The 1970s: The Economic Crisis Of The 1970s

While these white punks were able to return to their middle-class, financially stable lives, many minorities had no choice but to live in the cheap apartments they were offered at the time. Although the intention of the white punks may have been to unify all races under the label of ‘punk’, they actually reinforced clear differences between the two groups. The lifestyle became a desired object to white privileged punks into which they launched themselves head-on. The white punks desired to internalize the struggle rather than be contradictory by singing about it and not actually living it. White punks believed that by doing this, they were not only eliminating race within the punk subculture, but they were also furthering their own participation within the subculture by creating a “self-imposed minority”2 and an “appropriation of Otherness”2.

In this essay, I will be discussing about a social group that took fashion to the next level and create a huge impact in British history were the punks culture during the late nineteen seventies. The punk cultures were to rebel against the government during the great depression and were all about the attitude of the younger generations. During the late nineteen seventies was the time of unemployment and social unrest, a lot of the young white kids felt outcast from the British culture, foreseeing their lives with little prospect and so called “no future”. It was also a DIY “Do it yourself” movement. Younger generation that adopted the punk look often create their own garment by wearing safety pins,

In order to understand why punk came about the preceding periods will be considered. The baby boom after the war had resulted in a large amount of people being born at the same time. A knock on effect later down the line resulted in mass unemployment for young people. The punk era showed angry,

In today’s day and age when people think of country music they imagine the classics, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Strait and many more. When people think of a redneck, they imagine a diehard country boy, who loves his country with a confederate flag in one hand and a beer in the other. But that is our generations take on these two words. The real question here is what did those two words mean to the people who came up with them and defined them. It couldn’t have been easy. It was no surprise that people were still recovering from the Great Depression and the more recent recession. Families were left destitute, men were working factory jobs for less than minimum wage, if that, and people had just about given up hope. In the time of

In today’s day and age when people think of country music they imagine the classics, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Strait and many more. When people think of a redneck, they imagine a diehard country boy, who loves his country with a confederate flag in one hand and a beer in the other. But that is our generations take on these two words. The real question here is what did those two words mean to the people who came up with them and defined them. It couldn’t have been easy. It was no surprise that people were still recovering from the Great Depression and the more recent recession. Families were left destitute, men were working factory jobs for less than minimum wage, if that, and people had just about given up hope. In the time of turmoil and pain, these people of the 1970’s found a way to give themselves something to believe in. The songs that the artists wrote, sang and performed gave these individuals something to believe in and something to look forward to. One day they knew they could have that dream. Sure, not all of the country music at the time was upbeat and about the future. It dwelled on the past like the Great Depression and when Americans lost everything, but it made the people of the 1970’s want to work that much harder to make something of themselves. People were determined to take a stand and make a change. The development of “redneck” and “country” culture came from the idea of a better life for the people of America in the 1970’s. This occurred with

In the late 20th century, Australia?s indigenous peoples were 29 times more likely to be put in jail than other Australians; 20 times more likely to be picked up by the police; less likely to receive bail or have legal representation in the court; and more likely to plead guilty. At the same time, indigenous peoples were less likely to be called up for jury duty than other Australians. The Aboriginal Legal Service (1970-97) provided access to legal advice and assistance for people who could not have otherwise afforded it, but it could do little to overcome injustices indigenous Australians suffered under the Australian legal system.

The attitude common in the subculture is the resistance to selling out, which means abandoning one’s values and changing in musical style toward pop to embrace anything that’s mainstream capitalist culture in the exchange for money, status, or power. Punk rocks’ common thinking wasn’t only anti-authoritarism, and not selling out but also non-conformity, direct action, and a DIY ethic. The DIY attitude was pointed towards stepping forward and speaking without any restraint. To fight with warrior qualities to achieve what you were striving for. The kind of thinking and motives for punk rock subjects was to not settle for what society made acceptable and standard but to think and work outside of the box that was holding them in.

In the late 1970s, the demand of relaxing music and multiracial made disco popular, and the embody of rebellion and aggression led punk rise. Disco rooted in the late 1960s, and peaked in the late 1970s when the demand of entertainment kept increasing. On the other hand, after age of hippy, many young musicians in the late 1970s tried to reject the older generation and accept anti-establishment mentality, which was closely connected to punk.

“He [Pearson’s father] would freak out when he read the song titles to the cassettes that my friends and I would shoplift from the mall…He was certain that I’d become a Junkie if I listened to that kind of music. But with an alcoholic wife-beater father who didn’t give a shit about his son I was bound to avoid the cliched, nihilist aspects of punk culture” (Pearson 12).

With all the changes happening in economy during the late 1970’s through the 1980’s how did this make the

Music, in the past, has often spelled bad news to society at large. It can challenge norms and invoke a sense of hype in places that modern culture may be uncomfortable with, such as sex, sexuality, and drugs. Personally, when I think of punk music, I see a genre that stands to be individualistic, aggressive, and rebellious. Phrases such as ‘anti-establishment’ also come up. This notion comes from many aspects of punk subculture, including dress, music, performance, and my interpretations.

The peaceful life of the English society of the 1960s was struck by the clashes between the Mods and Rockers. Both Mods and Rockers were called “gangs”, which is a “structure sharing the same ideas, attachments and solidarity” [7]. Every gang usually has its own “interests, activities, membership, and status” [7]. Usually such groups appear spontaneously. Both gangs - Mods and Rockers - “represented opposite tastes with regard to a number of social conventions such as clothing, grooming, music, and so on” [7]. For example, the Mods (modernists) preferred to wear suits and pointed shoes, listen to Jazz and Rhythm & Blues style of music and ride scooters. In their

Most of the original rebellion was directed towards the British class structure. They wanted to express their disapproval of the structure that governed their country. In The Jam’s “Eton Rifles”, the band sarcastically attacks the upper class, calling them arrogant and preaching to them that rugby is the only thing making them strong (Punk 68). The Sex Pistols’ album “God Save The Queen” portrays the Queen of England with a safety pin through her nose on their cover. The reaction to this outburst of shocking rebellion from the mainstream society was a strong, displeased one. American writer Greil Marcus defined punk as, “…refusing the future society has planned for you.” Thousands of social misfits attempted just that. Through the many causes for this rebellious political expression: communism, anarchy, feminism, etc., the punks of England had a focus and a reason. It was this that made the “punk” a valid, yet undesired member of society, and the British public got to see this sociological change first hand (Chamberlain par.8). Although this movement was short lived, its impact was a phenomenon, and its effects were long- lasting, which distinguished this group from previous generations.

Punks used shock value for attention. For example, although the band has never made racist comments or lyrics, bassist Sid Vicious was often spotted wearing swastikas. (Gildart 134-135). Their fashion choices gave everyone another reason to talk about them. The media was putting money in their pockets and helping them get their message across.

A contributing factor that resulted in punk becoming so popular in the U.K. was the sociopolitical environment in Great Britain, as at the time the nation was undergoing major social upheaval. During the early nineteen-seventies, the global oil and steel manufacturing crises rocking most of the world helped throw the United Kingdom into a recession. The recession resulted in the British government cutting funding for many essential services which in turn would lead to strikes, riots, rolling blackouts and an unstable government. The economy was slow to recover thanks to high inflation and unemployment rates resulting in stale economic growth. It was estimated that more than half of all 18 year olds were either unemployed or underemployed.