Category: 1960s

‘Vibrant’ can be defined in a few different ways, one can describe vibrant as “pulsating with life, vigor, or activity” (Marriam Webster, 2021), whilst another’s definition of the word is an adjective of “sounds that are strong and resonating or colors that are bright and striking” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2021). This essay will be focusing on the latter definition for the word. I will delve into the comparison of 1960s animation from animators such as Ryan Larkin, Norman McLaren and Walt Disney’s motion picture films released during the decade to fully explore if the animation was actually vibrant and if so, why animation in the 1960s had such a change in visual imagery.

One reason for the vibrancy of the animation in the 1960s was due to increased drug use in North America during the decade. Marijuana, cocaine, and LSD were increasing in popularity for their vivid psychedelic highs, especially amongst the younger members of the hippie counterculture and overall anti-government and anti-war movement.

Ryan Larkin was known for taking illicit substances such as cocaine and drawing inspiration from it, even him being quoted to say, “The cocaine was giving me incredible insights into human behaviors and very acute sensitivities towards what constituted human behavior” (Chris Robinson, 2004, p.21). His highs gave him a new introspective look at human movement, even using his own body as reference in his films such as ‘Walking’; a film that depicts different people walking in various mediums, angles and styles. In both ‘Walking’ and ‘Street Musique’, Ryan Larkin shows a unique look at movement and perspective, especially during his more colorful sections that reflect a lot of the art that was popular in the 1960s, however it could be argued that this style had more to do with Ryan Larkin’s independent experiences with cocaine than the current society’s trends in art.

However, not all artists that were prominent in the 1960s were drug users and many certainly were not using it as their artistic inspiration. Take Norman McLaren for example, he has no known use of substances and yet his films ‘Neighbors’ and ‘Lignes verticales’ are extremely bright and colorful and whilst largely different to the animation style of his mentee’s work it still has this uniquely vibrant look to it. Whilst Norman McLaren does not use fully saturated colors in his work, “the way his animations react to rhythm, tempo and musical structure brings such a bold yet fluid movement to it” (Holly Rodgers, 2014). The colors used in his work, whilst deliberate, are also a result of the materials he had available at the time. ‘Lines Vertical’ was him painting directly onto scrubbed 35mm film and drawing lines into the paint. Paint by nature is bright and pigmented. Similar reason with his 1952 film ‘Neighbors’. Yes, it has vivid colors, and even the 2D houses are as such, but the film used at the time for photography and films used a three-strip process that would have monochromatic negative for each primary color. In the 1950s companies found cheaper ways to make this film but at the cost of more grain and higher contrast, creating such a vibrant and uniquely 60s look. Norman McLaren’s pixilated film would have been affected by this greatly, granted to its benefit. To give all the credit to the available materials at the time, even with their major influence on the work, would not be giving Norman McLaren the credit he deserves for his own use of color, composition and contrast. He came up with groundbreaking techniques for synchronizing sound with colorful animation that he taught and passed down to quite a few notable animators such as Rene Jodoin, George Dunning, Jim McKay, Grant Munro, Ryan Larkin; who was mentioned earlier, and Evelyn Lambart when he created a small animation team within the NFB. This may be a reason as to why many animators did use such bold, bright and vibrant colors as they had learnt the style from Norman McLaren himself.

Walt Disney himself in his last few films had this extremely vibrant color palette to it, however it certainly was not due to an influence of drug culture in the 1960s. Walt Disney had a target audience to please, namely parents of children who would have wanted something more geared towards a family friendly approach and illegal substances would not have passed with film regulations. Walt Disney’s animation change was altered due to budget cuts. The inking department had major cuts, causing the company to go from five hundred inkers to less than a hundred. They decided to start scanning the initial sketches and printing them onto cells instead using a technique called Xerography, creating a more sketched look. They also started to use less shading and blockier colors in the animation, not to mention the replacement of many paints with makeup as a cheaper alternative at the time, creating this very uniquely simplistic, scratchier and yet vibrant and bold style in films such as ‘101 Dalmatians’, ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘The Sword in the Stone’, though ‘The Jungle Book’ combined the harder sketched character animation with the more classic painted backgrounds. The minimal use of cell shading really allowed many of the bright colors used to pop and have a high contrast as a result of these budget cuts, especially compared to earlier Walt Disney works such as ‘Alice in Wonderland’. The backgrounds in the 1951 film are painted with way more detail compared to its consequent films, and the colors are more realistic aside from the more saturated color of the grass to be greener in some cases.

One case in which both drug use and the vibrant style of low-cost animation both contributed to how a film looked was The Beatles’ feature film ‘Yellow Submarine’. The film was completed in just under a year by a variety of different animators and had ideas for the visuals and characters suggested by The Beatles themselves, including the Vacuum Monster. A large portion of the animation was done with psychedelic art style, which in turn was inspired by the effects LSD had on people and the weird visuals they would see when high. In turn, The Beatles themselves were drug users, arguably one of the reasons many fans or hippies of the time did drugs too. However, even with many portions having very detailed, intricate animations for the psychedelic look, the rest of the film had a very simple blocky color style, still vibrant by all means but certainly caused by the crunch to get the animation done quickly.

Not all animation in the 60s was a technicolor dream however, many animators were still working with black and white mediums and film. Ryan Larkin, mentioned in an earlier paragraph, created ‘Syrinx’ which was done entirely with charcoal sketches on paper and done in a realistic, or at the very least semi-realism style. The film was about a classical myth about the Syrinx; a nymph who desperately tries to flee Pan, a great goat god of mischief and trickery dating back to Mycenean Greece. As already discussed, Ryan Larkin was taking drugs throughout the 60s and onwards, well before the creation of ‘Walking’ and his other more colorful, vibrant works. This was one of his very first pieces of animation within the NBC and also one of the first to get to a larger audience. If this were really the sole reasoning for why his work was vibrant, why would he create works like this? Whilst drug use would have been a source of inspiration, clearly Ryan Larkin had talents in quieter tones and shapes and would not be defined by his more vibrant works. Ryan Larkin was taught by Norman McLaren in one of his smaller animation teams within the NBC. Norman McLaren has a plethora of animation works in monochromatic black and white; ‘Pas de deux’, ‘A Chairy Tale’ (in collaboration with Evelyn Lambart), and ‘Pen Point Percussion’ being good examples of this. ‘Pas de deux’ particularly has a hypnotic look from the delayed frames that could also be described as psychedelic, even without the typical colors. The films, whilst beautiful and engaging, would not tend to be described by the word vibrant very well.

Even the use of bright colors in the 1960s is not definitive proof that it was a particularly unique thing for the decade, Walt Disney was still working with a vibrant color palette before the 60s, as seen in films such as ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Lady and the Tramp’. Once again, this was because of the target audience Walt Disney intended the film for, that being children. Children are huge fans of bright, primary colors such as red, blue and yellow, with secondary colors such as purple, green and orange coming up second. A child is more likely to focus on the screen and want to see a film if it has colors they enjoy. Walt Disney would need to put his target audience first and foremost if he wanted to make a turn in profit from any of his major animated films.

Even in The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’, there were plenty of segments lacking vibrancy, namely the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ portion. There would be the occasional pop of colors in the animation such as the yellow submarine and a red phone box but overall, the colors are very muted, and the style is more of a collage of actual images screen printed rather than anything that overly pushes the boundaries of shape. It can be argued that it is due to the depressing lyrics and tone of the song that this decision to have muted colors was made but it still leaves the animation lacking in vibrancy.

To conclude, the 1960s animation was influenced by a great number of reasons; from the spreading use of hallucinogenic drugs, which the animator’s highs caused inspiration for vivid color and imagery, to simple things such as budget cuts causing both independent artists and larger studios to improvise and work with simpler, bolder colors that made their work more vibrant as a result and just the widespread three strip film available at the time. Even with black and white monochromatic pieces by iconic animators being made within the 1960s, the impact of the more colorful and vibrant works is clear from just how often it gets referenced, reused and brought back in modern media. It is more than likely that when you think of the 60s, you will think of the bright colors and psychedelic patterns to the point where people will just call it 60s art or hippie art style. While these reasons are very different from each other, one being more deliberate whilst the other was more of a product of coming up with a solution to another problem, they have both contributed to the entire vibrant and well-known look of the 1960s.

The 1960s was the time of revolution. A lot was happening in the world, but especially in the United States. The 60s was the decade of revolutions in politics, society, civil rights, war, and music. During the 60s, people protested for the civil rights movement, race equality, and women’s rights. Sociologist Daniel Bell stated that the beginning of the 1960s was a time of post-industrial values, with an emerging emphasis on personal pleasure, self-expression, consumerism, materialism, and instant gratification. The American people felt safe and strong for the first time since the end of World War II. They found wealth, and all their need and wants were satisfied. Teens of this era resulted from the babies born after World War II ended and were referred to as the baby boomers. It was this generation that started the revolutionary movement in society. The new rock and roll changed the socio-culture of the youth during this freedom phenomenon felt by everyone. The song, written during the 1960s, talks about the socio-culture, socioeconomics, and political environment during this era of music.

At the beginning of 1960, everyone was very optimistic with the new president-elect John F. Kennedy to change society for the black citizens of the U.S. to fight for civil rights. Unfortunately, on November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

Before that day, rock and roll were still in its happy-go-lucky infancy. After that fateful convertible ride through Dallas, the ’60s became ‘The Sixties’, and a fast-maturing rock and roll would help guide the cultural and political shift waged by a generation that began to question the ways of the world (Rolling Stones, 2019).

It was ideal for teens to rebel and fight for what they believe was wrong with their socioeconomics, socio-culture, and political platforms of their time.

The messages we hear in the songs written in the 1960s are powerful in remembering great leaders, fighting for equality for civil rights, and our soldiers fighting a deadly war. Simon and Garfunkel 1964 wrote a song in response to the assassination of JFK. The lyrics arguable can be meant for different circumstances, but some lines reap the day’s sadness. Words, for example, “When the flash of neon light stabbed my eyes”, suggest the gunshot. The lyrics “and in the naked light, I saw ten thousand people possibly more people without speaking”, alluding to all the people who paid respect to the assassinated president and the loss of words (Troisi et al., 2013).

The civil rights movement was prevalent of this time, and leading the way was Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights movement was a protest by blacks and whites. Many sung by many was ‘We Shall Overcome’, which became the unofficial anthem for the movement. Nina Simone and others wrote and sang songs about the movement. ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free’ by Nina Simone shares how passionate and outspoken she was in her songs (Morrison, 2010).

In the mid-1960s, young people started to hear the new rock and roll, for instance, Joan Baez, Woodie Guthrie, and Bob Dylan. This folk music had stories to tell, much different from the love song of the 50s. Bob Dylan was one musician that voiced his opinions with his music, for instance, ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’. Along with the words of a singer came misinterpretation of his words. Many thought this song was about concerns of nuclear fallout, but the reality was his words presented the rain of lies which was being reported. Another folk band of this time is Creedence Clearwater Revival. They made famous the anti-war song ‘Fortunate Son’, protesting the war and supporting the soldiers.

College students were using this music to send out important messages about who they were, their values, and how they wanted to change things. The messages in rock and roll became part of a counterculture, which included drugs, sexual liberation, and the music revolution. College students protested everything from military drafts to sexuality. The music of groups like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, and The Doors became influential to the young people of the 60s. The emergence of hippies and the counterculture in the mid-1960s was a significant threat to the conservatives of the decade.

We now have the psychedelic music era, a revolutionary sound influenced by drugs like LSD and marijuana. Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Doors, and many more are influential bands of this time. One of my favorite Jefferson Airplane songs is ‘White Rabbit’; some say this song is about an acid trip, and others think this is a song about the Vietnam War. It is a song based on Alice in Wonderland’s book; whether it is a song about drugs and hallucinations or the Vietnam War, it is a great song of its time. The Grateful Dead, one of the most popular bands of the 60s, headed the psychedelic scene in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco, which is still a popular place to visit for the young and old enthusiasts.

Concurrent with the prime years of LSD’s exploration, The Beatles and the other bands of the British Invasion invaded the United States. The Beatles came to the United States at the perfect time of the counterculture of the feminist movement and the psychedelic sounds. Their album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band’ had many songs that suggested drug use, and one could chill out while hearing and experience a high.

Many of the iconic psychedelic musicians had dabbled in drugs and drug culture, if not immersed themselves fully in it, and had, through drugs, achieved a kind of escape, relief, and freedom that did not seem possible in the 1960s society, whether here in the United States or in Britain, where psychedelic music also thrived (Smith, 2018).

The end of a significant era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll was a three-day concert that 500,000 people attended in Bethel, NY. The time was August 15, 1969, the opening day of the three-day spectacular event that will never be forgotten, Woodstock. Everyone came together as one and listened to thirty-two rock, folk, and blues bands as one happy family. “None of the problems damaged our spirit”, said Lang, “in fact, they drew us closer. We recognized one another for what we were at the core — as brothers and sisters, and we embraced one another in that knowledge” (Lebo, 2019). The musical venue brought a diverse mix of people, old and young, allowing them to escape and share unity and peace. Although the crowd had much to deal with lack of water, food, bathrooms, torrential downpour, and mud, the overall spirit was harmonic. Many great musicians performed during those three days, such as Richie Havens, Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Crosby Stills Nash, Young, The Band, and Jimi Hendrix. The concert ended with Jimi Hendrix performing his rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’.

The 1960s were pivotal in politics, civil and women’s rights, protesting, war, music, and peace. The death of great leaders JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. allocated songs to share the sorrow of the loss of two great men. The baby boomers of this era made their voices be heeded through protesting and music. The words sung in songs shared the revolutionary movement during this time. The 60s was a time of tremendous music: folk rock, psychedelic rock, rock and roll, and the British Invasion all had stories to tell of this pivotal time in history. At the end of the 1960s, 500,000 people came together to celebrate love, peace, sex, and rock and roll with a music festival, Woodstock, will be remembered for a long time. Generations to come will be listening to these revolutionary songs and enjoyed.

The suppression of knowledge and learning which took place in the Middle Ages (500 AD to 1450 AD), which then led to the discovery of inventions. The discovery of inventions changed our world. Inventions were made for the benefit of the people and to develop the world. Inventions made by humans play a significant role in our modern life. There are numerous inventions that were made, some are still in process and others are yet to come. We live in a world of technology and one of the stems of technology is the Internet which is of great significance to humankind. The Internet is defined simply as the wider network that allows networks of electronic devices around the world, operated by various organizations and institutions, to communicate with each other. Today the Internet is seen as a global information mechanism, the first prototype of what is frequently called the National Information Infrastructure. It has brought tremendous value to humankind as it plays numerous roles that signify it as the greatest or rather a significant invention ever to be made.

The discovery of the Internet was in the 1960s, which was a result of creative thinking by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider. He saw that he can enable electronic devices to share information and have an impact in research and development fields: scientific and military. Licklider was under MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), whereby he proposed the first global network in computers, in 1962. In the late 1962 he moved to DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) to head the work and develop it. His former colleague, Leonard Kleinrock, who was also under MIT and later UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) invented their own theory of packet switching whereby they wanted to form a foundation Internet connection. In 1965 MIT computers were connected to UCLA computers by Lawrence Roberts who then moved to DARPA in 1966 to enhance his plan for ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). His plans succeeded when the ARPANET launched their first communication which was declared as a node-to-node message from one computer to another. They then came up with a short and simple name for this message which was named ‘login’. This message had an impact as it crashed the fledging ARPANET. Four computers were then connected to the ARPANET when 1969 was coming to an end. The single packet network was multiplying but it was difficult to connect to a single worldwide Internet. Vinton Cerf, a computer scientist came up with a solution at the end of 1970s. He developed a way for computers to communicate with one another on the world’s limited network. He called his development (TCP) Transmission Control Protocol and he added another one called IP (Internet Protocol). The world of the Internet was changed by Vinton. There was an introduction of electronic mail in 1972. In July Roberts improved the application by enabling it to selectively read, forward and reply messages.

The world of the Internet improved as more and more features were added annually. In 1976 SATNET which is a satellite program was developed. It connected the USA to Europe. There was an expansion of the Internet beyond the USA and later Kahn and Vinton decided to call the system ‘Internet’ for the first time.

Due to the development of the Internet, there were numerous aspects added on the Internet network. In 1979 USENET developed the first newsgroup. International Business Machines Corp (IBM) introduced BITNET, which was a network that worked on emails and listserv system. In 1990 Advanced Network and Services developed T3, which was the communication line for higher internet connection speeds. In 1993 there was the launch of the first web browser on the Internet known as Mosaic. Later it became Netscape. The following year Yahoo and the World Bank which was the first virtual bank or rather an online bank were launched on the Internet. Two years later, the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) started to appear namely Sprint and MCI. Nokia released its first cell phone with Internet access. Google was developed in 1998 in Menlo Park, California. In the consecutive year, a wireless network was developed which is commonly known as Wi-fi. In the early 2000s, the Internet expanded more like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Google Chrome were launched on the Internet.

The Internet world was getting better and better annually. The Internet works in a complex way, but to understand this is to know what is the Internet composed of. It has hardware and protocols. Its hardware contains everything from cabled, that transmit all the terabits of information every time, to your electronic device. Examples of this hardware that support the Internet include servers, cell phone towers, satellites, smartphones and other devices. Those components create what is known as a network of networks. There are minor ways in which the Internet change as there are components that join and leave the network. A portion of these components creates a backbone of the Internet. The second component is the most crucial and fundamental aspect in making the Internet work which is protocols. They are a group of rules given to the machines to complete a task. Regardless of how devices are connected, if they do not have a common set of obligations that the Internet must adhere, they will not be to communicate with each other. This means that the devices will not be able to communicate in a meaningful way and they will not understand one another. Therefore, the protocols are a language and a method for electronic devices use to transfer data. The most commonly used protocols are the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). The information which is known as data travels very fast through the Internet. The data itself is known as a packet. A packet is defined to be the unit of data that is transferred between an origin and destination on the Internet network. Each packet sent includes a destination address, origin address, length, packet number, synchronization and set of rules. Networks on the Internet are connected to multiple other networks thus making the connections to stretch out around the globe. This enables the packets to take multiple paths to get to their destination. In the Internet world, there is one most crucial machine is known as a server. This machine provides other devices with services and it is directly connected to the Internet. There are proxy, email and data servers. It is clear that the work of the Internet is to move one set of computerized information from one place to another.

The Internet is a significant tool that helps and satisfies people with distinct services related to various fields. The Internet has introduced development in technology and it is incredibly playing a vital role in the education field. The Internet enhances the lessons as teachers can be able to provide learners with resources from the Internet and interactive games to help them understand the lesson which was taught. Learners are able to do researches, take online classes and watch online educational videos on the Internet. In addition, computer intelligence is of great importance for some high profiled jobs and career prosperity. Children who have Internet access tend to have a greater advantage for later achievements. The Internet has had a strong impact on how people communicate. It does not provide them with a tool for communication, but it enables them to express their feelings and opinions to a wider audience. The Internet has brought the world closer by making communication across long distances faster and easier. Emails and instant messages have made online communication possible. The Internet enables businesses to build societies for people that have similar interests regarding their products and services. This then enables them to adequately use media to target a more people to have interest in their products and services. Accessibility of information on the Internet has made research easier rather than having to go to the library. People conduct research for various reasons namely: for nourishment and exercise of the mind, a mechanism for constructing knowledge, simplifying learning, understanding distinct issues and raising social consciousness. Through the usage of the Internet, one can have more information not only by searching for it rather by conducting an online survey. This will result in having reliable results. It is clear that the Internet has an impact on researchers. According to research, it was found that the Internet is playing a huge and vital role in the health department. There are online surveys that are conducted which allow enable scientists to estimate the presence of disease, have a clearer understanding of the threat the disease may pose and to prepare for the spread of the disease in a particular location. Clinics and hospitals have been able to pass on knowledge regarding healthcare and diseases through the usage of the Internet. There are different campaigns that use the Internet to spread information regarding health issues. This helps to prevent the spread of a disease. The spread of AIDS is prevented through condom campaigns that are available on the Internet. Entrepreneurs have been considered the Internet as a tool for business development. Entrepreneurs use the Internet to construct marketing infrastructure based on the client’s data and information. Business prosperity it is extremely unfeasible without the Internet. It is because it provides considerable data administration for businesses to launch their products and services to customers. Online broadcasting is a big industry and the competition is high that is why the worth of Internet advertising is more adequate than TV advertising, newspaper and magazine adverts. One of the most effective tools for job seeking is the Internet. It was found that 54% of USA adults have gone online to seek for job information. There is 45% that has applied for a job on the Internet. There are over hundreds of job vacancies on the Internet that are posted every year. Social media has played a role in decreasing unemployment as companies now have social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and they use YouTube to post more about their companies and jobs available. Job search is now easier through the usage of the Internet. Due to the accessibility of the Internet in every place, unemployment is no longer an issue. People can post their CVs on the Internet making them accessible to any company of interest.

The Internet is a robust medium that has changed how we live and communicate. This will prevail to change in the future. The Internet has significantly served billions of people around the world. It has helped with the development of many countries due to its accessibility in such a way that it provides global information that enables them to see how developed countries sustain their status. This helps them to see the best possible ways to develop and sustain their status to compete with leading countries. The world would have never been what is it presently if it was not of the Internet. Mr. Licklider saw that his invention will be the most powerful tool that is of great significance in helping develop the world and make it a better site for everyone. The Internet is not a designated tool as it has the capability of impacting multi fields thus making it the greatest invention amongst other inventions.

Throughout history, women have fought hard for equal rights, after centuries of oppression and discrimination. Women in the past did not have rights to an education, freedom of speech, to equal pay (Reference). To understand how feminism has changed from the 1960s to today, it is important to define what feminism is. “Feminism is a theory of how theorization of dominance and submission creates, gender, creates women and man in the social form in which we know”. To present, women and men should both have equal rights and opportunities. This report examines the changes of feminism through the different waves of feminism. The analysis of each wave of feminism includes the positive and negative changes derived from the movements. Though this question is answered by looking at the waves of feminism, the first wave of feminism will not be included in the analysis as it is a concept that emerged before the 1960s. Overall feminism has changed positively throughout history to provide a step closer to achieving equality among everyone.

Through the second wave of feminism otherwise referred to as the women liberation’s movement influenced economic, social, and political changes to society (Segal, 1999). The second wave of feminism “arose out of the upsurge of radical and socialist politics in the late 1960s” (Segal, 1999: 1-9). This period of time acknowledged women’s cultural and political inequalities were closely linked and inspired women to join forces to create the largest social movement known to America (Baxandall & Gordan, 2005). According to Julia Kristeva (1979), this movement was focused on critiquing all patriarchal practices to attempt to create a counter society focusing on women (Kristeva, 1979). The work of Betty Friedan’s book the feminine mystique was said to be a big catalyst, to influence the second wave of movement. This was because her book acknowledged the fact women were perceived as the second sex, although it was not argued that women were inferior to men during that time period. From a young age, women were all groomed to be housewives, the role of a housewife at the time, appeared to be described, as the female version of achieving the American dream (Friedan, 2010). Women were told to marry, become a housewife for the husband, and to birth and raise children, this gave women no free time. Although technology like washing machines, dishwashers helped spare time with housework for women to minimize the load (Friedan, 2010: Binard, 2017). The lives of these women were full of misery, and dissatisfaction, “Words like emancipation and career” (Friedan, 2010: 8) were not spoken of, it was considered unfeminine. This resulted in awareness to understand that many women are experiencing the same cause of dissatisfaction. Friedan’s creation resulted in 1966 to the National organization of women (NOW) to raise consciousness (Binard, 2017). The NOW organization aimed to change laws, on topics like abortion, equal pay, to create equality among genders on factors to fair rights to education (NOW, 2016). To cause awareness across the issue of equal pay, as men were receiving higher pay for the same jobs, it was unfair. The Ford women Dagenham strike in 1968, to cause awareness of the unjust fight for equal pay. Through media attention, this strike was able to catch the eye of Barbara Castle the minister of Employment, and cause an outrage reaction. The strike appeared to be successful in increasing women’s pay, though it was only up to 92% of what the men earned, this strike helped to create the 1970 Equal Pay Act (Binard, 2017). Another influence was women set up consciousness-raising groups, to campaign for women’s reproductive rights to allow abortion, equality among genders for education, employment and the lead to the creation of birth control pills, which allowed women to not only control their own body but allow more women to engage themselves in careers (Phillips & Cree, 2014).

Although the second wave of feminism helped millions of lives, this movement only focused on improving the lives of white middle-class women. A critique of the movement, it failed to acknowledge equality among racial and ethnic women, “Women liberations as exclusively white”. Racial women were not only discriminated against by their gender but their race. Activist Bell Hooks in her book: Ain’t I a woman: Black women and feminism, talked about the problems she faced during this time of women’s liberation, she felt as though she did not belong. Though this movement sought to provide equality to both genders. Black women were victims of sexual and racial oppression, with unequal rights to white women and black men.

The third wave of feminism surfaced in the 1980-the 1990s, in response to the critiques of the second wave of feminism. The first theorist to coin the term third wave of feminism was Rebecca Walker in 1992 (Aragon, 2005). The wave was aimed include to people from wider social backgrounds than to exclude to tackle issues like violence and discrimination. Kimberlee Crenshaw 1989 coined the term intersectionality, after the inequality faced, as women that had rights due to the second wave of feminism were white, and middle class. The term intersectionality is used as an analytic tool, to understand complexities in the world. Aspects of humanity like race, gender are interwoven to cause a bigger inequality. This wave of feminism was aimed to destroy the stereotyped role assigned to gender and acknowledged the diversification of women’s perspectives and interests. An outcome of this wave was the Queer theory which supported the intersections of gender and sexuality that did not map in the simple binary of ‘men’ and ‘female’. This theory created a platform for lesbians, gays, transsexuals, and trans genders. This theory helped the influence of transfeminism which believed that people should be given the right to construct their own gender.

A critique of this wave of feminism is it lacks structure as this wave does not have a sole purpose to fulfill like the previous waves of feminism. The second wave of feminism sought to achieve gender equality through equal pay and education. The third wave did not have a cohesive aim and was compared to be an extension of the second wave of feminism.

The fourth wave of feminism was regarded as the post-2000s movement, with a big user of social media, the aims of the feminist movement concentrated on sexual assault and ending violence against women. This wave of feminism sought to battle the problems of sexism, misogyny, and body shaming, through the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The second and third waves of feminism were believed to be the influencing factors of the fourth wave of feminism. However, the internet was a profound difference to the change from the third-wave to the fourth wave of feminism. As feminists were able to unite from all over the world to create a global community for women to join forces and fight for equal rights around the world to become activists (Munro, 2013).

This wave of feminism is about empowerment allowing women to have the same equality as men. Women using social media were able to seek justice using social media to speak against their abusers (Phillips & Cree, 2014). Women in this period of feminism were able to stick together, to have a powerful voice to stand up for what’s right. A campaign that was a big influence from the feminism movement is the #Me Too campaign, to tackle sexual assault and harassment, to encourage people to speak about their experience through a strong sense of community. The hashtag gives people a voice all over the world, it is a symbol of hope and support (MeToo, 2018).

Although this wave of feminism provided many positive aspects to society. Women are still being objectified and still seen as the inferior sex. The social media platforms used to encourage feminism, also provides a platform for negativity, hatred across women. An example of a misogynist today is Donald Trump, he used social media platforms like Twitter, not only to state sexist comments about women but to positively talk about sexual assaulting others. When it was discovered he was elected for the position of President, it led to a feminist protest against Donald Trump. Feminists feared the renewal of laws on the rights of women like the right to abortion.

Through recent years the rise of feminism, influenced, females to endless possibilities, there are more females in stem-related subjects and careers. This has caused a positive influence as it allows employees of a business to be stimulated by the diverse atmosphere, to expand new ideas and competitive environment, to additional, encourage younger generations of girls to aspire to chase their dreams and go into stem related careers.

In conclusion, the historical movement of the waves of feminism, were years full of hard work and strength, leading to the progressive and misfortune narratives of the social movement. Overall, feminism has changed for the positive since the 1960s, as through time it had the influence to later generations of people, to create a life different from the one before, to deter expectations and perceptions on people’s lives. In Past events, women had come from a time where they would have to marry, to be set financially in life. Where women were told, the only job they should be doing is looking after their husband and kids. Women were victimized by intersected inequalities like gender, race, and sexual orientation. In recent times women can choose to do what they want and go down whichever career pathway they choose. Discrimination across genders is minimized, although misogyny is still on the rise. Women have fought hard to come to the society we live in today, yet the battle of feminisms is not at its final stages, as to live in a world free of opinions, full equality among the sexes, will be difficult to achieve, but after ancestors fighting hard for rights, with the use of social media many positive changes are yet to be discovered.

Feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” There were many succuss in the feminism movements in 1960 and 1970 also known as the second wave of feminism allowed women to achieve legal and social equality. These succuss include abortion and oral contraceptives, Sexism, and harassment laws although there are succuss there are also failures like the equal pay act. The second wave of feminism was also part of the widespread social change movement which includes issues like civil rights and gay rights. Some people say that the roots of feminism started in ancient Greece with a woman called Sappho in the year 570 BCE, others say the roots go back to the medieval world in 1791 with a lady called Hildegard of Bingen or maybe even Christine de Pisan in 1434 although many people agree that the foremothers of the modern women movement are Olympus de Gouge from 1791, Mary Wollstonecraft from 1797 and from 1817 Jane Austen. The whole goal of feminism was to open doors for women and to advocate for the dignity, intelligence, and basic human rights of the female gender, and to not been seen as the ‘other’ gender.

One major succusses of the second wave of feminism in getting legal and social rights would be the legalization of abortion and oral contraceptive pills. In the year 1960 on May 9th, the food and drug administration of America approved the first oral contraceptive although married couples weren’t allowed access to the pills until 1965. However, even though the oral contraceptive pill was made legal in 1960 millions of women were still being denied use in 1965. In 1969 abortion counseling began operating in Chicago under the code name Jane. Women having the option for contraceptive pills and abortion was a social right that helped women take control over their own life. In 1967 the UK passed abortion legalization which made it legal for doctors and medical professionals to conduct an abortion as long as the women met certain conditions. Some of these conditions were that the pregnancy must not exceed the 24-week mark, continuing the pregnancy would cause harm to the woman carrying the baby or there should be a significant risk that if the child is born it could suffer from either physical or mental abnormalities or deformities. Having abortion and the oral contraceptive pill made legal enhanced women’s lives greatly as they could put off having a child with the pill and if it was unwanted or a dangerous pregnancy they didn’t have to use dangerous methods of abortion instead they could go to a doctor which meant women were getting more educated by being able to finish their a college or university studies and could further their working career while still being able to have sex.

Another major success for women obtaining legal and social rights during the second wave of feminism was sexism and harassment laws being passed which included Title VII and Title IX. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Title VII of the civil rights act. This act was meant to be made to prevent sexual harassment, but sexual harassment was never mentioned in the legislation which meant the act ended up just protecting women and men in the workplace as this law made it illegal to discriminate based on sex, religion, and any other contributing factor. Some ways Title VII changed the workplace was employers could not discriminate when hiring, firing, promotions, recruitment, use of company facilities, retirement plans, and more. Another law that was passed by congress in 1972, Title IX forbids sex discrimination in federally funded and colleges which then allowed women into school athletics as well as other activities. The purpose of Title IX was to create a safe learning and sporting environment for women to further their education.

However not everything these women worked towards was always successful, this can be seen by the equal pay act of 1963. By the early 20th century women made up a quarter of the American workforce but were still only being paid 59 cents to the man’s dollar. On June 10th, 1963 President John F Kennedy signed the equal pay act. Even with the equal pay act being signed 50 years on there is still a wage gap and women in today’s age are getting paid 79 cents to the man’s dollar and overall the gap costs American women $500 billion dollars a year. The act didn’t work as there are many loopholes such as this one ‘a differential based on any other factor other than sex” this causes many problems for women trying to fight their case this also made women feel as though it was useless to try to file a lawsuit and with the media eager to undercut the success of the women in the second wave of feminism they would latch onto any negativity painting feminists as angry, man-hating, cold and unfeeling people it made it harder for women to fight their case. Another equal pay act was passed in January 2009 known as the pay check fairness act.

With everything considered the second wave of feminism was largely successful when trying to achieve legal and social rights, examples of that would be legalizing abortion and oral contraceptives as well as having laws created against sexism discrimination, and harassment. Although by saying that feminism between the 1960s and 1970s there were also downfalls like not fully achieving equal pay. The ambitious goal of achieving equality in legal and social rights may still be a long journey.

Bryant Seisnor, aged 64 (born 18th September 1945), is an Australian male citizen. He has lived in Australia all his life but has visited New Zealand a few times. He has also been to Europe for his holiday. As a child, he lived in Brisbane, Queensland and moved to Sydney when he in 1972 with his family partner. Since then he has lived with his wife in Fairfield.

Transport

Throughout Bryant Seisnor’s lifetime, there has been major changes in transport. Comparing the 1960s to now, he states that there has been a significant difference in the model of transport and time as well as the prices including buses and cars, as demonstrated in Appendix 1. The cars, nowadays, cost roughly $20000–$30000 whereas earlier in Seisnor’s life, from 1950s -1960s, a car would cost about $2000–$3000. The appearances of the cars altered as the cars during Bryant’s younger years were low and had a several colours whilst cars today are more of neutral colours and high as Bryant says. The change, Bryant says, is a result of technology. He says it is easier to travel due to the improvement of mechanism and production of cars. Another development Bryant has experienced is communications.

Communications

Communicating with others in the 1950s and 60s was very simple it is today as Bryant Seisnor has experienced. The alteration in communicating is dramatically major as communicating today is much quicker, convenient and improved. As established in the transcript, Bryant says that as a kid he would discover information from television or radio. The technology in today’s world is definitely easier as we know. Seisnor has explained that today he could call his children with a press of a button and communicate via FaceTime instead of being there physically. He believes this development is a result of technology as before, without this modified technology, we would be using radios and television for information. Bryant has also been through changes in medicine and health.

Medicine and Health

Bryant Seisnor has noticed changes considering his early years comparisons and health is one. The medicine and health of people were not as good as it is now, as said in the interview transcript. Bryant expressed that the health of people today is unalike to the people’s health when he was younger. He explained that people would pass away at ages of 50 to 65, around the age he is today. Middle-aged people would die from a heart attack whereas today there are people living in their eighties and nineties. Bryant recalls a relative passed away due to heart problems because they didn’t have the same technology we have today. He agrees the improvement of medicine and health was a result of technology as this more advanced development helps health professionals diagnose and help prevent health problems. Seisnor has witnessed many technological changes like manufacturing and shopping.

What changes have improved Bryant’s life?

The changes that have improved Seisnor’s life include transport, communication, medicine, health, and manufacturing. As illustrated in the transcript, Bryant explains that the establishment of transport and communicating is now easier and quicker, hence why Bryant believes it has improved his life. It is evident in the interview transcript that he also states that medicine and health has benefit his wellbeing in keeping track of his health. Medicine, today, is of better quality and helps prevent many illnesses, he says. The change in manufacturing has also improved Seisnor’s life, as things when he was younger was handmade and consumed a lot of time. These changes have bettered the quality of Seisnor’s life.

What order would Bryant rank the changes?

In the interview, the technological changes was discussed and Seisnor, ranked them in the table below, highlighting what Bryant thought was the best change throughout his life to the least best change.

• Technological Change Factor Ranking (1 best – 5 least best)
• Medicine/Health 1
• Communication 2
• Transportation 3
• Manufacturing 4
• Shopping 5

What technological changes does he expect to occur in the future?

Bryant Seisnor certainly expects more technological changes to occur in the future regarding medicine and communication. Proven in the interview, Bryant explains that the changes are dramatically significant by mentioning the major differences between communication, transportation and manufacturing from back then to today. He explains how improved the communicating are and can see new forms in the future, like transportation.

In what ways do they feel more/less socially connected/isolated now, than in the past?

After having asked the question, Bryant explains that he feels more socially isolated now than in the past. As demonstrated in the transcript, Bryant explains that when he was younger he played with his friends outdoors rather than play on technology as kids would today. He says that when he visits his grandchildren, they seem to be too distracted to enjoy the outdoor experience. Because of this ‘addiction’ to technology, Bryant agrees that he does feel more socially isolated now, than in the past.

In conclusion, there are several technological changes witnessed throughout Bryant Seisnor’s life, most of which helped improve the quality of life. It is evident in the transcript that Seisnor believes the changes, such as medicine, health, transportation and more, were beneficial.

In 18th and 19th century England, atheists were called infidels or blasphemers, as the majority of Christians who criticized religion viewed themselves as free thinkers, as atheism was a term rarely used. Atheists such as Richard Carlile and George Jacob Holyoake were seen as dangerous, their religious views spilling into politics. Both imprisoned for blasphemy in 1819 and 1942. During Carlile’s trial he read Thomas Paine’s ‘The Age of Reason’ to spread its critique of Christianity: ‘my own mind is my own church’ (Wolffe, 2016). Deist Thomas Paine wrote his book ‘The Age of Reason’ attacking the Bible with what he thought was ‘absurdities and inconsistencies’ (Wolffe, 2016).

During the period of the radical Enlightenment, atheism was made possible by the progress of religious tolerance. There was a common conception that religious divides would cause unrest and the possibility of civil war. The radical Enlightenment of 17th and 18th centuries enabled people to have understanding of their religious freedoms in government and education. Religion was the subject of debate in coffee houses and a central topic of conversation during the 18th century. Books, such as the ‘Treatise of the Three Imposters’, were circulated, even though their contents were suppressed. Early influential atheist writers like Thomas Hobbs, Baruch Spinoza, David Hume and Denis Diderot suffered for their views being imprisoned, rejected in their careers and excluded from their churches. Even in 19th century, criticism of doctrine caused writers such as Percy Bysshe Shelley to be expelled in 1811 from Oxford University for writing ‘The Necessity of Atheism’. As the 18th century English philosopher John Locke wrote that denying God could not be tolerated because promises, covenants and oaths are bonds of society. Locke went on to say that “bonds of society can have no hold upon an atheist” (Wolffe, 2016). Religion and atheism still divided personal opinions, such as the leading French Enlightenment writer and historian, Voltaire, who criticized Christianity, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, but still thought religion was important socially: “I want my lawyer, tailor, even my wife to believe in God” (Wolffe, 2016). With Voltaire’s own personal confusions, he still advocated religious freedoms and freedoms of speech. With his outspoken views the Catholic French monarchy tried to censor his intolerances and religious dogma.

With the emergence of atheism and freethinkers, 19th century clergymen such as Hugh Stowell felt a need to lecture on infidelity. Stowell felt passionately that if humans did not believe in God, they lacked self-worth and did not have respect for each other, which resulted in a fearless society, encouraging a separation of the church and the state. A society who will breach laws and judgements whenever it suited them with no fear of ‘divine judgement’ (Wolffe, 2016). Furthermore, Stowell felt that infidelity “bereaved a man of all his worth” (Stowell, 1830). In late 1820’s, Hugh Stowell had encountered and heard about infidelity within religion compelling him to write and lecture about the dangerous repercussions if a “God of all judgement exists after all” (Stowell, 1830). 19th-century freethinkers began to change from persecution and social silence to ‘culture wars’ in Britain and Europe, paving the way for liberal freedoms and anti-clerical movements towards Christian institutions.

The Catholic Church began to panic about the growth of freethinking and culture wars. They began to dogmatically reassert traditional teachings. Pope Pius IX in 1864 sent a papal letter to all Roman Catholic Churches condemning all the singular and evil opinions and doctrines. At the top of his Syllabus of Errors was the condemnation of the ‘new atheism’, along with liberalism and agnosticism. In an 1851 religious census in Britain, it was recorded half of the population was ‘unconscious secularists’, who didn’t attend church nor reject Christianity. Although few people openly professed atheism, doubting of traditional Christianity become more widespread by the end of 19th century, the Catholic Church’s middle class was in decline. There was the growth of historical and textual criticisms of the Bible led by 1860 Benjamin Jowett’s ‘Essays and Reviews’ (Wolffe, 2016).

The reality of late 19th century ‘culture wars’, traditional Christian influences in society no longer held its dominance and there emerged more liberal and secular opinions. Church attendances declined before the First World War. In London between 1886 and 1903, only 22% attended church. In Germany attendance was 5% of the population. Late 19th century Europe, there were struggles between different denomination of Christianity, not between believers and atheists (Wolffe, 2016). Ireland and Germany suffered challenges between Catholics and Protestants. With Protestant criticism of the church during the 17th century Reformation. Atheism grew in France and Germany, where there was a feeling of disappointment of the failure of the revolution. With the Roman Catholic Church working alongside Napoleon, the middle class was open to new ideas and became critical of religion. German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach was a critic of religion, he felt that God was a psychologically made-up figure. Frenchman Auguste Comte followed this critique by creating the ‘religion of humanity’, where man was central in life and not God (Wolffe, 2016).

In 1792, the Worship of the Goddess of Reason was established in France to replace Catholicism during the French Revolution, by the early 19th century, Napoleon had it banned and the church in France had regained its position and influence. Political and cultural competition continued in France between secularists and Catholicism traditions. In particular, the Sacre-Coeur Basilica was built overlooking Paris 1875-1914. By 1905, in France there was a formal law of separation of the church and state. France had established state secularism and claimed to treat all citizens equally and neutrality of religion.

By 1859, ‘The Origin of Species’ by Charles Darwin was published. Darwin was a churchgoer and his misunderstood views were not atheistic but more deist. Darwin did not invent evolution nor was he a major influence for atheism. He was torn between unorthodoxy and devout Christianity (Darwin, C., 1859). Darwin believed everyone developed slowly and he no longer accepted the doctrines of Christianity (James Moore, Open University, 2020), but still he believed in God.

James Moore states that Darwin would be outraged at the attacks on Christian believers by atheistic evolutionists. Darwin would refute the claim that to believe in evolution you have to denounce God. Modern ‘Darwinians’ are not interested in the real Darwin or reading ‘The Origin of Species’. The key points James Moore makes about Darwin are that he was a respectable man with a dangerous theory (James Moore, Open University, 2020). Some liberal minded Christians did believe that Darwin was teaching them something, whereas fundamental Christians believed that the truth was in the Bible. At the time of Darwin’s death atheists were not allowed in parliament, and to be an atheist in Darwin’s day was bad and immoral.

Atheism was definitely growing in 1850s and 1860’s. Scientific materialism, particularly in Germany 1850’s, was boosted by Darwinians from 1859 onwards. Darwin ideas moved faster in Germany than the United Kingdom. As was the growth of critical study of the Bible, particularly in Germany and the universities. This was crucial in protestant countries where the Bible was supreme. Germanys leader of intellectual development of atheism and most influential figure in Philosophy was Ludwig Feuerbach.

Late 19th century saw an influence of Marxism. Marx’s attraction offered a complete world view to its followers offering a new religion. It was this attraction that rivalled Christianity and attempted to replace Christianity. Marxism had the power to replace Christianity that intellectual atheism couldn’t do. The materialistic view of history which Marxism offered it could render religion of any kind irrelevant. Marxism and socialism could offer change. Marx’s had a great influence in the working-class movement. Marxism was a way of organizing the political and economic ways of society. Christianity itself could stimulate quite radical social and political ideas (Hugh McLeod, Open University, 2020).

Throughout the centuries there have been many arguments about the role of politics and religion. Mostly atheists and secularists believe that religion and state should be kept separate (Wolffe, 2016). This opinion is based that the most oppressive states around the world use God to control the minds and actions of populations (Woodhead and Catto, 2012).

In 1925, in the southern United States, teacher John Scopes was charged with violating a law in the teaching of evolution in schools. The Scopes trial was a symbolic moment between the 19th century ‘old atheism’ and the more recent ‘new atheism’. This trial provided a platform for atheistic arguments and that Christianity and Darwinians were in irreconcilable conflict (Wolffe, 2016). William Jennings Bryan, an evangelical Christian lawyer, and Clarence Darrow, a civil rights and agnostic lawyer, were the defense lawyer and prosecutor.

American Protestant Christianity arose towards the end of the 19th century was a fundamentalist movement which aimed to re-establish conservative theological teaching against modernizing and liberal influences (Wolffe, 2016). This in-turn lead to the 1919 formation of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association and the passing of a Tennessee law against evolution.

Atheist journalist Henry Louis Mencken reported during the Scope trial. The book ‘Genesis in the New Testament’ was the area of most of the questioning. Mencken hoped the trial would expose Christians as idiots who believe absurdities. He even refers to fundamentalists as “Ku Klux theologians, who continue to whoop for Genesis” (Mencken, 1925). The Scopes trial in the USA disregarded fundamentalism and reduced its growth. Darrow and Mencken had achieved their objective by showing fundamentalists as uneducated and out of touch with modern ideas. However, Henry Mencken had a fear about death. In 1949 he was quoted: “In every unbeliever’s heart there is an uneasy feeling, he may awake after death and find himself immortal” (Wolffe, 2016). Mencken obviously felt that the advance of atheistic ideas was now proving less inexorable.

The 1960’s is widely recognized as a time of social and cultural change in Europe and USA. Most areas of Europe saw a higher class of living standards such as the introduction of cars, televisions and washing machines within homes. Religious historians have agreed that the 1960’s was a time of major change. Anglican bishop John Robinson published a book, questioning the existence of God. His books were condemned, but yet was widely read and appealed to many who struggled to accept traditional Christian teaching (Wolffe, 2016).

The 1960’s saw the growth of a ‘counter culture’ within young people. There was also the emergence of sexual revolution, and by the end of 1960’s the beginning of women’s liberation, gay liberation movements and the legalization of abortion. “A changing society where Christian mortality was no longer the dominant” (Wolffe, 2016). And contraceptive pills appear in 1960’s. However, in 1968, Pope Paul VI condemned the contraceptive pill, which caused further disillusionment within society and caused a decline in catholic religious practices. Between 1962-1965 the Second Vatican Council ran and sought to address the damaged relationships between the Catholic Church and the modern world.

Historian Callum Brown viewed the 1960’s as a time of ‘irreversible decline for Christianity’ and that humanism was taking hold of the world. Other historians have suggested that the 1960’s was not an end of Christianity, but of Christendom, which was the social and political order which the church had a privilege position (McLeod, H., 2007). Callum Brown saw the 1960’s as having a diminished dominance of inherited Christian values, ‘the loss of a normative Christian culture’ (Woodhead, L. and Catto, R., 2012). The entire 1960 saw a rise in ‘non-religion’. As Callum Brown states, “Atheism and secularization emerged as important elements of the 18th century Enlightenment” (Brown, C. and Lynch, G., 2012). Atheism and secularism developed into a freethinking movement of the 19th and 20th centuries, fighting for freedom of conscience, birth control and moral reforms.

In conclusion, atheists and Christians share many values that are central to a civil society. They both share compassion for those in society who suffer and need help, and they promote fairness and justice for all. And as Brown and Lynch stressed, “Diversity to question religion and in a variety of beliefs and ideas” (Woodhead, L. and Catto, R., 2012). Although we cannot disregard pivotal changes in religion within the Western world during the 1960s. Rapid decline in church goers and church clericals, communities losing their regular ritual of church attendances and families losing their Christian identity. The emergence of the ‘modern world’ in 1960 shaped the philosophical, political, religious and scientific culture wars.

Religion has been huge when it comes to shaping our nation. It brings tradition, differences, and occasional peace. When it comes to religion, the 1960s was an important decade. If many events in those years had not happened, our nation would not have the diversity people have right now. This decade was when religion started to drastically change, when Protestantism, which was extremely popular back then, began shrinking due to other beliefs.

Religion grew diverse during the 1960s, but before, the United States looked fairly different. Before the 1960s, most people were Christians. Protestants dominated, with the occasional Catholic or Jew (Funes “Religion in the 1960s” 2012). Nobody thought much of different religions because there was almost no diversity (Liu & Liu “A Brief History of Religion and the U.S. Census” 2013). Most leaders were heads of churches because religion was valued so much. Also, conservatives could be found more often than liberals. Because practically everyone followed the same traditions, there was no need to separate religion from politics or education (Beinart “America’s Empty-Church Problem” 2017). Before the 1960s, there was not much diversity, and that would soon change.

When it was 1960, beliefs began changing. Around 741 in one thousand people practiced a devotional exercise during 1961, and many practiced some form of Christianity. Before 1962, 42 percent of schools required or tolerated Bible reading, and 50 percent performed a devotional exercise (“Site Deactivated”). After 1962, the year new religion became significant enough to measure, it was repeatedly ruled that it was unconstitutional when public school officials planned prayers (Gallup, Inc “Americans More Religious Now Than Ten Years Ago, but Less So Than in the 1950s and 1960s” 2001). In that same year, all official school prayers and recitations were made unconstitutional, even optional ones (A.U.C. “The United States of America”). Unitarian Universalism, a theologically liberal religious event, also happened. It happened when Unitarian and Universalist churches united as they tried to stay popular. As more religion entered, more people started to discriminate against certain religions. Even after discrimination against certain races or sexes began fading, discrimination against certain religions continued to take place. Some people were unhappy with some changes. For example, many believed public school prayers were fine if they were optional and were unhappy with it being ruled unconstitutional. New religious beliefs began entering during the beginning of the decade, which continue to expand today.

When the 1960s reached its midpoint, freedom of religion started to grow (“History of the United States (1964–1980)” 2019). When immigration restrictions were removed in 1965, more new beliefs entered, increasing the popularity of Eastern religions. Many small cults also began forming after 1965. By 1966, 724 in one thousand were religious. Not many people felt extreme hate or support for the removal of immigration restrictions and the cults. Only a few preferred keeping immigrants restricted. Though the middle of the 1960s had few major events, when immigration restrictions were removed and cults were formed, it brought extra diversity to the United States.

The beginning of the 1960s was when people practicing new religions came, and new religions began growing more diverse as the decade reached its midpoint, but changes in tradition happened later. Most priests resigned in 1968. Religions began opposing activism that began for women and gays. Evangelical Christianity drew young people, and megachurches exploded, neither considered regular before the late 60s. For a bit of time, because women and gay activism conflicted some beliefs, activists and religious people disliked each other. Even though not much new religion came to the nation during the late 1960s, they were important years when it came to change in traditional beliefs.

The journey Protestants took was one of starting big and losing popularity. Protestants began as the dominant population but shrank as the decade passed. Some liberal Protestants worked with Roman Catholics for peace and rights because Protestants were not at as much peace as they were before new beliefs challenged them. A few Protestants felt persecuted, but everybody else did not have an opinion on Protestants becoming less popular or felt happy because of the diversity (Jenkins “The Religious World Changed in 1968, but Not in the Ways We Think” 2018). As the 1960s passed, Protestantism began as dominant and ended up just being another belief.

Unlike Protestantism, Catholicism, which was more oppressed, found its way to popularity. Before the 1960s, there were some Catholics in the United States, but Protestants clearly outnumbered Catholics. One of the major events that helped Catholics become accepted was John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, becoming president. Because he became president, Catholicism grew more popular through the years and received more respect. John F. Kennedy helped Catholics keep up with Pentecostals, Baptists, Mormons, and more oppressed people, who were also growing. Catholicism also became popular when Roman Catholics worked with the liberal Protestants for peace and rights. However, though Catholics became more accepted, people opposed Catholicism when John F. Kennedy first became president because they were angry a Catholic was president. Despite this, hate towards Catholicism quickly diminished. Christianity remains the most popular belief today (Buller A faith like mine: a celebration of the world’s religions– seen through the eyes of children 2005). Catholicism contributed to that. Even though many first disliked the growth of Catholicism, they came to tolerate it. As the years of the 1960s passed, Catholicism grew from a small, oppressed belief to more of a popular one.

Eastern beliefs took a path after arriving in our country that brought many beliefs to the country (Organization “How The ’60s Transformed The Catholic Church Forever” 2011). There were practically no people who practiced an Eastern religion until 1960. With time, Daoists, Hindus, Zen Buddhists, and other people who practiced Eastern religions became popular (“History of the United States (1945–1964)” 2019). Luckily for people who practiced Eastern religions, not many people disapproved of the more peaceful ones; only a few disliked the new diversity and wished the United States could remain mostly Christian. Even though not many events regarding Eastern religions occurred, if Eastern religions had never moved west, our nation would not have as much diversity.

The 1960s was decades ago, but past events about religion had impacts on today. There was a baby boom that helped spread varying beliefs and make them even more common (“History of religion in the United States” 2019). Also, some baby boomers left churches, leading to more variety (“History of Religion in America”). Plus, a lot of events helped tolerance or freedom of religion grow, leading to school and politics being separated from religion (“Spirituality and Religion”). Also, the SCLC, or Southern Christian Leadership Conference, made by Martin Luther King Jr., helped fight segregation (Melton “New Age movement” 2016). Plus, other qualities have more value today because the value of beliefs decreased so much back then (Sides “How Democrats became secular and Republicans became religious. (It’s not what you think.)” 2015). Had no events happened, religions would be less common. They would also have less variety. There would also probably be less religious tolerance and freedom as well. Martin Luther King Jr. might have never made the SCLC, leading to more segregation, and other valued qualities would mean less. The 1960s was a long time ago, but events back then still affect us today.

A variety of religions grew popular from 1960 to 1969, when religions changed, leaving us with fewer Protestants. Many events took place regarding religious beliefs. It was when diversity came, grew, and modified traditions to change the popularity of religions. It was when religious events took place to shape our country into what it is today. The 1960s was when many important events regarding religion happened, and without even a few events, our position in religion would look much different from today.

The first part of the report demonstrates social realism and its reflection in the contrasting films. The second subject taken into consideration is the significance of discrimination and racism problem in the 1960s British society. The third part of the report is the subject of homosexuality. The last part includes the interview with John Greenwood, who exemplifies briefly reflection on the 1960s British Cinema and social life.

My findings suggest that the social realism 1960s cinema became commercially successful. The people gathered in the cinemas to see films such as Kathy Come Home (1966) and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). I discover that those films conveyed a contrasting outlook of British society in the 1960s. “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning”(1960) film about young working-class Britons became a revelation for its realistic style, but also a controversial context such as abortion and visual portrayal of sex. Arthur, the main character, is a typical working-class man who disagreed with social conventions by living his life to the fullest. That suggested the social conversion and disappearance of moral restrictions. However, my findings indicate that realistic films exhibited the obstacles of the working class, unemployment, and homelessness. “Kathy Come Home” (1966) tackled various complications of the working class. The film alerted the public and the government of the housing crisis, which as a result influenced the establishment of the Charity Shelter to help people in need. According to Des Wilson (1976), founding director of the housing charity Shelter, said that the transmission of “Cathy Come Home” in 1966 was worth £500,000 to Shelter and directly helped numerous homeless families. Wilson elucidated the film’s basic rhetorical address to the viewers efficacious as “above all a scream of pain”. Noteworthy to mention is also films of the “Swinging London”. “ A Hard Day’s Night”(1964) and “Alfie”(1966), allured youth culture with its “flower power”, freedom of love, and rebellion against social norms. According to Murphy (1992), “Swinging London” was the essence of a 1960s culture that praised indulgence and the goal of “having a good time” was the core of everyday life.

Hill (1986) said that in the 1960s due to employment requirements the population of Afro-Americans increased significantly, as my findings support this statement. Layton-Henry (1992) states that in 1960 the number of immigrants from the New Commonwealth countries was 57.700 and climbed to136.400 in 1961. “The L-Shaped Room” (1961) film showed the racism and situation of unmarried mothers. I find that the unmarried mothers encountered prejudice and as the consequence was advised to conceal their shame by impersonating to be married. Another film that highlighted racism was “To Sir With Love”(1967). Despite the fact that the story of Mark Thackeray was suffused with prejudice the film demonstrated a glimpse of hope for the students at a low level of education. According to my findings, the rise of immigration and increased discrimination generated in creation by the British Government’s 1968 Race Relation Act.

The British society in the 1960s became a decade of the sexual revolution with the arrival of the contraceptive pill and the progression in acceptance of homosexuality. Despite the fact, homosexuality was taboo in the 1960s the cinema showed the first films embracing the context of that subject. The film “The Haunting”(1963), according to White (1992) was “One of the screen’s most spine-tingling representations of the disruptive force of lesbian desire.” I find that with the evaluated social awareness of homosexuality through the cinema LGBT rights were rapidly enhanced. In 1963 The Minorities Research Group was the first British lesbian socio-political movement. Equally, LGBT-orientated films of the 1960s are “A Taste of Honey”(1961) and “The Leather Boys” (1964).

On the 26th of January 2019, I have conducted an interview with John Greenwood, who was a young man in the Sixties. Greenwood (2019) said that the most important social films of the sixties were ‘Cathy Come Home(1966), the film tackled a very serious social problem that existed in Britain at the time, and “To Sir, with Love”(1967)which showed how community’s attitude transformed towards a black immigrant teacher from Ghana. Greenwood said the film that embraced homosexuality and to a great extent, prejudice was the film ‘A Taste of Honey( 1961). I find that the film had an emotional impact on Greenwood as the mother’s intolerance towards her daughter and her “gay” friend was distressing to watch. Greenwood(2019), said “As a young boy in the 60’s I cannot really compare them to the ’50s but I do remember that my older brother and sisters were always excited about some music event or a new film that was being released. For me the three films I have spoken about epitomized the 60’S, setting in my mind how narrow-minded people can be and how I didn’t want to be when I grew up.” The result of the interview supports my findings and contributes to the aim of this report.

In conclusion, the 1960s was a period of significant cultural, political, and social transformation, sexual freedom, liberalization of laws. The Sixties British cinema appears to support this statement, with a social realism drama and the “swinging sixties “ The Beatles films. The 1960s were the revolutionary epoch in numerous aspects, creating the country of the adaptable population which embraced social and political modifications with curiosity and optimism. All things concluded I recommend considering The Sixties decade as compared to the contemporary times. As history recurrent periodically I can find a resemblance between those two decades, as being both uprisings.

Introduction to the Impact of Social and Protest Movements

Social and protest movements throughout history, specifically in the 1960s, have significantly affected American culture and politics by pressuring elected and appointed officials to make changes. America was founded from a revolution; the original colonists of this country used protest tactics that led to the Revolutionary War and formed an independent country. Social and protest movements began the country, have shaped its history, and continue to presently shape American politics and culture. A social movement is formed when a substantial number of people organize to make a change, resist a change, or undo a change to some area of society, Those involved in social movements work outside the system to advance their cause because the followers of the movement believe the system has failed to address their problem. To draw attention to their cause and accomplish their objectives, supporters may strike, march, walk out, boycott, hunger strike, riot, or even terrorize. Such demonstrations also have an effect on American culture, which can be defined as the outlook, attitudes, values, morals, goals, and customs shared by society through material and non-material aspects. Material aspects refer to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture, and non-material aspects refer to nonphysical ideas that people share to define their culture. The Civil Rights Movement, the LGBTQIA Movement, and the Anti-War Movement during the Vietnam War are excellent examples of effective use of social and protests movements to cite such change.

The Civil Rights Movement: A Fight for Equality

The Civil Rights movement was long-lasting and heavily documented, and its complex history makes it the perfect example of the effects of social and protest movements. The threat of deprivation, threats to one’s livelihood, expectations for a better future, status, or position in society, is typically the start of a protest movement, and those fighting for civil rights were certainly under such threat. Brought to America against their will via the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Black Americans have long been oppressed by American society. William Hemstreet for the Arena said in May of 1903, “We Americans have the inborn social sentiment of master and slave… this ethnic prejudice is as universal and deep as the foundations of the Earth” (Civil Rights Museum 2019).

Key Events and Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement

A good starting point for the Civil Rights Movement is the Brown v Board Supreme Court case. From the 1930s on, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) lawyers chipped away at school segregation, suing states to make graduate schools and teacher salaries fair to all. After decades of preparation and local victories, they decided to attack segregation head-on. In the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ruling, the US Supreme Court declared separate schools based on race unequal and unconstitutional (Civil Rights Museum 2019). While Brown was a major breakthrough for equal education, white southerners staged massive resistance efforts that held up desegregation in most districts for another ten years (Civil Rights Museum 2019). The wording in a second Supreme Court Brown opinion in 1955 – to carry out the ruling “with all deliberate speed” – left a vague timeframe for change (Civil Rights Museum 2019).

Even though segregation was illegal, many places, especially in the south, still enforced it. A key example of this illegal segregation took place on buses and in bus terminals. The NAACP famously organized for a black woman, Rosa Parks, to be arrested for sitting at the front of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, where there was still an ordinance requiring black Americans to sit in the back of the bus (History 2019). Following her arrest, a bus boycott was organized from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956 (History 2019). The purpose of this boycott was to economically affect the bus system in Montgomery, as a substantial portion of the people who typically took the bus were black, causing the bus system to lose money (Civil Rights Museum 2019). Following the boycott and arrests, the Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system (History 2019).

The Emergence of Student Activism and Sit-Ins

In 1960, students began to get involved with protesting segregation. In Greensboro, North Carolina four young black men provided a blueprint for young people to get involved by sitting at a “whites only” counter in the downtown F. W. Woolworth store until they were served – which they never were (Civil Rights Museum 2019). Within two weeks, black college and high school students, many with connections to NAACP Youth Councils, were conducting these “sit-ins” at lunch counters in Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida (Civil Rights Museum 2019). These sit-ins, along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC), an organization of students that would organize many influential demonstrations in the Civil Rights Movement (Etienne 2013). After six months of direct-action protests, Woolworths and other Greensboro stores desegregated their lunch counters (Civil Rights Museum 2019).

The Freedom Rides: Challenging Segregation in the Deep South

The Freedom Rides of 1961 also protested illegal segregation. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized activists to travel by bus throughout the South to integrate seating patterns and desegregate bus terminals, as required by federal law (Civil Rights Museum 2019). The plan was to peacefully ride the bus from Washington, DC to New Orleans, Louisiana, but riders were met with violence. In Anniston, Alabama, one bus was firebombed, forcing its passengers to flee for their lives (Civil Rights Museum 2019). In Birmingham, Alabama, an FBI informant reported that Public Safety Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor had encouraged the Ku Klux Klan to attack an incoming group of freedom riders (Civil Rights Museum 2019). Eventually, Public sympathy and support for the freedom riders forced the Kennedy administration to order the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to issue a new desegregation order (Civil Rights Museum 2019).

The March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

In the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March in Washington for Jobs and Freedom where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech (Civil Rights Museum 2019). The march was organized to push President Kennedy’s Civil Rights Act bill, which made it federal law to prohibit discrimination based on race in employment and housing matters (Civil Rights Museum 2019). Even though divisions were growing between the SCLC and SNCC, as SNCC wanted more protection from the Kennedy administration, the march remained peaceful, allowing Kennedy to push congress to pass his civil rights bill (Civil Rights Museum 2019). The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 after Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963 (Civil Rights Museum 2019).

The Gay Rights Movement: From Repression to Stonewall

Another impactful social movement that affected American politics and culture is the Gay Rights Movement. LGBTQ acts, identities, and communities were subjected to legal repression in the 1800s, and further laws in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s (NPS 2016). For example, in 1961, Illinois passed a law that increased the ability of Chicago’s Mayor to close gay bars (NPS 2016). Many states, such as California and Florida, authorized the denial and revocation of licenses for doctors, lawyers, and other professionals if they were homosexual (NPS 2016). It was illegal in New York, among other cities, to dress in clothing designated for the opposite, targeting transgendered individuals (NPS 2016). It is estimated that tens of thousands of individuals lost their jobs and hundreds of businesses were harassed, raided, and closed by the police because of anti-LGBTQ laws (NPS 2016). This deprivation of rights led to a long fight for equal rights, and the protests of the Gay Rights Movement changed discriminatory laws and helped to change prejudiced views of gay and transgendered people.

Taking note of and standing in solidarity with the Civil Rights Movement and the Greensboro sit-ins, gay activists staged their own “sip-ins” at a New York City gay bar in 1966. They were denied service because they were purposefully forthcoming in their homosexual identity. These activists chose to litigate and won a 1967 state court ruling (NPS 2016). This example of civil disobedience gave other gay people the courage to appeal against discrimination experienced because of their sexuality. In 1969, a DC circuit court ruled that homosexual conduct alone was not sufficient reason to fire a federal government employee (NPS 2016).

The start of the modern Gay Rights Movement, however, can easily be pinpointed to the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, was raided by the police due to anti-LGBTQ laws in the city (NPS 2016). Contrasting the nonviolence preached by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement, this event was met with violence. Led by Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender woman, the event turned physical – the crowd at the bar threw objects at police, and the police aggressively responded, even hitting a lesbian over the head in an attempt to arrest her (History 2019). The six-day riots following the initial raiding of Stonewall were a catalyst for LGBT political activism, leading to the organization of the Gay Liberation Front, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (History 2019). Stonewall was especially important because the news of these riots filled the news, publicly exposing the mistreatment of gay Americans (History 2019).

The Gay Liberation Front was a radical group that launched public demonstrations, protests, and confrontations with political officials (History 2019). Along with other small gay rights groups, the Gay Liberation front marched through the streets of New York City in 1970, marking the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This march is considered to be the country’s first gay pride parade (History 2019).

The Vietnam War and the Rise of the Counterculture

The Anti-War Movement during the Vietnam War also affected American politics and culture. The Vietnam war was one of the most controversial political decisions in American history. At the time, American foreign policy extremely opposed the ideology of communism, and those in the office felt that events in Vietnam threatened the spread of it. There were various reasons many Americans opposed American involvement in the war, especially the draft. Protesters of the war spawned a counterculture, specifically those referred to as hippies. This hippie counterculture and colorful protest tactics have found their way into present American Culture.

The counterculture that emerged during the Vietnam War greatly affected present American culture. This counterculture involved, typically, young, white, middle-class men and women who felt “alienated from mainstream middle-class society and resented the pressure to conform to the ‘normal’ standards of appearance, employment, or lifestyle” (History 2019).