Concetti Chiave
- The 1960s marked the start of the consumer society, with teenagers emerging as a distinct target demographic, different from previous generations.
- The decade brought about cultural and musical revolutions, with London becoming a fashion hub and the rise of rock 'n' roll bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
- The 1970s faced energy crises due to coal miners' strikes, leading to energy shortages and blackouts, until the discovery of offshore oil and gas near Scotland reduced coal dependency.
- Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister by the end of the 1970s, was known for her conservative stance, advocating market freedom and reducing state involvement.
- The 1960s saw increased freedoms, especially for women and homosexual couples, and a significant generational gap between parents and teenagers emerged.
The Beginning of the Consumer Society
The 60s was a decade of huge changes--> marked the beginning of the consumer society: things that were considered to be useless, now are essential.
There is a new target=teenagers/young people-->completely different from the teenagers of the previous decade. In the previous decade children just wanted to do the same things as their parents (wear the same clothes etc...) ----> now there is the so called ‘’generational gap’’=teenagers did not want to make the same choices as their parents=for this reason parents and children did not understand each other.
Period of freedom= in particular for women. Furthermore, homosexual couples began to express their sexuality openly (until the 60s being homosexual meant to be a criminal).
The Cultural and Musical Revolution
London became the core of the fashion= invention of miniskirts here.
Teenagers started to eat American food (coca cola for example) and started to listen to American music= Beatles and Rolling Stones--> rock ‘n’ roll marked a gap/a new age.
In the 60s and in beginning of the 70s people started to be involved in peaceful movements (movements for peace) =period of Vietnam war--->very tough period tough for the cold war-->people involved in these movements, because they wanted to change the decision of the government, and people who started to withdraw from society=lived in their own communities and are known as ‘hippies’.
Energy Problems and Strikes
The 70s: At the beginning of the decade there was a
The most relevant event: in 1973 UK joined the
Anyway, at the beginning of the 70s there were lots of problems with miners=strikes, because they did not want their wages to be fixed by the government--> because of coal miners strikes there were problems of energy=in order to save energy there were even regular blackouts during the day. Miners started to work just three day a week, because they did not know how to go on. For this reason, were set up new general elections in the second part of the 70s: the labour party was elected, and sort of agreements between miners and government---> but at the end of the decade discovered oil and gas in the sea near the coast of Scotland (offshore)=because of that at the end of the 70s coal became less important, and UK started to exploit gas (industries became dependent on gas) =miners lost their importance.
The Rise of Margaret Thatcher
End of the decade: new general election, which brought Margaret Thatcher as being the first woman ever to be prime minister: she was very conservative. She was labelled as being ‘’the iron lady’’, because of her personality: she was strong and firm.
She was for freedom in markets and against any kind of financial support to the national system (she was against any statal involvement in the public) for this reason, she cut funds=the English national system (born at the end of the XIX century) that was considered to be one of the best in the world (an example), became weaker and weaker=she managed to destroy the national system.
She wanted even to cut financial support to schools and universities=just thanks to some sort of protests/riots that she renounced in doing that.
New kind of people: ‘’money makers’’=the ones who managed to exploit new discoveries to become very rich--> supported by Thatcher.
Domande da interrogazione
- What marked the beginning of the consumer society in the 1960s?
- How did the cultural and musical landscape change during the 1960s?
- What energy challenges did the UK face in the 1970s?
- What were some key policies of Margaret Thatcher during her time as Prime Minister?
- How did societal roles and freedoms evolve during the 1960s?
The 1960s marked the beginning of the consumer society, characterized by a shift where items once deemed unnecessary became essential. This era also saw the emergence of teenagers as a new target demographic, distinct from previous generations.
The 1960s witnessed a cultural and musical revolution, with London becoming a fashion hub and the rise of rock 'n' roll through bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This period also saw the emergence of peaceful movements, partly in response to the Vietnam War and the Cold War.
In the 1970s, the UK faced significant energy challenges due to coal miners' strikes, which led to energy shortages and regular blackouts. The discovery of offshore oil and gas near Scotland later in the decade reduced the reliance on coal.
Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister, was known for her conservative policies, promoting market freedom and reducing state involvement. She cut funds to the national system and attempted to reduce financial support to schools and universities, facing protests as a result.
The 1960s were a period of increased freedom, particularly for women, and saw homosexual couples beginning to express their sexuality openly. This era marked a significant shift in societal roles and the emergence of a generational gap between parents and teenagers.
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