Pop Culture
By Katie
Moyer
& Tiffany
Meyers
The Nifty Fifties
Film & Literature…
Reflected the fear of
communism & an atomic
holocaust
Examples:
• The movies “The Red
Danube”, “The Red Menace”
and, “Red Planet Mars”.
The Nifty Fifties
o Civil Rights Movement
 Blacks wanted to have equal
rights
 Rosa Parks
 Brown vs. Board of Education
o Taken to Supreme Court
o African American children were
given the right to learn in the
same building as Caucasian
children.
The Nifty Fifties
 Fashion & Fads
 Abstract Art
 Andy Warhol
 Rebel Painters
 Dressing Style
 Dior & Chanel
 People based their styles off of
famous actors & actresses
 Marilyn Monroe
 James Dean
 Popular Pastimes
 Drive-Ins
 Diners
The Nifty Fifties
Music
• Birth of Rock & Roll
o Elvis “The King” Presley
• Sock Hops
o New dance moves
•
Cha Cha, Bosa Nova, &
the Stroll
• Famous Songs
o Frosty The Snowman , Blue
Suede Shoes, Your Cheatin’
Heart , and Jail House Rock
Era of the Flower Children
“1960s”
The Baby “Bloom”:
Baby Boom
• Soldiers returned from the
Vietnam War
• Families reunited..
• Nine months
later..”BLOOM”!
 The Generation Begins..
Era of the Flower Children
“1960s”
Famous Literature
– To Kill a Mockingbird,
One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest, and
Where the Wild Things
Are
• To Kill a Mockingbird
was written as a
reflection of the Civil
Rights Movement.
Era of the Flower Children
“1960s”
• “Fab” Fads!
– Skateboards, Barbie
Dolls, G.I Joe, The Troll
– Unisex Dressing
• bellbottom jeans,
jeweled tee shirts.
– Both male and female
African Americans had
“afros”.
Era of the Flower Children
“1960s”
Grieving in the 60’s:
•
•
•
Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 by
Thomas Hagan.
• Malcolm X was the leader of a
militant Black Nationalist Movement.
President Kennedy (JFK) was
assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey
Oswald.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was
assassinated in 1968 by James Earl Ray
• MLK Jr. was a leader in the Civil
Rights Movement.
Era of the Flower Children
“1960s”
"The Psychedelic Sixties“
Hippies
Woodstock
Famous Bands
The Who & Jimi Hendrix
High influence of drugs
LSD & Marijuana
Teenagers from all over the country come together for a
three day event to listen to a wide variety of bands
Modern day Warped Tour or Bamboozle
• Art
– Illusionism
• Played tricks on your
eyes
– Photography
• Richard Estes
• Architecture
– Combined moderism
with traditional style
1970’s – The Disco Decade
• Anti-War Movement
– War in Vietnam
• Sit-ins, marches, &
protests
– Kent State University
Massacre
• 4 students murdered
during anti-war rally
• Sparked more severe
protests
– Arson, vandalism, and
even bombings
– College campuses
became like war zones
• Fads
– Lava lamps, mood
rings, smiley stickers,
Rubik’s cubes, sea
monkeys
– Streaking
– Family vacations; RV’s
& station wagons
• Fashion
– Platform shoes, hip
huggers
– Shoulder-length hair
on men
1970’s – The Disco Decade
• Technology
– Apollo 17
• Exploration of planets
– VCR
– Email
• Equal Rights Act
– Women’s Rights
– Gay people
– Indians
• Held grudge over the Trail
of Tears
• Music
–
–
–
–
Beatles broke up
Elvis dies
Disco music
Many artists became popular
• Elton John
• Bob Marley
• Led Zeppelin
• TV / Movies
– Star Wars, Rocky, Godfather,
Jaws, Exorcist, Grease
– SNL, Brady Bunch, Sesame
Street, Happy Days
The Electric 80’s
• Science
– Personal computers
gained popularity
– Explosion of the
Challenger
• Literature
– Stephen King
• The Shining
• Carrie
• The Dead Zone
– Tom Clancy
• Fads / Fashions
– Team sports
• Baseball, football,
volleyball, etc.
– Fast food
• McDonald’s,
Wendy’s, Burger
King, etc.
• Candy
– Collectibles
• Smurfs, camcorders,
star wars, etc.
– Beauty
• “Power Dressing”
• Tanning salons
• Sneakers
The Electric 80’s
• Music
– New artists
• Vanilla Ice & L.L. Cool J
• Uprising music
genres
– Punk, hip hop, rap,
etc.
– MTV
– The Compact Disk