The sixties were usually referred to as a period of joy and optimism, especially in England, as it was a span of time between two tougher periods in British history. Socially and economically speaking, the fifties was characterized as a period of severe struggle in the United Kingdom. The seventies was laden with several problems that were often linked with the economic crisis of these years and the decline of the British power. Therefore, the cultural movements of this period were often very pessimistic and violent, such as the punk movement. On the contrary, the cultural movements of the sixties appeared to have been a lot more joyful. In this context, Christopher Brooker, a historian, says that "one of the most obvious things that have built our vision of the 1960's is the fact that these years have been idealized as a kind of golden age that has been lost." However some protagonists of this fascinating era have adopted a more pessimistic view and think of all this as nothing but a huge illusion: the illusion of prosperity, freedom and happiness. According to Ray Davies, the leader of the Kinks (one of the major bands of that time) said in 1981: "The sixties was a lie, a total lie". It can therefore be concluded that the sixties was quite an ambiguous period. In order to understand it better, I will first try to present them objectively and then use the famous movie Blow-Up, by Michaelo Antonioni, in order to support and adopt a more critical point of view.
[...] It was also about the Beatle's image, about their style and their behaviour. They appeared in various movies, such as A Hard Day's Night or Help, which helped them become famous. And of course, their nice little suits and haircuts, their sweet faces, in opposition with the rockers' style, also were an essential point that made them become such stars. But soon, other pop bands appeared. Producers were actively looking for the new Beatles And the success story of the Fab Four stimulated many musical vocations. [...]
[...] a variety of these cultural trends that took place in the United Kingdom in the 1960's. First of all, we can say that the British Sixties really began in 1963, with the national success of the Beatles. It introduced a musical revolution, after the rockers of the 50's, and lead to a global cultural evolution, with the development of the mod lifestyle. This pop movement is therefore really linked with music. The importance of music Let's start with the Beatles, who were the first big band of that time. [...]
[...] At the end of the scene, the guitarist becomes slightly nervous, and starts breaking his guitar and throwing it to the scene. What happens is symbolical: people suddenly wake-up and become crazy, they really want to get this magical object. But when the hero takes it and drops it outside, it suddenly looses all its symbolic value. It's nothing more than a broken guitar. According to Peter Brunette, the author, it means that the social context determines the meaning, and that things have no value in thereselves. This vision could of course be extended to the whole swinging [...]
[...] People are really originally dressed, they are wearing great and lively clothes, but they just look like zombies: their faces and their bodies are still, their eyes are empty, and they don't seem to be happy at all. There not having any fun. So this is paradoxical with the common vision of the swinging London period. Through this scene, Antonioni expresses his divided view about the Sixties. He actually said he was attracted to Swinging London, the sexual freedom, the music, etc. [...]
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