Cultural Decades of the 20th Century (90s, France, years, Vietnam)
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45-57 are the Post-War years full of optimism, industry, moving forward (at the expense of the losers of WWII), black-n-white television and the baby boom.
Rock-n-roll is born out of the blues which are both considered black forms of music. GI's returning from the war demand equality for their groups ranging from Mexicans to Sicilians. The America GI Bill also increases home ownership and college education and thus the American Dream of home ownership in suburbia begins.
Anti-immigrant feelings for undocumented Mexican immigrants increases again and Operation ******* begins where private industry is contracted to help deport (transport) unauthorized Mexican immigrants. A remarked change from the Bracero Program when their labor was needed to help this country but a return to the repatriation program popular during the Depression when even American citizens who happened to be Mexican were 'repatriated'.
57-66 are Transition years or years of change. Black-n-white television becomes color, segregation is first challenged, white flight begins as the suburbs of the previous cultural decade provide an escape from the cities, and the mall is created.
Social programs are enacted. Family reunification becomes the new policy towards Mexican immigrants.
67-72 begins with the Summer of Love and everything has changed. Most consider this era the transition years but the change had already happened for the Summer of Love to even occur.
Youth culture changes so that teenagers evolve from being expected to turn into their parents to challenging their parents. Youths now extend to college-age adults who all expect to build a new world.
Clothes become more revealing and cultural ideas regarding sexuality change.
73-79 the Disco years that bring in reality through the form of recession beginning with the Oil Crisis.
Urban decay as a product of white flight from two cultural decades before. The suburbs have nice shiny malls though and mall culture begins in earnest only to be glorified later in the 1980's where it continues.
Social programs from the 1960's begin to be cut. Social change in general is ignored and the civil rights movement is considered dead. Youths turn to other expressions outside of politics such as punk rock and heavy metal.
80-92 began the Reagan era where the American Dream is no longer about home ownership but being a small business owner. Apartments slowly increase and home-ownership declines.
Music becomes keyboard oriented and techno is born. Rap and hip-hop, invented in the last decade, becomes a full fledged genre in this decade, reach mainstream status in the next. College, alternative, and indie music all are born.
Fashion becomes more conservative and everyone begins to cover up more and more until baggy clothes becomes the norm toward the end of this decade.
The War on Drugs becomes profitable for both dealers and those waging it but not for the victims.
93-01 the Club years where clubs are no longer underground but become mainstream leading to the creation of designer drugs, designer clothes (for all), and the rise of music festivals.
Privatization of the War on Drugs leads to prisons being ran for profit insuring all the companies from construction, commissary, and operations would profit from increased and mandatory sentencing guidelines.
Mid-riffs are revealed and clothes become less conservative.
02-08 is the War on Terrorera where fashion veers conservative again to mirror the rising tension and anxieties related to terrorism and foreign wars which themselves become highly privatized in this era so that private contractors are the main beneficiaries of these wars.
As people begin to cover up shoes and vehicles become bulkier and bigger to provide a greater sense of security.
Privacy and civil liberties are diminished due to the terrorism scare. Home ownership continues to decline especially with the housing crisis that was just one of the many economic crisis that mark this era.
Immigration debate heats up again but is not yet in the national conscious but efforts to deport and secure the border are increased greatly (no other time in history has had greater rates) without much notice or discussion.
Crime and immigration, two separate issues, are down in all areas.
09-present the Obama years so far seem to be marked by a turn again to more revealing fashions, a turn away from the SUV, and toward more social reforms. A new Progressive Era perhaps?
A green consciousness is descending upon this country as well currently. The majority are disillusioned by the two foreign wars and our dependence on oil. The immigration debate seems to be turning out into the new civil rights movement but to be honest civil rights began long before the 60's and still have a long way to go with many small fights along the way.
The 1980s seemed to be a reaction to the 1970s: short hair vs long hair, dance music (new wave) vs album rock, ties vs tie dye, positive B-52s cheerfulness vs Black Sabbath, negative Punk Rock vs positive James Taylor. The 1980s seemed to be influenced by the pre hippy 1960s. Some of the new wave bands had themes of yesteryear space travel for example. Almost as if the 1980s wanted to regain what was lost in the 1970s. A 20 year cycle.
Similarly, the 1990s with grunge, reverted to the long hair, unkempt look. Again a 20 year cycle.
Remember in the 1970s, the "Nostalgia" fad? "Happy Days", the Lords of Flatbush...celebrating the 1950s. Though there aren't a lot of parallels between 1970s (US failures, Olympics, Vietnam, Watergage, Nixon, gas prices, etc) and the 1950s (America at it's peak).
I always assumed the reason for that was because the people who grew up in the 50's came of age in the business world during the 70's and made the decisions of what programming would be aired.
So the 70's had nostalgia for the 50's with shows like Happy Days.
The 80's had nostalgia for the 60's and remembering the Beatles seemed to be all over television.
The 90's began the retro craze for the 70's and so forth.
This was wholly pushed onto us by mass media and marketing it seems.
To be fair though I am sure when the early people's sat around the campfire or hearth and told stories the things that happened a few generations back were given precedence, the things before forgotten, and the things now never seem like the golden era.
The 1980s seemed to be a reaction to the 1970s: short hair vs long hair, dance music (new wave) vs album rock, ties vs tie dye, positive B-52s cheerfulness vs Black Sabbath, negative Punk Rock vs positive James Taylor. The 1980s seemed to be influenced by the pre hippy 1960s. Some of the new wave bands had themes of yesteryear space travel for example.
Not to mention the skinny tie look being a throwback to the Kennedy era and the revivals of interest in Beat and Mod culture
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Almost as if the 1980s wanted to regain what was lost in the 1970s. A 20 year cycle.
Similarly, the 1990s with grunge, reverted to the long hair, unkempt look. Again a 20 year cycle.
I'd agree with this.
Quote:
Remember in the 1970s, the "Nostalgia" fad? "Happy Days", the Lords of Flatbush...celebrating the 1950s. Though there aren't a lot of parallels between 1970s (US failures, Olympics, Vietnam, Watergage, Nixon, gas prices, etc) and the 1950s (America at it's peak).
Makes sense people would look to better times in the past.
There was even a hit song in the 1970s by Chicago, "America Needs You, Harry Truman".
In the 1960s there was considerable nostalgia for the 1920s:
Not surprised that the '30s and '40s got skipped over nostalgia wise, considering the events of those decades. In particular, it's difficult to imagine too many people being nostalgic for the years between 1938 and 1945.
There was even a hit song in the 1970s by Chicago, "America Needs You, Harry Truman".
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away"
The 1980s seemed to be a reaction to the 1970s: short hair vs long hair, dance music (new wave)
Agree. The 80's made a great contrast with the 70's : dark and snister athmosphere in the music, the clothes, the jingles on radios or TV, advertisings...while the 70's seem to give a very colorful and sunny feeling. I' m not sure that the first were in reaction of the second, but rather from a new cultural wave. And it seems that the 80's were the last who had created a new one (I don't see any link between the 80's and the 60's excepted the black and white films). Since the 90's, we live in nostalgy. Appart house or techno music, no more cultural feature has marked the 90's and 2000's decades, like the decades before. We have a sum of imitations and contrasts. Maybe a sign of fear of the future.
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