Swinging Sixties

The draw therefore brings me to the concept of idea of progress. The idea of progress is the belief that the world and human society can and do improve, and that art, science, technology and society are all part of that. Progress implies change -from an old order with its traditions and customs to a new one with new conventions and beliefs- and the conviction that the change is for the greater good.

In order to illustrate this topic I have chosen to talk about 2 documents that are the cover of Time Magazine released in April 1966 and the trailer of a movie called “The Boat that Rocked” in 2009.

Through these documents I will try to answer the question How do young people have embodied the Swinging Sixties In Great Britain ?

So first, I will talk about the cover of the American magazine called “Time”

I think it illustrates the notion because this cover alludes to the numerous changes which took place in the Sixties epitomized here by the opposition between the traditional London and the modern one  

Indeed at the time London was the epicenter of many changes.

So on the right part of the cover, we can see the houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the union jack, a man smoking a pipe who are probably the Prime Minister Wilson and elderly people in a Royce Roll. They all look surly and grumpy.

By contrast the left part illustrates the changes. For instance, the breaking of taboos concern especially sexuality. The young generation wears psychedelic clothes, listen to R’n’R and also use all sorts of drugs witch can not be assimilate to progress

The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven shift in culture because baby-boomers decided to break with tradition in the hope of getting more freedom and considerations. This Time magazine cover shows how much young people have brought changes in London, compared to the boring old city.

Now, I will talk about a movie whose we studied on the trailer called “The boat that Rocked” by

The movie is set in the sixties in Great Britain. It is based on a group of DJ that decided to broadcast round the clock R’n’R from a boat because at the time that was forbidden. It was a pirate radio but young people was hysterical about this group of mavericks because they were representing fun freedom but also a form of pacific rebellion against the government and the restricted laws. Thus the government outlawed the pirate radio and want to shut it down.

This trailer represent the fight that young people put against a way of life that they don't want to follow. R'n'R music represent a the time the ultimate freedom and listening to pirate radios was a way to affirm their position as young but loud people.

The Swinging Sixties was the moment where baby-boomers take advantages on the traditional strict way of life of their parents. They wanted more freedom in order to have fun, to do whatever they wanted to. This cultural revolution leads by youth is particularly illustrated by the Swinging London that was at the time the epicenter of all changes. But music and especially R'n'R had a spacial place in the 60's because they were representing the cultural break between the former society and the youth.

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