Rock And Roll Influence On Society

Rock and Roll Influence on Society During WW2 American attitudes have swayed and altered throughout history of this country. They are often influenced by the things happening and evolving all around us such as social media, economic changes, wars, etc. A few of these events fade, leaving us to revert back to our older ways however one stands out from the rest which appears to be immortal. One change, an explosion of our view of cultural norms, burst onto the scene and changed us in a deeper and more meaningful way than ever before. This change was caused by rock and’ roll music. Rock and Roll was the beginning to a whole new revolution in America; it has evolved throughout several years from being a dance craze in the 1950’s to a cultural

Rock and Roll has been credited with the uprising of the “gap generation” who have very different values and beliefs than that of the parent generation. The parents actually opposed change and would’ve done anything to keep things the way they were, even if that means blocking certain music, movies, tv shows, actors, singers, and those who represent a shift in the media from media itself. Adults of the 1950’s insisted that Rock and Roll was corrupting and brainwashing the youth. As teenagers were given more opportunities in the decisions they were making for their own futures, they also thought they should have the opportunity to listen to whatever music they wanted to. With the evolution of rock and roll, teens started to embrace new freedoms they had now obtained. Teens began to separate themselves from the rest of society and the population, and it seemed parents were less willing to enforce any sort of social and behavioral norms. Because it was no longer normal for teens to be forced to get jobs, they willingly applied for them. Teens were now gaining more time to be teens. They began to spend more money and gain more free time to socialize. With more time to themselves, “teens [became]

The invention of the television and AM radio attracted teens to listen and watch more music and television shows. The outcome of these new inventions was that there were more school dances, new clothing trends had been created, and new dance fads were also invented. There was a big sexual change within teen culture which included experimenting more with other teens “and teens [becoming] more addicted to pleasures of the body” (Altschuler 67). Parents were ultimately clueless when it came to this type of behavior and they had no idea the teens’ sexual behaviors had changed so abruptly. With the change in normal teen behavior, came a change in the way teens saw music. No longer were they into the innocent, mellow music of their parent’s time. By 1940, a majority of American households owned a radio. This caused American music more accessible as opposed to the World War 1 period. Thus, pop music such as Rock and roll from World War 2 inundated homes and America’s ears and build morale. Prior to World War II, music was restricted to mainly the radio and infrequent record buying. Parents casually listened to “white” music which included Tin Pan Alley or genres of music such as swing or polka which were popular