fc.142a beats, rock’n roll & the counter-culture cycle (c.1950- ) major effects in 50s: mass...

FC.142A BEATS, ROCK’N ROLL & THE COUNTER-CULTURE CYCLE (c.1950- )

Major effects in 50s:Mass media,

esp. TVProsperity & new tech’s

Unforeseen side effects:

Media industry sees teens as an affluent & huge

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Affluent teens buy record players

Free from parents’ censorship

World War II US is global econ. Superpower (FC.142)

African-American gospel music

Fast pace of urban culture

Rural white country music

Elvis Presley combines influences of Black &

White music in Memphis Rock & Roll

Blues evolves in Mississippi Delta

Jazz evolves in American cities

Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, et. al.,

combine poetry w/jazz rhythms Beat culture

Popularity among teenagers of Beat culture & esp. Rock & Roll in U.S. & later across the globe

Media incorporates more acceptable aspects while rejecting or parodying (e.g., “beatniks”) more radical

aspects of the new “youth culture”

Diluted “youth culture” grows in popularity

Eventually, the culture is so diluted & mainstream, it loses its appeal to teenagers

Emergence of new counter-cultural form (“Hippies” in 1960s, Punk & New Wave in late 1970s, & Hip-hop

in 1980s & ‘90s)

aFC.142A BEATS, ROCK’N ROLL & THE COUNTER-CULTURE CYCLE (c.1950- )



Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and a group of poets and writers in New York City in the late 1940s and early 50s formed a group that called themselves the Beats, including both the urban beat of New York and the feeling of being tired, beat, and open to new ideas. When the Soviets launched Sputnik into space in 1957, some journalist coined the term “beatnik” to indicate that the beats were out of this world (I.e., crazy).

Elvis “the Pelvis” bridged the gap between mainstream country music that was popular in the South with Black rhythm and blues, known as “race music”, that was gaining a growing white following, especially in Memphis. Sun Records owner, Sam Philips, had the vision to record and promote this new fusion of country with blues that became known as rock ‘n roll.






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Movies and pulp novels blew the threat and intentions of the beatniks way out of proportion, creating cheap stereotypes that bore little resemblance to the real thing. Sometimes they would be turned into harmless TV and cartoon stereotypes.

Left: Bob Denver as Mayard G. Krebs, a harmless and witless stereotype of a beatnik on the TV sitcom Dobie Gillis. Denver would go on to play the even more witless title role on TV’s Gilligan’s Island.

Sometimes they would be turned into something more dangerous & sinister. The same thing would happen to “hippies” in the 1960s.

The “bobby soxers” of the late 1940s who cultivated a sloppy image of rolled up jeans and loose-fitting clothes were a precursor to the Beats and hippies of the 1950s and 1960s. Teens have always struggled to establish their own separate identities. However, the 1950s were unique in how advertisers targeted and exploited the much larger and more affluent youth market then emerging. It was the combination of lots of teens with money to spend and mass market advertising that created a new phenomenon: the youth culture. Rarely, if ever, has the elusive promise of eternal youth and immediate gratification so dominated cultural values at the expense of age and experience.

“Fifties speak”Even more than the Flappers of the 1920s, the youth culture of the 1950s generated what seemed to adults to be a whole new alien language. While the phenomenon itself was nothing new, the numbers of young people using it was unprecedented. In the 1960s, as the Baby-boomers reached adolescence, the numbers would mushroom and help create what would be termed the Generation Gap. Below are some select terms and phrases in case you ever get caught in a time warp and find yourself in the 1950s. Some are still part of daily speech. Most aren’t. Notice also how the Beats and hot-rodders (AKA greasers) function as two virtually separate sub-cultures.

Actor Show-offAgitate the Gravel To leave (hot-rodders)Ankle-biter A childApe (used with go) to explode or be really madAre you writing a book? You're asking too many questions Back seat bingo Necking in a carBad news Depressing personBent eight a V-8 engine (hot-rodders)Big Daddy An older personBig tickle Really funnyBlast A good timeBlow off To defeat in a race (hot-rodders)Burn rubber Accelerate hard & fast (hot-rodders)Cast an eyeball To look

Chariot Car (Beats)Chrome-plated Dressed up (hot-rodders, originally)Circled MarriedClutched RejectedCooties Imaginary infestations of the truly un-coolCrankedExcited (Beats) Cream To badly damage (hot-rodders, originally)Cube A normal personCut the gas Be quiet!Cut out LeaveDaddy-O Term of address (Beats)D.D.T. Drop Dead TwiceRespond: What, & look like you?Deuce A 1932 Ford (hot-rodders)Dibs A claim - as in "got dibs" on that seatDolly Cute girlDon't have a cow Don't get so excitedDrag (hot-rodders) A short car race; (Beats) A boreEarthbound ReliableEpistle LetterEyeball Look aroundFake Out A bad dateFast Someone who was sexually activeFractureTo amuseFream Someone who doesn't fit inFrosted Angry






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Emergence of new counter-cultural form (“Hippies” in 1960s, Punk & New Wave in late 1970s, & Hip-hop

in 1980s & ‘90s)

Creating & Selling the Youth Culture to the Pepsi Generation

Various companies, such as Pepsi, cashed in on the emerging youth culture and market by packaging their products in ways that were both appealing to teen-agers and squeaky clean enough so as not to offend parents and make them worry that their products would turn their children into beatniks.

1956

Looking at Pepsi ads from the 1950s to the 1960s, one sees an emerging re-definition of young which happened to coincide with an increasingly younger consumer market. The people portraying a youthful image in the 1950s are definitely adults, youthful and active, but some with what might be hints of grey in their hair.

1958

These are also people who are successful, being able to afford ski trips and fancy clothes. So Pepsi should fit in with their affluent lifestyles.

1962

As late as 1962, the models, while youthful, have crows’ feet around their eyes along with the motto: “for those who think young.”

Pepsi ad, 1964

1965

By 1965, millions of Baby-boomers have reached or are approaching their teen years and collectively have enough money to buy a lot of Pepsis. As a result, the new slogan is “Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation!” The models are teenagers, not with expensive clothes or ski equipment, but having the freedom to go to the beach and enough change to buy a Pepsi.

1965

Besides their numbers, they’re also too young to (legally) buy alcohol, which is a major competitor for the adult market.

As the youth culture became the dominant image in Western culture, many aging Baby-boomers remained gripped in the promise of eternal youth, thus making them easy targets for such products as diet pills & Botox.

fc.142a beats, rock’n roll & the counter-culture cycle (c.1950- ) major effects in 50s: mass...

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