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Culture

History of Youth Culture

Part 3

1970s into the 1980s The presentation will examine both Britain

and America during what became know politically as the Reagan and Thatcher period of neoliberalism.

We will look at how the 2 countries developed differently, due to historical circumstances of the time, but had a very close political relationship.

1970s America The activism of the 1960s continued into the 70s,

particularly for women and other minorities. As the war in Vietnam came to an end in 1975, new social causes came to the fore, especially environmentalism. The country celebrated the first “Earth Day” on April 22, 1970.

During the 1970s, the United States suffered an economic recession. Interest rates and inflation were high. There was a shortage of imported oil.

It was a time of political scandal, as President Nixon was forced to resign over Watergate.

1970s Britain The seemingly progressive country of the 1960s

was quickly taken over by other countries, and was no longer the global forerunner. Britain lost its way in the 70s. Political unrest, striking workers, power-cuts, these are all memories of 1970s Britain for many.

People became disillusioned, especially the young people of Britain, with high unemployment. This began to turn around in the late 70s and into the 80s for some, but not all.

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher was walking into Downing Street as Britain's first woman Prime Minister.

Music – Punk Rock Punk rock developed between 1974 and 1976 in the USA and UK. By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones in New York and the Sex Pistols and The Clash in London were becoming famous.

1977 saw punk spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the UK.

Ramones, released in April 1976.

Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The

Sex Pistols, released in October 1977.

God Save The Queen The Silver Jubilee of

Queen Elizabeth marked her 25th anniversary. Across the country people had street parties to celebrate.

"God Save the Queen" is a song by the Sex Pistols. The lyrics and cover, were controversial, TV and radio refused to play the song. Yet it still topped the UK music charts.

Fashion – British Punk

Video Games - Pong!

A home console version of Pong! was released in 1975.

Atari released Pong! in 1972. This simple tennis game was the first successful video game.

Taito's Space Invaders, released in 1978. Soon after, Space Invaders was licensed for the Atari VCS (later known as Atari 2600), the forerunner to the modern game console.

I’m Living In The 80s The Cold War reached new peak in the early 80s,

with newly elected President Reagan’s strong anti-Soviet rhetoric. The government went to ‘War on Drugs’. The glories of the Space Race disintegrated with ‘Challenger’ in 1986. The end of the 80s saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and an end of the Cold War.

The ‘Me! Me! Me!’ generation, created a status hungry media savvy group known as the Yuppies. From teens to academics, many felt outside of this artificial world of media and money. The ‘nerd’ came out from behind the keyboard, to become a unlikely anti-hero.

Video Games - Golden Age The 80s saw a huge spread of

video games. Young people hung-out in video arcades. For the first time video games became part of youth culture in both countries.

Home Computers became cheap enough for most families to afford. Many kids in both the USA and the UK had a computer of a early video game console.

WarGames A 1983 Cold War sci-fi movie about a young hacker breaking into NORAD, and almost starting World War III. It’s strong anti-nuclear message was that war is futile, and that “the only winning move is not to play”. It starred Matthew Broderick, who also starred in the 1986 movie of teen rebellion Ferris Bueller's Day Off, directed by John Hughes. The rise of the hacker

as the new anti-hero.

Reagan & Thatcher In 1979 Margaret Thatcher (known as

‘The Iron Lady’) became Prime Minister in the UK. In 1981 Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the USA. Both of them from the political right.

They were strong allies, in both economic and foreign policies. They both held office throughout the 1980s. Reagan leaving in 1989, and Thatcher one year later in 90.

The Yuppie Years The 80s were defined by the Young Upwardly-Mobile Professional, or the ‘yuppie’. The very opposite of the rebel, they embraced the idea of capitalism, and made money their god. Self-absorbed, hip young urbanites. They soon became the symbol of greed among writers in movies like Wall Street (1987), and Tom Wolfe’s first fiction novel Bonfire of the Vanities.

The yuppie faded with the 1987 stock market crash.

Movies – John Hughes 1986 American teen coming of age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes, the master of the teen angst movies of the 1980s.

In 1984 the movie Breakfast Club featured an ensemble cast of young actors who were part of what became known as the Brat Pack.

Music TV For The Masses MTV was launched in 1981, with VJs introducing music videos to a global audience. Initially MTV was accused of being racist, for playing mostly ‘white’ music. It also came under fire for turning the art of the music video into little more than a 3 minute commercial.

The commercially driven playlists of MTV caused a backlash by some music artists. The Dead Kennedys released a song in 1985 titled ‘MTV, Get Off The Air’.

Music – ‘Big Hair’ Rock In the late 70s and the 80s bands based on the clubs of L.A.'s Sunset Strip started to find fame. Based on the Glam Rock style of 70s British bands, they dominated much of the American music scene.

Mötley Crüe Shout At The Devil

(1983)

Guns ‘n’ Roses Appetite For Destruction

(1987)

Music – Hip Hop Hip Hop came out of the ghetto block party and went global. And among the samples and break beats many new Hip Hop artists brought with them a social and political message of change.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s ‘The Message’ was the first hip hop song to

bring a lyrical social commentary to the

mainstream masses. Released in 1982.

‘Don't Believe the Hype’ released in 1988. The song's lyrics are about

the political issues in America

at the time.

Music – Alternative Music In the 80s saw the development of the alternative (or in the UK ‘indie’ music scene). This mostly came out of the 70s punk movement. It spawned a whole underground movement of fashion in both the UK and the USA. From New Wave (Electronica), to Goth Rock, Showgazing and in the UK Psychobilly. For many young people this was literally an ‘alternative’ to the mass produced Pop and silly over-the-top theatrical ‘big hair rock’ they hated and couldn’t identify with.

(My) Subculture - Spiders

From punk to goth, shoegazing, indie and upstairs the sounds of 60s garage rock and psychobilly, in my youth Spiders was the place to be for anyone who didn’t want to be part of the mainstream youth culture. Everyone dressed up in strange costumes, drank crazy cocktails and danced like lunatics.

The infamous Spiders Nightclub in Hull opened in 1979. Still a scene

for alternative music and fashion. Well known for

cheap drinks, great music and weird people.