Chapter 8: Culture • Retrenchment & Reaction • 1969-1978 • President Richard Nixon • 1968 was a year of confrontation between students and government • Tet Offensive- left more Americans opposed to the continuation of the war • Richard Nixon witnessed achievements in foreign diplomacy despite his reputation for abuse of power • Richard Nixon set a goal of ending the war through “Vietnamization” • Vietnam & Domestic politics • Anti-war demonstrations • 4 Students killed at Kent State University • 2 students killed at Jackson State College • South Vietnamese government fell to communists; U.S. embassy was evacuated • Post-economic boom of WWII was coming to an end • Energy shortage • China, Soviet Union & 1976 • Success of Nixon administration • Relaxation of tensions with the Soviet Union • Opening up of relations with China • Nation’s bicentennial in 1976 • Civil Rights • Civil rights movement continued • • Mandatory busing was used Feminist movement • Equal rights amendment • Roe vs. Wade • By end of 70s more than half of college graduates were women • Social life • Passage of Title IX as part of 1972 Educational Amendment • Environmental movement • Led to “earth style” • Challenged ideas about time, size, and space • Consumer movement led by Ralph Nader • Men’s interest in fashion increased • Caused changes to diversity of products • Led many designers to enter men’s business • Sunbelt / Technology • Southern cities were fastest growing in the U.S. • Advances in technology • Pocket calculator • Digital Watches • Video games- Atari • Floppy Disk • Climax of Space Race 1969- Apollo 11 • Medical advances- Ultrasound, test tube baby • Literature • Literature reflected period of social unrest and volatility • Personal fulfillment and self expression books • Jonathan Livingston Seagull- parable about a seagull • All the President’s Men (1974)- detailed Watergate investigation and was made into a film in 1976 by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward • (photo of Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford) • Sports/Leisure • Healthy living promoted • Jogging related apparel began popular with new trends and fashions • Running shoes accounted for 50% of all shoes sold • Nike founded in 1972 • Steve Prefontaine was first athletic endorsement • Nike Waffle Iron • Art/Architecture • Earth Art • • Postmodernism • • Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson Sears Tower, East Wing of the National Art Gallery Wearable art movement started in 1970’s • Combined clothing with weaving , painting, embroidery, and dyeing • Television • Dominant entertainment medium • By 1978, 98% U.S. households had a TV • TV Guide, most widely read publication • Saturday Night Live • M*A*S*H • Charlie’s Angels inspired loose, curled hairstyle—two Texas girls—Farrah Fawcett, Corpus Christi (back) and Jaclyn Smith, Houston (right), the third is Kate Jackson • Movies • Hollywood stars began dressing more casually, wearing jeans and blazers to events where evening dress would typically be worn in the past • Jaws and Star Wars • Pantsuits inspired by The Godfather & The Sting • Disco became popular • Saturday Night Fever- popularized the floral knit shirts and 3-piece white suits John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney • Music • Eclectic Mix of Rock & Roll, Heavy Metal, and Funk--Kiss • Torn shirts, jackets decorated with heavy chains and safety pins • Popularized London designers • The Supremes – their dresses, make-up and wigs were featured in an exhibit in the African American Museum in Philadelphia in 2013. See link on BlackBoard • Manufacturing/ Retailing • 1971- business worth $13 billion wholesale • 1.4 million employees • Many companies only offered one product at a certain price point • Dallas was ranked 3rd in apparel production, behind NYC and LA • • Companies moved south to save money on space and transportation Technology • Laser-beam cutting of pattern pieces • Computer-aided pattern making • Electronic storage of patterns • Automated pattern and marker making • Data and Credit Cards • Electronic data processing at POS (Point of Sale) • • Retailers could measure sales of items • Dates of merchandise delivery in computer allowed better use of promotions Americans had 275 million credit cards in 1971 • 1967- $1 billion charged/ 1971- $7 billion charged • 2006- $1,950 billion charged • Department Stores & Catalogs • Department store hours expanded- 7 days a week • Catalog sales rose • More self-service in stores • Manufacturing and Advertisements • Buying shifted to main office • Markets held in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas • Later Denver, Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta • Couture departments dropped by stores • Bloomingdale’s remade the store to be trendier • Neiman Marcus began showing ads on TV in 1974 • Department stores expanded certain departments due to customer demand • custom departments, home-sewing areas, millinery departments
