearing shifts and A-line dressed which had been designed in during the 1954 and 1955 were not worn until the 1960s. These gave women a new sense of freedom. Moreover the British film was not as popular as it was in America but brand new films featuring pop starts interested a lot of teenagers. There was now new British humour which people had never seen before. Radio was introduced and started showing some distinctive style. Radio shows such as Beyond the Fringe was a mocking comedy that criticized the way the country was run making people think more about politics.Many television programmes were brought so people watch television at home but there were only two channels BBC and ITV which could only run for about five to six hours a day. In 1960 the first episode of Coronation Street appeared in black and white in TV sets all over the country. Finally there was theatre which consisted of plays bring oned to mirror real life situations. As well as this it also helped to break down class barriers. Youth culture began to expand and grow by the late 60s rival groups such as Mods who drove Italian scooters instead of motorbikes were formed also girls began to wear more mini skirts whereas they were very strict. Prices generally went up as wages rose by 34% in the 1960s.In some respects it started popular music, fashion and a rise economy. Youth culture changed Britains youth forever.In conclusion much of Britains popular culture was a mix of American and 1950s Britain but changes were beginning to develop which would lead to a new British culture and a new era.