Key information

1 The impact of mass popular culture, 1918-79

By the end of WW1 there was already a widespread audience for mass population culture in GB.

Cinema and spectator sports (i.e. football) were popular with the working class.

middle- and upper class people seeking to distinguish themselves often looked upon mass culture as vulgar.

by 1979 these attitudes had changed significantly with cinema, tv and popular music being enjoyed by all social classes.

Cinema, 1918-39

- in the 1920s cinema was by far the most popular medium of entertainment; working class music hall stars such as Charlie Chaplin transferred the acts that had made them popular on the big screen

- in 1920 the GB film industry came under pressure from USA's Hollywood; 1914 1/4 of all films shown in GB were made in GB in 1925 only 5% were.

-1927 Cinematograph Films Act that ensured 7.5% of films shown had to be GB and rose to 20% in 1935

- in popular press, cinema in he post war period were seen as seedy but throughout the 1920 became more respectable and in 1920-30s elaborate picture palaces' were made to attract affluent people.

cinema in the 1930s ->

- cinema ticket sales grew during the post war slump of the 20s; by 1930s 18-9m cinema tickets were sold every week.

- cinemas offered unemployed men and women on of the few opportunities for escapism from the mundane realities of unemployed life

- 1931 London study found the average was 2.6 films per week and normally during the day due to the cheaper prices; in Glasgow 80% of the cities jobless saw a film once a week during the depression; in south wales they created improvised cinemas at miners' institutes with lower pricings

- cinema remained the most popular form of entertainment throughout the 1930s, between 1937-9 cinema provided 50% of all entertainment tax revenues. in 1937 the tax on tickets earned the gov't £5.6m where football only brought £470,000. in 1938 there were 978m admissions to the cinema

films reflecting social issues ->

- most of the output of GB film studios between the wars were films that provided entertainment and escapism for their audiences.

- romances, thrillers, crime drama and history pictures dominated

- some films had a clear social commentary which reflected the experiences of everyday life in GB. e.g. The Pleasure Garden by Alfred Hitchcock ( a silent film about 2 chorus girls at a seaside show who start off single but then marry and experience infidelity and jealousy)

films reflecting life issues ->

- other silent melodramas of the period reflected social issues such as divorce and loveless marriage

- in 1928 The Firstborn film was about an unhappy wife with an unfaithful husband by giving him the heir he desires. issues such as the shame of an illegitimate child would have been clearly recognisable to a 1920s audience

- one of the earliest talking films to use sport as its main plot line was The Great Game (1930) the film reflected the centrality of football in many working class peoples lives.

- films that explored working life, ambitions and daily experiences of the modern urban world were also popular. In 1932 musical Love of Wheels, a bus conductor helps a commuter to find love with an anonymous female passenger. throughout his romantic courtship the protagonist also finds himself with a dream job in advertising, a highly aspirational role in an era of increasing consumerism

Cinema during WW2

- cinema as important for morale during the war years; there was a short lived attempt to close cinemas in case of bombing but popular demand kept them open.

- it was recognised as a way for escapism

- despite the war the GB film industry aged to produce over 500 films; often encouraged patriotism, were morale raising and found it useful for promoting ideas related to rationing

cinema, 1945-79

- in the immediate aftermath of ww2, GB film industry produced a series of immenesly popular comedies from Ealing film studios; between 1947-57 Ealing Comedies entertained but also explored the changing quality of life

-Ealing comedies in 1947 Hue and Cry ( a film about a group of school boys who thwart a criminal gang) was filmed amidst ruins in London where the villans were based on wartime black marketeers

- Another film dealt with the aftermath of th war and reflected the difficulties of post-war austerity was Passport to Pimlico, it told the story of residents in London who found they had a legal right to declare the district independent of the rest of GB who felt they could no longer tolerate rationing; it became a haven for black marketeers and represented harsh economical situations in GB

- examined other aspects of life in Meet Mr Lucifer, a tv set that seemed to be cursed and passed from owner to owner bringing chaos wherever it went. the film was made in 1953 and discussed the unspoken anxieties about how TV might change society the same year that TV owner ship grew dramatically

warfilms ->

- as austerity ended and GBs world role also declined a generation of war films in the late 50s and early 60s served to reassure cinema goers about GB's war record.

- for many GB people this was important because relative economic decline, loss of world power status and the end of the empire and the growth of immigration left them with a sense of uncertainty

- as the defeated nations, Germany and Japan, became economically powerful they began to out compete with GB and a positive sense of Britishness could be found in the memories of the war

- many films featured stories of near disaster and failure e.g. Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 by David Lean; shows an obsessive GB office who was captured by the Japanese and helped to build a bridge, he dies at the end and the bridge is destroyed; mirrored feeling that the war was noble but fruitless

- other films were patriotic however such as The Dam Buster 1955 and Sink the Bismarck 1960

spy film ->

- GBs most successful film franchise was the James Bond movies which reflected the improving living standards of the 60s

- in the bond films he enjoys expensive cars, clothes, drink and international travel. Movie watchers enjoying the economic boom of the early 60s could relate to the bond films as exciting spy drama but also as aspirational fantasies

- in another spy film from the 60s, The ipcress file 1965, Harry Palmer the hero is not a former public school boy like bond was but a working class londoner played by michael caine; represented popular egalitarian ideas that were widespread in the early 60s with a working class character responsible for the security of the nation, often denigrating his upper class superior

social realism ->

- during the 50s and 60s a new wave of film making called social realism produced dramas based on the everyday experiences of GB's working classes

- the film version of look back in anger 1956 and a taste of honey 1961 both told the stories of the passion, desires and ambitions of everyday people

- in the film saturday night, sunday morning 1960 directed by Tony Richardson and staring Albert Finney, the main protagonist a working man who is resentful of his class status and dreams of better things than his community in Nottingham, he is materialistic, liked to dress smart and drink in city pubs; the portrayal of a working class man with a disposable income and leisure time represented the mass consumption that accompanied the affluence of GB

darker visions ->

- as the economic situation grew poor during the 70s the films began to reflect the changing quality of life by presenting darker visions

- get carter 1971: michael caine portrays a gangster seeking revenge for the death of his brother, the relaxation in film censorship meant it included scenes of drug abuse and prostitution

- a clockwork orange 1971: dystopian vision of GB; future where gangs of violent young men kill and rape for enjoyment; graphic scenes of violence were schocking

- the darker visions of society reflected fears of a decline in the wuality of life but the reality for most people in GB was that standards of living continued to rise throughout the 70s

cinema in decline

- during the 70s GB cinema went into temporary decline with soft porn comody films such as confessions of a window cleaner and tv series spin offs such as on the buses amongst its most popular productions

- james bond movies aside there were comparitively few successful blockbusters

- as funding drained, the industry's most talented personnel either moved to the usa or swapped to doing tv series

music

popular music throughout the 20thC has been integral to the lives of much of the population

changes in music tastes between 1918-79 have reflected changes in the lifestyles of millions of people; popular music was associated with fashion trends and consumerism.

music, 1918-45

- GB popular music in the 20thC is part of a longer tradition of popular entertainment that dates back to the 19thC

- the most successful recording artist in GB in the 20s was Ivor Novello; the cardiff born songwriter wrote the song 'keep the home fires buring' during WW1 which was still popular in 1918; it appealed to families who were facing hardships

- novello became instantly famous and his success demonstrated to many other entertainers after the war that music could be immensely lucrative; he was paid £15,000 (£1.5m today) by his record company

jazz and swing ->

- the 30s saw the first major introduction of usa music into GB with the success of jazz and swing music

- there were some 20,000 dance bands in GB by 1930 according to the magazine melody maker

- usa music only grew in popularity and GB dance bands were influenced by usa jazz band leaders like Duke Ellington and Court Basie

- usa artists came to GB duing WW2 and the us army and air force and usa force radio (AFN) broadcast jazz and swing music across the UK

- the BBC which had previously broadcast little music created the Light Programme in 1945 to broadcast light entertainment and music; this ran until 1967 when it was replaced by Radio 2

rock and roll ->

- in the late 50s and early 60s USA rock and roll music found an enthusiastic following in GB

- USA performers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry reinvented black blues music and popularised it for a youth audience

- a home grown style of rock and roll , skiffle, was also popular with Lonnie Donegan being biggest selling GB performer throughout the 50s with 31 top 30 singles and 3 number 1s by 1962

- at this time new groups like the Beatles, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and the Who replaced skiffle and american blues with their own rock sounds and from 1963 invaded american making GB pop music world famous

beatlemania ->

- the beatles formed in 1957 and had their first major commercial success in 1963; the following 3 years of their career have been describes as beatlemania

- their 4th single 'she loves you' 1964 sold 750,000 copies in < 1 month; records by the beatles sold millions and merchandising such as beatles wigs earned huge profits for companies such as Seltaeb

- the 4 members of the group were greeted by screaming fans at their concerts and eventually stopped touring for good in 1966 after being exhausted by their popularity

- the success of the beatles is demonstrative of the rise in living standards of the 60s with their music being optimistic 1963-6

mod music ->

- popular genre in the 60s that had a close relationship with consumerism and fashion

- bands like the Who and the Kinks and the Small Faces attracted mainly working class fans who spent their music on acquiring the mod look

- in many music subcultures of the 60s and 70s consumerism played an integral part, being able to buy the right clothes or accessories became as important to fans as the music itself

glam rock ->

- by the 70s music had become a means of expressing and challenging ideas of gender identity

- glam rock stars like Marc Bolan and David Bowie often appeared to be androgynous and made statements about their sexuality; this was both shocking to the older generation and fascinating to the younger generation who saw them as different and subversive

- some historians of popular culture have argued that the increased interest in recording artists challenged existing ideas about gender and sexual identity was the result of improved living standards in GB

- as teenagers had more disposable income and greater leisure time, some sought out new ways of distinguishing themselves; increased wealth enabled some teenagers and young adults to assert their own identities in new ways

David Bowie ->

- fund fame in 1968 with his song 'space oddity' inspired by the moon landing that year

- he created an alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous cross dressing alien messiah; appeared on Top of the Pops in 1972 where the audience was both shock and fascinated

- his hair, make up and mannerisms were a deliberate rejection of male heterosexuality; he became on of the most influential recording artists of the next 2 decades

reggae ->

- immigrants from the Caribbean in the 50s brought th them the sounds of Trinidad and Jamaica.

- traditional calypso music developed into reggae and by 1969 2 record labels, Island and Trojan, imported reggae records selling them to both black and white audiences

- the first ever reggae song to hit number 1 in the charts was Desmond Dekker's 'The Israelites' in 1969

- reggae music reaching the charts id demonstrative of how reggae music had moved from small black audiences into larger white audiences

roots reggae ->

- reggae music reflected the changing ethnic makeup of GB but was also used to articulate the experiences of black immigrants who dealt with racism, police violence and inequality in work/housing

- one style of reggae that developed was roots reggae, closely associated with rastafarianism; it described the experience of black people living in GB and the resistance against racism

- the most popular album of the genre was Linton Kwesi Johnson's 'Dread Beat an' Blood' of 1978; one of his songs reflected widespread anger among Caribbean immigrants in Brixton and other parts of GB against the National Front and allegations of police brutality

- as well as being a musician, he was a political activist and had been a part of the Black Panther's Youth league and joined Race Today Collective in the 1970s; both groups used pop culture to spread their message

- for people like Johnson pop culture was a valuable way of influencing public opinion and exposing racism

ska ->

- another variant of reggae music was ska; it was adapted by black and white musicians into a harder, more aggressive sound than reggae called 2 tone

- the sound of 2 tone drew much from punk

- the most popular ska performers of the 1970s was a conventry group called the specials; Jerry Dammers of the specials wrote music that clearly reflected the lack of opportunities for both black and white young people in the 70s

punk ->

- during the last years of the 1970s a new subculture, punk, developed in GB having first originated in New York

- the angry music of bands like the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Buzzcocks captured the mood of the decade as punk fans tore their jeans, wore piercings and spike their hair in order to look shocking and offensive

-several commentators between 1976 and 1979 in the popular music paper the New Musical Express directly linked punk's appeal to declining living standards

- the growth in youth unemployment throughout the decade led to punk being labelled 'the music of the dole queue'

- the audience for punk music in the 1970s was small; it did articulate a degree of distress at living standards and job opportunities

- the most popular recording artist of the 1970s was Elton John who had 16 top 50 albums between 1970-9 with 4 being number 1s

-the rock group Queen sold 19m records in GB between 1975-7

- audeinced for artists like Elton John, Queen and the Bee Gees were much larger than punk or ska audiences

radio

- throughout the period 1918-79 radio played important role in GB people's lives

- the growth of a mass radio audience from the 1920s onwards was due to the relatively low cost of radio sets

- GB listeners were able to access news, drama and advice programmes on gardening and cooking

- radio grew in popularity after WW2 as listeners experienced greater affluence and a new market for popular music developed; pirate radio stations and the BBC catered for new tastes in pop music and close relationship between radio, music charts, record producers and stars developed

BBC Radio, 1918-39 ->

-in the years following WW1 the government was suspicious of public radio and the possibility of a revolution or a general strike made ministers apprehensive about broadcasts

- the inventor of modern radio technology Guglielmo Marconi found the government to be obstructive when he proposed setting up a radio stations but eventually allowed the British Broadcasting Company to form in 1922

- it was licensed by the government and so the organisation that would become the BBC had a close relationship with the state which would impact upon its broadcasts by reflecting the governments views not necessarily the listeners'

- in 1927 the Corporation was given a royal charter and effectively became a publicly owned state broadcaster whilst retaining its editorial independence

- john reith became the first director general

pirate radio ->

- it wasnt until the advent of American forces radio in GB during the war hat radio began to change and entertainment became more of a priority

- after the war 3 channels (Home Programme, Light Programme, Third Programme) broadcast programmes but by the 1950-60s they began to lose ground to unlicensed and illegal broadcasters

- the BBC had the only license to broadcast in the UK but pirate radio stations, based on ships moored just outside GB waters, broadcast immensely popular programmes; Radio Caroline had an audience of 10m by 1964

- the problem was there was no effective way of stopping the broadcasters which had gained a huge teen audience

- the impact of pirate radio was significant as millions of people tuned into pirate broadcasts to enjoy music they could not hear elsewhere which forced the BBC to change

- in 1967 pirate radio resulted in the renegotiation of the Light, Third and Home programmes into Radio 2,3 and 4 and a new Radio 1 was launched that focussed exclusively on catering towards a youth market by broadcasting pop music

- many of the pirate radio DJs were hired by Radio 1 and became national celebrities

commercial radio ->

- in 1975 licenses for commercial radio stations were granted and the BBC lost its monoploy on broadcasting

- commercial stations coual appeal to more niche audiences and sustained themselves through selling airtime to advertisers

impact of radio ->

- radio delivered news, particulary during WW2, far more rapidly than print newspapers did

- during the post war era it was an important compenent of the development of popular culture, the shaping of music fashions and trends, and the development of a collective experience among audeinces

- the BBC and later commercial radio became part of the way in which people in GB related to one another and interacted, though its importance was eventually eclipsed by tv

4b: Popular culture and entertainment