The Assassination Of President Kennedy: Studying Popular Culture

The 1950’s represent the beginning of the development of the music industry, as it is known today. It is from here on that the genre of ‘popular music’ existed and began to dominate the charts. Of course, there were acts that existed before the 50’s, and made a good name for them selves, acts like Bing Crosby, but it was in the 50’s that certain artists became household names, and idols to the masses.

Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.

Music in 1950s comprised of sweet lyrics, light melodies, feel-good tunes, virtuous and innocuous songs and sensible singers. While parents were listening to the melodies and country music children were attracted to the new beat songs. Rock-n-Roll became popular which was developed newly in 1950s among the high school teenagers. This generation had plenty of time and surplus money compared to the previous generations and could spend money on records and gramophones. The musical style Rock-n-Roll was owned by youth with live performances, lead and follow concerts which influenced the attitudes, lifestyles, fashions and language. Movies during this period were appealing to the families since they reflected the society and the way that families deal with their

And with these new things brought new jobs, more money being made, the economy was growing, and that’s only a small portion of what some things affected. Some of the things that changed the 50’s were hit movies such as: Superman and The Lone Ranger.(4) Aside from that a huge hit was Walt Disney’s creation of Disneyland which was opened up in 1955.(4) Teen culture was sparked by the new sound of “Rock ‘N Roll”, and a huge icon in that genre was the hip swinging Elvis Presley.(Silverman 5)

One of the social changes in the 1950s was rock-n-roll music which led to teens rebelling against the social norms and being able to freely express themselves. In fact, much of the older generation looked down upon rock-n-roll because they considered it tasteless and music from the devil. While in the 1960s, music was considered a way to really express yourself and tell the world about how you really felt about the current situation. Much of the 60’s music was used to protest the Vietnam War and show the government that they did not want to go off to war to fight. The 1950s was a decade filled with change and prosperity while the 1960s were the years of rebellion and

The 1950s and 1960s were times of unprecedented change, and Australian society was influenced greatly by American popular culture, through various mediums, such as: music, film, television and fashion. This especially affected teenagers. It will be explained how Australian society was impacted by American popular culture, and also why American popular culture had such an affect. Australian developed its own responses to these influences, and the extent of this will also be explored.

Perhaps the greatest controversy was rock and roll music and the splash of a new talent who was hated by most parents of the time...”Elvis Presley”. The 50’s were happiest when compared to the 1930’s great depression, 1940’s and World War, the social strife of the 1960’s and the pure indifference of the 1970’s.

Growing up, I remember the Kennedy assassination being compared often to the terrorist attacks on 9/11—as an event that defined a generation. The news stories and documentaries would pour out every November and my father, who was six at the time of the shooting, would leave them running for days on the living room TV. I learned the historical details of the assassination from the constant coverage, but never thought to ask dad what he remembered about the assassination or how it affected him and his family. Since dad was a young child at the time of the assassination I never considered that he would have many clear memories of the event and the days following it. I was surprised to find that he remembered not only the details of where he was and what he did that day but also that he remembered clearly the responses and attitudes of the adults around him.

Watching media coverage in the past, during the first few hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, I found some interesting points during the presentation from the news reporters.

In 1980, Charles Harrelson was convicted of shooting federal judge John H. Wood, Jr. He was arrested in September of that year after a six hour standoff with police on the side of a highway. During the saga, Harrelson confessed to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in addition to Judge Wood. He later stated he had nothing to do with the JFK assassination, claiming he only confessed to the crime to ensure that he would live longer.

It didn’t stop there. Along came the 1950’s. This is the decade that gave birth to Rock n Roll. There is no one type of popular ‘50s music. During the decade, soloists and crooners shared the stage with rock and roll, country and western, bluegrass, folk, Cajun and creole music. It’s impossible to pin ‘50s music to any one style.

Today I watched the documentary called The Sixties The Assassination of John F. Kennedy.  This documentary was about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It was an event that changed American history. During this documentary Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Mark Herzog, Jonathan Buss, and Stephen J. Morrison also give input on the situation The documentary first starts out with you learning about why he was going to Texas in the first place. That reason was to campaign for the upcoming election. Then the president gets into his vehicle. Next takes you through what Lee Harvey Oswald did next. It shows you the shooting, but the documentary is far from over. You see the hospital room and Lee’s escape from the authorities. You watch Mrs. Kennedy cry.

Few people knew what events the day held on November 22, 1963, but by mid-afternoon one of the most tragic events to ever plague not only the United States but the entire world. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy would go on to be one of the most infamous days in history; surrounded in scandals, controversy, and conspiracy.

Popular culture can be defined in many ways. John Fiske referred to it as “social circulation of meanings, values, and pleasures, to the processes of forming social identities and social relationships, and to entering into relation with the larger social order in a particular way and from a particular position” (Cocarla, “Foundations of Popular Culture + Ways of Seeing”) while Raymond Williams referred to “culture as an activity” and “the process of individual enrichment” and, most importantly, “a group’s particular way of life” (Cocarla, “Foundations of Popular Culture + Ways of Seeing”). Those definitions may seem like a lot to unpack. Essentially, however, it is clear that culture is a concept which is shaped and molded by people and the relationships between them. It is about the people that it represents. People change. Society changes. So too, then, does culture. I believe it is dynamic, ever-changing, consistently being updated to reflect the people in a given society at any given point in time. It is not a stagnant, textbook topic which can be easily defined and parsed. Rather, it must be defined in terms of some cultural context, and one must keep in mind that there are many – sometimes conflicting – definitions of popular culture. The first wave of feminism was concerned with “challenging the basic ideas of ‘womanhood’” (Cocarla, “Feminist Popular Culture Theory”). It is important to understand what such a challenge means – and what this might have to do with

Popular culture is generally believed to be comprised of a variety of elements. For example, popular culture covers the most contemporary and instant aspects of our lives. These aspects can often show the characteristics of rapid change, especially in today’s highly technological and informative world in which, people are highly influenced by the universal media. Certain standards of behaviour and common beliefs are reflected in pop culture. Because of its cohesion, pop culture both influences and reflects people’s daily life. Moreover, brands can reach iconic pop status. However, these aspects are not constant and may change rapidly. (Abbott and Sapsford, 1987).