Swinging 60s

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Contexts in the 60's

Social, Historical, Cultural contexts in the 1960s-and The Avengers

The Avengers as a distinctive generic identify that is rooted in British popular culture.

Television drew upon this tradition while at the same time responding to the social and cultural changes of the 1960s.

Spy Thriller-sub genre!

Series 4, Episode1

“The town of no return”

Steed and Emma, are on the trail of several murdered agents. They visit Little Bazeley by the sea, a town that strangers rarely leave alive-and discover it is being secretly infiltrated (invaded) by enemy agents.

The Swinging 60s:

London had been transformed from the bleak, conservative city, only just beginning to forget the troubles of the Second World War, into the capital of the world, full of freedom, hope and promise.

Young people were given a choice.

People had fought for and what we take for granted nowadays. 

Music:

The Beatles ‘invaded Britain’ and changed music. They experimented with new sounds and developed innovative pieces of music. Their later albums included lyrics encouraging rebellion against the authorities, as seen in ‘Revolution’.

Drug:

The Beetles made people aware that they took drugs and sometimes it sounded like they were on drugs when singing. This inspired them to write some of their songs about drugs. At their concerts, young people were taking drugs because they were influenced by the Beetles. The effects of these drugs were also reflected in psychedelic art, music and films. 

Feminism:

·      1960s- The Feminist Movement

·      Protests, women’s liberations groups

·      1965- use of contraceptives/safe birth control. This changed the relationships attitudes of many young women to sex and sexuality. 

·      Lawsuits for equal pay- women were paid significantly less (60%) than men.

·      Fighting for reproductive freedom- women’s abortion rights.

·      Women’s rights in the workplace- women had lower salaries and worked in ‘pink collar’ jobs such as secretaries, not professional ‘white collar’ jobs such as lawyers/doctors. 

Represented in the Avengers:

·      Seen as Steed’s professional equal- inspired by James Bond. INTERTEXUALITY. 

·      They have the sexual tension- Peel & Steed

·      Clothes of Peel & fighting ability- this demonstrated modern liberated femininity. She embodies the new international fashion in women who like to dress and fight like men. Slightly ahead of fashion at the time.

·      Leather outfit (originally designed for freedom of movement) added to the highly fetishistic dimension, which was far removed from the ‘girl-next-door’ image that was represented in the TV during the 50’s- a social, cultural change in history. 

·      A spited heroine of the 60’s.

·      Leather boots was not lost on the audience- ‘The leather pin-up’ of the 60’s.

Sexuality:

·      It was illegal for men and men to be in love in the early 60’s.

·      A UK opinion poll finds that 93% of respondents see homosexuality as a form of illness requiring medical treatment. 

·      In 1966, Humphry Berkeley introduced a law to legalise male homosexual relations. He lost his seat in parliament due to his actions to legalise same sex. 

·      Gay men who were publically gay, were either send to prison or put into a mental institution. 

·      If men were sent to mental institutions, they endured experimentation, torture, pain- causing drugs and electroshock therapy as a cure for homosexuality. 

·      Mid 60’s, gay activists became increasingly aware of the threat of prison. 

Avengers:

There is no assumption that the two spies are homosexual because of their behaviour towards each other. 

Cuffs:

There is an assumption that ‘Jake’ is homosexual because of his behaviour, and in the first 10 minutes of the episode, we find out his is homosexual, and there is no big reaction from the audience.

Russian Spies:

·      After ww2, the United States and the Soviet Union were the world’s strongest nations.

·      The Cold War (1945-1991) was a long period of tension between the democracies of the western world and the communist countries of Eastern Europe.

·      The West was led by the United States and Eastern Europe was led by the Soviet Union. These two countries became known as superpowers.

·      Arms race- who had the better weapons?

·      Space race- who could accomplish space races first?

·      The Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

·      Paranoia was common during the Cold War- due to propaganda, ignorance, fear and secrecy.

·      The threat of replacement ‘insiders’ in The Avengers reflects the paranoia generated by the Cold War, compared to the more everyday threat of crime in Cuffs.

Avengers:

·      It takes for granted the existence of a Russian spy ring in Britain

·      Steed knows where their headquarters are. And this episode aired at the time when the reality of Soviet Unions were penetrating the British intelligence.

·      English system is seen as an obstacle, preventing the Russians from carrying out their plans.

Ethnicities:

The assumption of a common ‘white’ culture in 1960s Britain, despite presence of minorities.

Minorities: a group within a community which has different national or cultural traditions from the main population.

Gender:

Steed- personified the traditional gentleman hero.

Peel- combined femininity and modernity.

Post sexual revolution- the consequences of the pill being legalised: women felt ‘free’, highly sexual. 

Changes in the 1960’s: women VS men:

·      More females than ever were entering the paid workforce, and this increased the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender differences in pay and advancement and sexual harassment at the workplace.

·      By the end of the sixties, more than 80% of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved a birth control pill- this provided women with a lot more freedom.

·      Basic goals of the sixties feminists: equal pay for equal work, an end to domestic violence, restricting severe limits on women in managerial jobs, an end to sexual harassment, and sharing of responsibility for housework and child upbringing.

·      The mini was designed to be free and liberating for women, allowing them to “run and jump”

·      In 1968 at a ford factory in Dagenham, 850 women went on strike, arguing for equal pay with their male co-workers. This action resulted in the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1970.

·      Cigarette advertisements always featured attractive men, most often in suits, but from the 1960s on, advertisements also showed rugged men in outdoor settings.