Event of the 60’s inspired Stephen Stills to write “For What It’s worth,” the song then was released months later by the group Buffalo Springfield according to the article Closing of club ignited the ‘Sunset strip club’(Cecilia Rasmussen). The riot is also known as hippie riot. The reason it is considered the hippie is that the protesters were young rock and roll fans, some were student and some of them wore long hair. The reason behind the protest was that residents and business owners had encouraged the passage of a 10 pm curfew. This is to reduce loitering and the traffic in that area. In 1966 there were a bunch of peaceful youthful protests going on in the Sunset Strip because of a club getting shut down, and the police started beating them during one of the protests. This is usually connected to the Vietnam War because it was made around the same era, and this song is very much about peace and rebellion, which was the vibe during the Vietnam era. According to Rasmussen fliers contained information about the protest were distributed earlier that day. And the protest began with the protester blocking the traffic peacefully until a group of off duty marines showed up.
Even thou the song was inspired by the event previously mentioned. The song became one of the protest song in the 60’s, the reason is that the lyrics of the song pretty much described the events that took place in the 60’s and early 70’s. Due to the Vietnam War protest happened all over the country. Many
Robin Thicke’s music video to his song “Blurred Lines” avidly contributes to the patriarchy, while portraying sexism, gender standards, and beauty standards. His music video can be analyzed from a feminist theory approach, as it’s evident that his song and video contribute to a patriarchal society and its inherently sexist and sexualized ideologies. The ideology behind the song and music video is purely sexual and about male dominance. The lyrics to the song and actions in the video exhibit extreme over sexualization and objectification of the women. Analyzing this piece of popular culture through a feminist approach opens up a provoking conversation about how popular culture functions in a patriarchal culture. Analyzing pop culture though a feminist theory can allow for a larger variety and more in-depth analysis about the social aspects and political agenda within popular culture.
Dylan’s most famous protest song is “Blown’ in the Wind”. It became the anthem for the civil rights movement in America during the 1960s, and as result Dylan was viewed as the spiritual leader of the civil rights movement. “Blown’ in the Wind” became very popular among the American people because the lyrics of the song could be applied to any situation as the lyrics were all about humanity learning from its mistakes and a call for freedom. “Only a Pawn in Their Game” was Dylan’s most offensive protest song that he wrote, and it was first performed at a civil rights rally in Greenwood, Mississippi. This song was about a civil rights activist who was murdered by “just a poor dumb
In a broader context, protest musicians composed songs about student protests in which they firmly sided with the protesters, supporting their actions and condemning those trying to stop the protests. (OnlyEverArabella, n.d.). The ideas were expressed in music as it served as a form of publicity and promotion for the counterculture community during this era. The government continuously tried to prevent media coverage about these movements but their music simply spoke the
The Sixties were an exciting revolutionary period of time with great social and technological change. Some people called it the “decade of discontent” because of the race riots in Detroit and La, and the demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Other people called it the decade of “peace, love, and harmony”. It was called this because of the peace movement and the emergence of the flower children. (Britannica) The sixties were about assassination, unforgettable fashion, new styles of music, civil rights, gay and women’s liberation, Vietnam, Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, peace marches, sexual freedom, drug experimentation, and Woodstock. All of these components caused a revolutionary change in the world of popular Music.
First and probably most important is that the song was written by a union member in support of
2. Is the intent of this song to promote or protest the Vietnam War? Why?
The early 1960s was a time of extreme social issues such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement; everyone was looking for their own voice in this time of adversity. A young Bob Dylan arises to the spotlight and sings songs speaking of protest and originality, expressing societal dissatisfaction felt by not only himself but by his entire generation. In the 1960s Dylan wrote many protest songs that people of his generation found themselves connecting to, leading way to a counterculture aside from popular music which also paved a way for introspective song writing.
At the time, teens and young adults were looking for ways to rebel against their religious and strict parents, but in a way that would affect the world in a positive way. “Woodstock was, in many ways, a symbolic high point for the 1960s generation, proving that peace and love were possible in the world, if only for a moment” (Berg 863). The war in Vietnam was a huge event that was taking place at the time of Woodstock. Many of the fans that were present, were
The Nineteen Sixties were a time of grand turmoil in the United States. The nation almost came apart at the seams many times throughout the decade. The government was involved in a plethora of things at the time that the general population did not agree with. The most important was the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was the most publicly protested war in the history of the country. There were many new forms of protesting used at this time. The most mainstream and effective way of protest was through song. The lyrics of the songs of the sixties were laced with anti-government and anti-war messages that were sometimes hidden and sometimes direct. The generation responsible for the new music was the Baby Boomers. These were the
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular
Throughout history, protests have been proven to be the more effective methods of getting a message across, whether it’s to express disdain for the misdeeds of police officers, or to protest the U.S.’s involvement in war. This was seen especially during the Vietnam War, one of the more recent wars this country has been involved in. Many people around the country expressed their opinions about the idea of war, in several forms, including riots, protests, and draft dodging. Along with this form of expression and practicing of free speech, several music artists, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, and Edwin Starr, joined in the anti-war movement by conveying their own two cents about the matter through the lyrics of catchy, impassioned songs. In the song “War” by Edwin Starr, Starr attempts to portray his negative view on war, through the use of pathos to create a more intimate bond with his listeners, a very aggressive, yet passionate tone, and the song’s close resemblance of a protest, in auditory form.
During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed
The Vietnam war was a major event to America because it had major conflicts with personal opinions of the people of 1960’s. In this era, plenty of people were rethinking on why they were fighting in a war that they did not need to be fighting. and joined the anti-war movement. This can explicitly be seen from the type of music that people were listening to at the time. The song that I am going to be analyzing is “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. This song resonated with the persona of the people for multiple reasons because it was a song that was about losing a loved one and dealing with the sadness.
To understand the sixties counterculture, we must understand the important role of Bob Dylan. His lyrics fueled the rebellious youth in America. Songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times are A-Changin” made him favorable to anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the Civil Rights movement. He was commonly hailed as the spokesman for his generation. Dylan used lyrics to allow the youth to find their own form of counter-culture. The youth generation began to see the effects racism, war, etc. effect the society in America. To combat this, the youth created their own form of counter-culture to promote a peaceful change within society. Some of their actions include forming anti-war protests that opposed America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and supporting African Americans/women get the rights they deserve through the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan’s music appealed to the young generation because he openly expresses his disapproval of the establishment in order to influenced his audience to move in a direction for change. Counterculture youth rejected cultural norms of the previous generation and their values and lifestyles opposed the mainstream culture present in the 1950’s. The folk music revival of the early 1960s, as well as the counter-culture movement played an important role in advocating change. Bob Dylan wrote songs that influenced the Civil Rights Movement, New Left Movement, and Anti-War Movement.
“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.