Changes Since the Sixties

There were no time guzzling metal detectors at the airports... or the schools. There were no grouchy warning labels on the records and no ratings necessary on the movies. And TV shows were acceptable to the whole family. Those were the sixties or at least part of it. Some of the 52 million sixties’ boomers called it the decade of peace, harmony and love mainly for the movement for peace and the “flower power” attitude. Others, a little more pessimistic, called it the decade of dissatisfaction because of the protests against the war and the race riots in many cities. For the teenagers it was the decade of sweet sounding, good-time rock ‘n’ roll…from the Beatles to the Kinks and many more in between. Still for others it was filled with totally far out acid trips and creative boom. All in all it was a progressive decade from the race to the moon to the introduction of the first McDonalds Big Mac to the assassination of JFK. Although life has changed since the sixties, music, fads, and pop culture of that time has begun to resurface in our youths lives.

During the sixties, film was changed forever. Throughout this era effective and continual advancements took place so the film industry is not that different from today. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t ANY changes. “Cinema in the sixties reflected the decade of fun, fashion and tremendous social change”(Tim Dirks 2). However today’s themes can range anywhere from drugs to green ogres. Amid the sixties the film industry was at its lowest point which resulted in fewer movies being made and to filming outside the U.S because it wasn’t as expensive. Today the film industry is booming. The film industry also makes more than 200 movies a year so they can usually film within the country. However both today and in the sixties film was in color and both decades targeted younger audiences. Movie ticket prices have also increased. An average movie ticket in the sixties cost about thirty-eight cents, whereas today tickets cost between five and eight dollars.

Literature techniques and topics chosen by authors reflected the social changes and interests of the sixties. Some writers focused on traditional issues, others reflected the cultural conflicts made by the Civil Rights movement, the coming of age of the post-war baby boomers and the war in Vietnam. Popular book genres of the sixties were romance, science-fiction, and fantasy. Slaughterhouse Five and Stranger in A Strange Land are just two examples. Today people enjoy reading fantasy and non-fiction novels as well. Although they also buy dating books such as He’s Just Not That into You and dieting books like The Zone Diet. The sixties was a good decade for non-fiction in general. Both Growing Up Absurd and Feminine Mystique did well with readers. Non-fiction and fiction today don’t really compete since they have separate bestsellers list. However both are doing well with the Da Vinci Code and My Life So Far on a Bestsellers List. Young Adult books in the sixties became controversial for their critical observations of adults like Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger for that reason and also because of