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Cold War Influence On American Culture

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One of the aspects of culture that was influenced by the Cold War is music. The ideals, situations, and figures were described, and criticized in every musical form. This investigation seeks to find the relationship between the creation of the Rock and Roll music genre and the social issues of the Cold War. The main body of evidence will investigate the events that lead up to the desperation of society and why this music genre was born as one of the factors for its creation. Evidence will include both, primary, and secondary sources including investigation about the Cold War, the origins of the musical genre. It will also include examples of songs, which reflect the effects the events had on them and the world around them. An analysis of these …show more content…

America had free elections, a democratic country, and richest world power. America had freedom of media and was capitalist with the ideal of “Survival of the fittest”, while the Soviet Union was in the opposite situation. There were no elections, it was autocratic and was ruled by a dictator, had a poor economic base, there was total censorship, and it was a communist country with the ideal of “Everybody helps everybody” (History Learning Site).

The main events and personalities of the Cold War were: the Iron Curtain, the Truman Doctrine, NATO, the Korean War, the Warsaw Pact, Sputnik, the Soviet Army, the Hungarian uprising and secret police, the Suez Canal War, the Berlin Wall, The Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro, The Nuclear Arms Race and Nuclear Winter, the B52 Bomb, the Russian Invasion of Afghanistan, and Project Azorian (History Learning Site).

Culture and society during the Cold …show more content…

Song “Revolution” by the Beatles.

It is a primary source written in 1968. Even though it is not one of the first rock and roll songs written at the beginning of the 1950s, it is a song that expresses the people’s feelings about the situation the world was in. According to research I have done before, people felt angry and were in fear throughout the Cold War period.

John Lennon wrote the song in the United Kingdom on November 1968. The song was inspired by political protests in early 1968 in opposition to the Vietnam War. Lennon believed in Transcendental Meditation that he learned in India, which he used as a source of inspiration. Throughout his song he mentions the phrase “it’s gonna be alright”, he believed in the idea that God would take care of human

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The origins of this song are unclear, although it pre-dates before the Civil War. It is most commonly associated with the southern region of the U.S. "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has inspired both a partner dance and different line dances that is often danced various venues in the U.S. and around the world. The song became the popular version its known as today by the Swedish band Rednex in 1994. They were obsessed with American folk and bluegrass music, so they edited the song, remanded it to “Cotton-Eye Joe” and made it into the global dance hit it is today.

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This was a common message in the 60's songs as well as protests. These protests broke the rules of conformity that previously existed in the 40's and

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In early 1968, media coverage regarding the aftermath of the Tet Offensive spurred increased protests in opposition to the Vietnam War. Protest were mainly occurring in the U.S but it became nationwide as several thousand demonstrators marched to the American embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square, which soon had a violent clash with the police. The Beatles has normally avoided publicly expressing their political views, but during his time in Rishikesh, Lennon decided to write a song about the recent wave of social upheaval. The song influences antiwar and nonviolent approach methods.

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With the rising number of protests against the Vietnam War, John Lennon was inspired to write one of the first political songs, “Revolution,” in response. Americans were shaken by the traumatic attack of the Tet Offensive, initiated by the communist North Vietnam that resulted in heavy causalities of both

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Some additionally discovered the verses misleading, originating from a mogul. Regardless of this, the tune was Lennon's most prevalent solo melody, as well as unquestionably "a persevering song of comfort and guarantee that has brought us through times of amazing despondency" (Rolling

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Reason to listen: I think it’s safe to say that all of you have listened to or heard music at one point of your life, but did you know music influences and manipulates us more than we know? III. Thesis Statement: Today I am going to tell you about an aspect of human culture that appears just about everywhere you go: music. IV. Credibility Statement: Being a big music lover, I was curious about how much music really affected me, and hence my research began.

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John Lennon was a famous musician in a period for Americans where war and violence stained the streets, wallets, and mindsets of all in the country. In the 1960s, “war” had become a household word, and “peace” had become a fantasy. People were scared, mad, and hopeless. Then, like a super hero, The Beatles gave hope. They took people to an unknown land; one filled with greener grass, big smiles, and happier people.

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John Lennon possessed the same goal as Bob Dylan. The two iconic musicians, both used their music to send a message to the people of America. “A brotherhood of man,” (Lennon). John Lennon created this song to display an image in an individual’s mind in order to influence that individual to make a change for the sake of our

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To the contrary, Frick revealed that contemporaries of Lennon felt that he was a spiritual person (5). Songwriter Jimmy Webb was cited as pronouncing “God doesn’t want us to do this stuff to each other. The most important thing Lennon said in that song was this: Anything that divides us, that causes us to be violent toward one another, doesn’t come from God” (Fricke 4). Lennon’s belief in God would therefore lead him to be a human being interested in the concept of morality. The morality of life in the world envisioned within the lyrics of Lennon’s hit song, would be an objective morality.

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Paul McCartney's "Hey Jude," which was first released in 1968, serves as the opening music. The core of the song are McCartney's passionate vocals as to what he sings about, which also serve as a focal point.

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This theme is quickly retracted, as Lennon, among his non-beliefs, denounces his belief in Buddha as well. He could be symbolizing, with his infamous statement of The Beatles being “more popular than Jesus,” that with the death of the band, many people, including himself, began to lose their faiths. Even now, one can see just how influential the Fab Four still are to popular music, so it makes the meaning of the song that much more impactful. This message gets stronger as the second verse commences. Lennon, as stated before, denounces his belief in these things, in order: magic, I-Ching, Bible, tarot, Hitler, Jesus, Kennedy, Buddha, mantra, Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (referring to Bob Dylan), and The Beatles.

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He sings, “imagine there’s no countries...nothing to kill or die for,” which encourages everyone to break the barrier of culture; the mental divide that we set up against others. If we didn’t judge the good and the bad of people as often as we do there is a chance that we could get along. In the last line of the second verse Lennon says, “and no religion too,” and that pulls in to the idea of culture. Religion is a huge part of culture everywhere around the world, even in America. Although it may be hard to be accepting of what you think may be wrong, being kind could make an impression on that person; forcing others to believe a certain view only pushes them further

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