Cultural Decades of the 20th Century (WWII, war, Roman, bomb)
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There are two types of 'decades.' The actual or chronological decades, 1950-1959, 1960-1969 etc, and the 'cultural decades'. By this I mean periods when an identifyable trend or 'feel' of a decade existed more. For example, the 80s are associated with New Wave/synths/electro/hairspray.etc, and the 60s with mods, hippies etc. The early 60s may be 60s chronologically, but in terms of fashion, music, mindset they were more 50s.
Here's my breakdown of the decades, feel free to comment, add your own opinions:
I think it also depends upon where you lived too, change doesn't occur at the same rate across the country; and, of course, the periods overlap too. My take:
40's - end in very early 50's, 1952
50's - 1952 - mid-Sixties
60's - 1964 - 1971
70's - 1971 - 1978/9
80's - 1980 - 1987/8
There are two types of 'decades.' The actual or chronological decades, 1950-1959, 1960-1969 etc, and the 'cultural decades'. By this I mean periods when an identifyable trend or 'feel' of a decade existed more. For example, the 80s are associated with New Wave/synths/electro/hairspray.etc, and the 60s with mods, hippies etc. The early 60s may be 60s chronologically, but in terms of fashion, music, mindset they were more 50s.
Here's my breakdown of the decades, feel free to comment, add your own opinions:
I'd make a few corrections
"Isn't Peace Wonderful" 1946-1950 "The era of the GI Bill, Marshall Plan and America's Atomic monopoly"
This happy state of affairs came to an end with the Soviet A-bomb, Cold War, Korea and the McCarthy hearings.
"I like Ike and JFK too" 1953-1963 "The classic era of cars, rock and roll, Marilyn Monroe, the Organization man, James Dean.etc.
This knid of ended on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas.
"The 60's" 1964-1973 "Sex drugs and rock, Moon shots, Vietnam, Civil Rights, if you could smoke it you did, Playboy, Earth Day, the Moratorium
Hair and Tricky Dick.
This decade ended with Watergate, the Oil Embargo and one hell of a hang over (the only way to explain what happened next).
"The Disco Duck Decade" 1974-1981 " Age of Carter, Disco and bad leisure suits, Saturday Night Live and Death to the Shah and America too. "
This decade ended when America decided to change the channel and get a better actor in chief.
The Reagan years" 1981-1992 "He was a damned good actor, Miami Vice, Who shot J.R. and Dynasty. Gordon Gekko, Micheal Jackson and Madonna.
This decade ended in a patch of desert just north of the Kuwaiti border.
"The 90's" 1993-2001, " Clinton ,Newt and a Blue dress.
This decade ended on a bright clear September morning at 8:46 am.
1890's-1919: Progressive Era, baseball, think "Music Man"
1919-1929: Flapper Girls, Speakeasies, rise of prohibition the klan and women's rights, harlem renaissance, good times and good drinks.
1933-1941: end of prohibition, great depression
1941-1945: war years
1890's-1919: Progressive Era, baseball, think "Music Man"
1919-1929: Flapper Girls, Speakeasies, rise of prohibition the klan and women's rights, harlem renaissance, good times and good drinks.
1933-1941: end of prohibition, great depression
1941-1945: war years
Actually Prohibition didn't rise during the 1920s it started in 1919. Blame this on the Progressives who believed we could get a better type of American if we closed the Bars, took his booze away and forced him to drink monstrocities like Viz Fiz, Dr Pepper, Moxie, no alcohol beer or cider. Its no wonder that people like the Seagrams in Canada and Joe Kennedy got so rich.
I look at this from a Midwestern perspective.
1920-40: The "Roaring Twenties", Black Monday, Great Depression, Al Capone,
1941-49: Dad joined WWII Rationaing, Victory Gardens. Dad came home; we moved five times. Industrial age began in earnest in the Midwest. Margerine, penicillan and nylon hose for ladies were invented.
1950 -59: television, central heat and air, automatice washer, Elvis and pink appliances
1960-79: College, marriage, own home and raise family. You did't need a BA to get a good job.
80-2010. Grandkids, retire, travel and the senior years creep up with little warning. ,.
I think that the Sixties more or less end with SLA shootout, they were the last belch of the revolutionary element of the counter culture. The Vietnam War had ended in early '73, so the toleration of romantic Mickey Maoists evaporated with the cause. The mod element lingered a bit longer in the form of long hair, wide collars, finally reaching the ultimate idiocy with the "leisure suit." That part wasn't extinguished until 1980. The shortest lived of the three counter cultural elements was the hippies. That is unsurprising in that they had nothing in the way of an economic base to sustain them, or at least nothing legal. They peaked with Woodstock.
I think that the Sixties more or less end with SLA shootout, they were the last belch of the revolutionary element of the counter culture. The Vietnam War had ended in early '73, so the toleration of romantic Mickey Maoists evaporated with the cause. The mod element lingered a bit longer in the form of long hair, wide collars, finally reaching the ultimate idiocy with the "leisure suit." That part wasn't extinguished until 1980. The shortest lived of the three counter cultural elements was the hippies. That is unsurprising in that they had nothing in the way of an economic base to sustain them, or at least nothing legal. They peaked with Woodstock.
There is an argument that the Hippies didn't die out but just got a hair cut and took a bath and got on with changing the world. An example, is two long hairs names Steven (Jobs and Wozniak) who decided the average Joe needed computers and got on with squeezing all the computing power into a single circuit board and software that didn't nned a BSc.in computer science to use. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs says something is "Insanely Great" that is an echo from the the Summer of Love. Others went into politics have you ever seen a picture of Bill Clinton, John Kerry, or Hillary Clinton from their student days at Yale or Goergetown? Still others went into the Green or various Civil or gender right movements. Some even made the biggest copouts of all, Jerry Rubin the cofounder of the Youth International Party or the Yippes became an Investment Banker on Wall Street and many the the best and brightest financial minds were at Woodstock or even a Merry Prankster.
There is an argument that the Hippies didn't die out but just got a hair cut and took a bath and got on with changing the world. An example, is two long hairs names Steven (Jobs and Wozniak) who decided the average Joe needed computers and got on with squeezing all the computing power into a single circuit board and software that didn't nned a BSc.in computer science to use. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs says something is "Insanely Great" that is an echo from the the Summer of Love. Others went into politics have you ever seen a picture of Bill Clinton, John Kerry, or Hillary Clinton from their student days at Yale or Goergetown? Still others went into the Green or various Civil or gender right movements. Some even made the biggest copouts of all, Jerry Rubin the cofounder of the Youth International Party or the Yippes became an Investment Banker on Wall Street and many the the best and brightest financial minds were at Woodstock or even a Merry Prankster.
Yeah, right, they sat around in the Haight Ashbury dreaming of ways to make billions of dollars in corporate America. Perhaps you are confusing hippies with nerds?
And of course most of them wound up conforming to the reality around them sooner or later. Selling love beads and homemade candles wasn't something which was going to take you to your social security years. They were a fad and all such things come with expiration dates.
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Its no wonder that people like the Seagrams in Canada and Joe Kennedy got so rich.
