Popular Culture (Pop Culture) 1918/79 - The Changing Quality of Life 1918 - 1979

Cinema

Popularity	Audience	Content	British cinema
-        Grew Popular during WW1 - 1916 Battle of the Somme seen by 20 million in first 6 weeks -        1928, Talkies further increased popularity - cinema most important medium of popular culture in interwar years - no. of cinemas increase from 3000 in 1914 to 5000 in 1930 -        Another boom during WW2 - popular war films include 1942 In Which We Serve (about the navy) and 1943 The Gentle Sex (exploring wartime problems for women) -        Admissions peaked in 1946 at 1.64 billion -        1950 - average person went 28 times a year (more than any other country) -        However attendance fell until late 80s - half of all cinemas closed 1955-1963 -        This was due to the rise of television	-        Typical cinemagoer was young, urban and working class (often female) -        In 1946 - 69% of 16-19 year olds  went once a week compared to 11% of over-60s -        Peoples in the North went on average twice as much as people in the South -        However people still encouraged the same types of film -        Saturday mornings were for kids films with cheap seats	-        Content controlled by BBFC (British Board of Film Censors) established 1912 -        Led by conservative, upper-middle class men who were concerned about the impact of cinema on ‘impressionable’ audiences -        1917 ’43 rules’ were the unofficial regulations of what was acceptable to show -        1928-1939, the BBFC banned 140 films -        1959 Obscenities Act, and 1968 Theatres Act loosened censorship -        By 70s more violent, sexual films like 1971 A Clockwork Orange and 1974 Emmanuelle	-        WW1 led to collapse of British film cinema - due to funding problems, disruption of production and use of studios for propaganda -        1925 only 5% of films shown in cinemas were British -        1927 quota ensures 20% of films shown were British-made -        ‘Americanization’ of cinemagoers in 40s - youths dressing like gangsters and girls like actresses, using slang like ‘sez you’ -        1950 ‘Eady Levy’ charge on tickets was used to subsidies British film-making -        James Bond -popular British film -        British film production collapsed in 70s - number of British films made each year fell from 40 in 1968 to 31 in 1980 -        This was due to funding cuts

Radio

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL PROGRAMME	-        BBC founded in 1927 as a ‘quango’ -        Two radio services - National programme and Regional Programme -        Both aimed at a general audience -        BBC established itself as a ‘public service broadcaster’ aimed to enrich and educate listeners -        Programmes like the monarch’s Christmas message and anniversary programmes for New Year and Empire Day were ‘reassuring symbols of national community’
THE WAR YEARS - THE HOME SERVICE	-        National and Regional programmes replaced with the Home Service -        Done to prevent enemy aircraft using regional radio as navigation -        Programmes like Workers’ Playtime aimed to boost morale or factory workers -        News and speech based entertainment
HOME, LIGHT AND THIRD	-        Peacetime programming returned after war -        The Light Programme (created 1945) was a mix of comedies an soaps, was the most popular - held 1/3 of the 11 million daily listeners -        Daytime shows aimed at women at home (gender roles) -        The Third Programme was highbrow classical music and drama (attracted only 3% of listeners)
THE PIRATES	-        Despite BBC’s monopoly on radio ‘Pirate’ stations like radio Caroline, Radio Luxembourg broadcast from ships -         1967 Act banned pirate radio - Radio Caroline ignored this -        1967 Light Programme split into BBC 1 and BB2 -  BBC 1 first channel dedicated to pop and a younger audience , while the Third Programme became BBC 3, and Home Service became BB4 -        1973 Act ended monopoly and introduced competition - BBC1 still popular (Breakfast Show attracted 20 million listeners

Influence	Lack of influence
-        BBC held monopoly until 1973 - held control over what people heard -        Consistently a popular medium of entertainment - 11 million daily listeners during WW2 -        Many working class had the radio on all the time - listened to a wide range of programming, broadened their horizons	-        BBC tried to influence the tastes of the public but failed -        People favoured ‘Top 40’ pop music station over BBC’s ‘high brow’ content - Radio Caroline popular pirate station -        BBC did not change society - was forced to adapt to meet demands of society (creation of BBC1 in 1967)

Music

20s	·       Vera Lynn - slow sentimental music ·       Rag time and Jazz from America ·       Dance Halls very popular (esp. with working class) with American dances like the Charleston, swing, jive
30s	·       Swing and bop
40s	·       Country, Western and blues
50s	·       1955 film ‘Black Board Jungle’ marks the arrival of rock’n’roll ·       Elvis Presley - the ‘King’ of rock’n’roll - a more sexual, wild kind of music ·       British music companies responded with more ‘safer’ artists like Cliff Richard ·       Rock’n’roll coincided with the birth of the teenager (‘teenagers’ also emerge because young people have more disposable income and stay in school longer)
60s	·       SKiffle bands become popular - influenced by folk, blues and jazz ·       Beatles start as a skiffle band called the Quarry Men in Liverpool, develop into ‘the Beatles’ in Hamburg ·       1962 single ‘Love me Do’ released, leading to ‘Beatlemania’ ·       1964 ‘British Invasion’ launched - British music globally influential and respected, benefitted Britain through exports ·       Beatles commercialised music - their made £100 million through merchandise
70s	·       Different genres, escapist/ reflective of troubled times ·       Early 70s ‘glam rock’ - David Bowie, Gary Glitter, their androgynous look indicative of more fluid attitudes to sexuality and gender ·       Late 70s Punk  - The Sex Pistols, angry music, promoted rebellion and anarchy, reflected dire economic situation and frustration with politicians and establishment - female punk empowered women

Television

Ownership	Popularity	Cultural Impact
1950 4% 1955 40% 1960 80% 1969 95%	·       TV exploded as a mass medium ·       Sales spurred by coronation of Queen Elizabeth II ·       Because of popular use of leisure time ·       Late 70s people watched 16 hours a week in summer, 20 in winter ·       Men + Women spent 23% of their leisure time watching TV (twice as much as Belgium, Italy, Sweden) ·       Colour TV began in 1967 - percentage of colour sets went from 1.7% in 1970 to 70% in 1979	·       Blurred class divisions - everyone watched similar programmes ·       Formed important part of culture - discussion of shows formed part of daily conversation ·       Colour TV - perhaps made reporting on violence like The Troubles or Vietnam war ·       1955 BBC monopoly ended - 14 other stations began broadcasting ·       1962 Piking Report led to: 1964 Television Act - forced ITV to screen news, two plays and two current affairs programs - and BBC 2 ·       The Wednesday Play (BBC 1964-1970) screened hard hitting, social realist plays like 1965 Up the Junction (about abortion) and 1966 Cathy Come Home (about homelessness)  seen by 6-10 million peoples ·       Working class/ middle class enjoyed shows like Coronation Street (launched 1960) seen by 20 million ·       Rise of satire (That Was The Week That Was/ TWx3) questioned and mocked the establishment, again dissolving class boundaries ·       Other popular programmes; Upstairs Downstairs - set in England between 1903-1930 and police shows like The Professionals and The Sweeney - averaged 19 million viewers ·       70s rise of sitcoms like Fawlty Towers

                                    

Influence

Lack of Influence

·       TV most popular use of leisure time, (23% of leisure time spent watching TV) so shows had large impact ·       Class boundaries dissolved through universal watching and satire - TWx3 has 12 million viewers ·       Police shows, at a time when suspicions about corruption about police were raised, helped raise the public image of the police force - 1977 poll showed 75% thought the police were honest

·       BBC again tried to influence public tastes to more ‘intelligent’ content - partially successful with The Wednesday Play and 1964 Television Act - but shows like Coronation Street still most popular ·       Wednesday Play didn’t directly change attitudes

Youth Culture

Rise of the Teenager	·       Word ‘teenager’ came into regular use after WW2 ·       Growth of disposable income - teenagers have more money to spend on entertainment and luxuries ·       Rise in school leaving age to 15 after WW2 - young people have more time to be young ·       Mass media widened the gulf in fashion and music taste between generations ·       Pirate radio shaped popular forms of youth culture
Teenage leisure pursuits	·       Cinema ·       Dance Halls ·       Coffee bars or milk bars - by 1957 there were 1000 coffee bars, music would be played there from a jukebox - 7000 jukeboxes by 1958 ·       Music - BBC show Six-Five Special (1957) appealed to young audience, with presenter who had been a formed DJ on Radio Luxembourg, teens listened to rock’n’roll, skiffle, folk, jazz and blues ·       Fashion - Biba, Mary Quant
Youth Culture	·       Identities influenced by fashion and music ·       Rockers - American style white tee-shirt, jeans and leather jacket ·       Mods - Italian style clothes and Vespa ·       Other identities; Beatniks, Hippies, Skinheads, Glam Rockers and Punks ·       Many older generations felt that youth culture was ‘out of control’ ·       Slight rise in youth crime in 50s and 60s, and sharp rise in arrests for possession of marijuana (235 in 1960 to 11 000 in 1973)