charlestheoaf on 29/10/2007 at 01:35
Maybe it's a little lame to ask for help on a school assignment, but I figured this could lead to some interesting discussion as well.
I have to compile a list of what I think top 5 movies, works of literature, music, television shows and advertisements that acted as an agent of change between 1870 and now. Not necessarily the top 5 "best," just the most influential.
Examples given:
Quote:
"Rosie, the Riveter", Leave it to Beaver, Marilyn Monoe, The King and I, Liberace, Elvis, Peyton Place, Jack Kerouac, Ben-Hur, The Jazz Singer, Walt Disney, Prohibition propaganda, Cigarette advertisements, Fireside Chats, War of the Worlds
Now, this isn't a big assignment at all, I just have to compile a top 5 list. However, since I don't watch television and rarely listen to the radio, I'm completely out of touch with this (especially for recent works). Just thought I'd get a little input from you guys, if any of you are knowledgeable on the matter.
Thanks in advance :)
Starrfall on 29/10/2007 at 02:38
Terminator 2
charlestheoaf on 29/10/2007 at 02:55
Well I know that certainly influenced me as a kid, but I doubt it had that great of an impact upon American society :p
Well, I guess we did get a few snazzy catch-phrases from it.
Gingerbread Man on 29/10/2007 at 03:55
The Cos.
BEAR on 29/10/2007 at 04:10
Terminator 1.
Scots Taffer on 29/10/2007 at 04:12
Cheers Beer Commercials.
jay pettitt on 29/10/2007 at 04:17
Is that specific to the US, or international? Also, shouldn't architecture be in your list of categories? And are you choosing your top 5 influential cultural oddments, or is it 5 from each category?
Just 5 is tough. In the US, I'd guess you have two big civil rights movements to chose from: the suffrigists and the African-American; you gotta stick a sky-scraper in and a moon landing (or sputnik) plus a cowboy reference, a military reference (possibly vietnam), junk food and Mark Twain. Which would be more than 5 :(
Malygris on 29/10/2007 at 05:41
SPUDS MCKENZIE
Shakey-Lo on 29/10/2007 at 08:38
films (in no order)
man with a movie camera
steamboat willy
jaws
the birth of a nation
psycho
Thirith on 29/10/2007 at 09:18
Quote Posted by charlestheoaf
I have to compile a list of what I think top 5 movies, works of literature, music, television shows and advertisements that acted as an agent of change between 1870 and now. Not necessarily the top 5 "best," just the most influential.
Agents of change? I think you'd be hard put to find any individual media products that have changed anything. Images that become part of the collective imagination, perhaps, but has the world changed in any considerable way due to the image of Marylin trying to hold her skirt down or the explosion of the Challenger? I'm not even sure whether some of the most memorable images, such as the fall of the Berlin wall or the videos of 9/11 have changed anything much. If anything, the latter has been helped the government push its war agenda, but on its own it hasn't achieved anything.
It's probably way too simplistic to see media events or products as agents of change. It's more likely that they reflect changes; at most there's a complex interplay between the media and society/culture, in that the media reinforce certain tendencies in society and downplay others.
And if you mention too much of this in school, people will think you're trying to be clever, when really you're just trying to avoid simplistic, reductionist rubbish. :p
