Concetti Chiave
- The concept of "teenager" emerged in the 1940s, driven by music's influence in creating a distinct youth culture and generational identity.
- The 1960s marked significant social changes, with teenagers gaining financial independence and becoming key figures in consumer culture, influencing fashion and music.
- Postmodern literature in the mid-20th century blurred traditional cultural boundaries, embracing diverse narratives and reflecting societal shifts.
- Music evolved into a powerful medium for protest and social commentary in the late 20th century, with artists addressing political and social issues through their lyrics.
- The 1980s saw technological advances that transformed daily life and media consumption, alongside music genres like rap and rock shaping cultural expression.
The image of the teenager before the 1960s
How the image of the teenager has changed so far, until the 90s in particular.
Before the 60s teenagers just wanted to follow what, their parents did in life=they just wanted to do the same things.
Teenagers lived as their parents.
they just wanted to marry and to have children
After school, people just looked for a job=usually they did the same work/ job as their parents.
If they lived in the countryside → help their parents to work the land.
Children dressed liked their parents and they will emulate them (building a family).
The role of music and the birth of the term 'teenager'
The 40s can be considered a sort of turning point.
Music was fundamental during that period--> it was a new age for music=>Music became an important tool in helping people forget the new war
Official birth of the word ‘’teenager’’: although it first appeared prior to the Second World War, the word ‘teenager’ only really caught on in common usage during the late 1940s.
being a teenager seemed something exciting, something to be celebrated=it was seen as something positive, even from adults, unlike nowadays--->birth of the first magazines with clothes for teenagers.
During this period everything changed=beginning of the generational gap and problems between social classes--> new values.
Literature=UK: Osborne: Look Back in Anger; USA Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye, 1951; Kerouac: On the Road, 1957 – the Beats).
Birth of postmodernism (acceptance of fragmentation, absence of a centre of meaning; no more difference between pop and high culture).
It was the very beginning of eletta=from the ‘’Daily Mirror’’, the question is: ‘’what turns a teenager into a terror? Why should a well-behaved eleven-year-old become, at fourteen, a problem child=sense of disillusionment and search of a new identity.
Although people were beginning to ask, what should a teenager be? How should they behave? What should they wear? → more stereotypical and familiar representations of the teenager as difficult and problematic (daily mirror 28th February 1955).
Rock and roll (sound fast, rebellious and exciting) appealed the teens.
Social and cultural changes in the 1960s
Post war economic boom→ teenagers had money to spend, more free time and an increasing number went to university.
The birth of the consumer society (new values) --> teenagers had money to spend and became the target of many products=>centre of this new consumer society.
Society: completely new because it is marked by freedom from social constrains=in particular for women.
Whether we approve or not, the British girl is regarded abroad as a dish, a doll, a dazzler. Though New Yorkers are startled by our short skirts, and Paris considers them inelegant, this hasn’t stopped London becoming the centre of the world’s ready -made clothes business. (The Tatler, 30th April 1966).
Fashion: Mary Quant has often been credited with 'inventing' the miniskirt →London was seen as the centre of fashion (invention of miniskirts, but still a debate about).
Music: marked a difference with Beatles and Rolling Stones (Swinging London or Swinging 60s)=music mirrors the changing of society: rock and roll was a rebellious music: matched rebellions.
Creation of tv programmes, ‘’free cinema’’ for teenagers=’’Happy Days’’: presented a different society, protagonist are only young people, clothes different from the previous generation. Bullysm shown: fight to maintain reputation=nice way to show problems of the age.
Food, Drink, arts (Francis Bacon, expressing the alienation of the modern man).
Generation gap= lack of communication: parents frustrated and teenagers more rebel (liberal attitude towards sex and more easily available drugs and alcohol)
The reforms: Sexual Offences Act (1967, homosexuality was not a crime anymore); Abortion Act (1967), Divorce Reform Act (1969, improved the conditions of separations).
Women’s Liberation → Equal Pay Bill (1970); Sex Discrimination Bill (1975).
Bloody Sunday (30th January 1972) 13 unarmed Catholics were killed by British troops, Belfast=the Irish /Catholics wanted to be united on their own; protestants in Northern Ireland asked for more rights (were not like British protestants): terroristic attacks (traveller).
The 60s and 70s were decades with different ingredients: on the one hand people were happy, they enjoyed life; on the other hand, there was a lot of violence (bloody Sunday marked that period).
Literature=Larkin’s Annus Mirabilis (1967).
Literature and postmodernism
Everything in that period was labelled as been Postmodern/ reached its peak (postmodern trend: everything merged-acknowledge not divided anymore, no difference between elevated and popular: everything literature-, no order in life: just wanted to present life as it was-differently from modernist writers----> Rushdie: merged lot of features of the previous trend =key word in all cultural fields.
Literature reflected the social and cultural changes (variety of nationalities coexisting, multiplicity of different ways of being and writing English). ‘Antirealist’ trend of fantasy (its father: Talkien’s the Lord of the Rings, 1954-55) → ‘magic realism’ (Italo Calvino, Gabriel Garcìa Marquez, Salman Rushdie); →Spreading of literary prizes - Booker Prize (the best known British literary award for fiction: Midnight’s Children is known as the best novel to be awarded).
Music as a tool for protest
Music: it seems that music has got the role of literature=music to denounce. Britain was the world leader in pop music (the Police, U2 – known for their social and political protests=importance of words to denounce social problems); Celtic Music Revival and local music: importance of historical roots.
Technology (revolution): Computer Revolution (invention of the Apple Mackintosh, CD-ROM); disposable camera; disposable soft contact lenses; Motorola launched the first cellular phone; high-definition TV; first 3D-video game.
Progresses in Medicine: Hepatite B vaccine; artificial human heart.
First time Aids is mentioned.
Violence and freedom in the 1980s
BBC: the Heysel disaster of 29 may, 1985, (Juventus vs Liverpool) led to the deaths of 39 fans (Italian and Belgian) and a five-year blanket ban on English clubs in European football=even football match became the trigger for such violence, people shocked.
Freedom but witnesses of violence events=analogy with previous generation who experienced war.
Literature: ultimate Safari--> new vision of teenager: young girl trying to survive/escape from war. Literature is used to denounce.
Technology: completely changed life=google was invented, DVDs, text messaging, mobile phones: Nokia, video games – e.g., play Station.
Music: rap, reggae and urban, rock music e.g. Oasis, Blur, Queen, Nirvana, Mariah Carey.
- First Media War (Gulf War, 1991), the power of music (U2 with Pavarotti and Friends, Sarajevo, 1995).
Domande da interrogazione
- How was the image of teenagers perceived before the 1960s?
- What role did music play in the emergence of the term 'teenager'?
- How did the 1960s economic boom affect teenagers?
- In what ways did literature reflect the social changes of the postmodern era?
- How did music serve as a tool for protest in the late 20th century?
Before the 1960s, teenagers were seen as emulating their parents, aspiring to similar life paths such as marriage and family, and often following in their parents' professional footsteps, especially in rural areas.
Music in the 1940s marked a turning point, helping people forget the war and contributing to the popularization of the term 'teenager,' which became associated with excitement and celebration, leading to the creation of teen-focused magazines and a generational gap.
The post-war economic boom provided teenagers with disposable income and free time, making them central to the new consumer society and influencing fashion, music, and social norms, as seen in the rise of Swinging London and the popularity of the miniskirt.
Literature during the postmodern era embraced fragmentation and the merging of high and popular culture, with works like Rushdie's blending various cultural elements, reflecting the diverse and changing social landscape.
Music took on a role similar to literature in denouncing social issues, with bands like U2 and The Police using their platforms for political protest, highlighting the importance of lyrics in addressing societal problems.
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