British Cultural Changes in the 1960s - Essay Example

British Cultural Changes in the 1960s Abstract. This paper investigates the significant changes that took place in Britain in the 1960s and the reasons or causes that led to them. The paper is to tell about the youth culture, what it entails and also the result of the youth culture. The article also gives information of the post-world war experience in Britain. In this paper, it will be revealed how Britain changes from a homogeneous country into a country that is individualistic, materialistic and distrustful of its political system. British Cultural Changes in the 1960s. For many people, the 1960s is seen as a time for freedom, liberty, creativity and experimentation. The period also had relative influence. Just to be more accurate the actual state of Britain in the 1960 was not that simple (Jones, 2008, p. 147). A number of forces came to play, and the product was a cocktail of both good and bad results. It is very certain that the experience of the World War II had a very severe impact and was the main reason that led to these changes. It is because of the Second World War that people wanted more. The British people demanded a higher level of equality and fairness (Gilbert, 1992, p. 67). It was after the World War 2 that the Britons realized that everyone had a part to play in social responsibility, and education was entitled to everyone. It was also a common belief in Britain that the British government could control the economy and ensure that their dreams were fulfilled. The British people went to great lengths to ensure that their dreams were fulfilled but still they did not attain what they wanted. It is during the periods of 1960s that attention was brought on the weakness of what the people wanted and strived to obtain. Many in Britain’s history consider the period of 1960s as a watershed socially. It is also during this time that the idea of youth culture was fully developed and in action. The youth culture led to the greater rejection of the British culture together with other traditions. It is also during this period that individualism became more common and rampant (Harris, p. 228). Ideally, the British youth expressed greater dissatisfaction with the British political system, and they expressed it far more willingly (Tames, 1983, p. 231). The result for this is a greater individuality and withdrawal from the British culture. The changes of the 1960s set the pace for the following decades, and it can be agreed that Britain is still dealing with the fallout of the 1960s. 1950s and Post World War Britain. So that one can understand the changes that took place in the 1960s, it will be valuable to know what took place in Britain during the world war and immediately after the world war. In addition, how these happenings affected Britain’s economic policies and political landscape. Even before the world war, there were growing concerns about education and welfare provisions. These concerns were made known by the Beveridge Report, which identified the main causes of poverty to be ignorance, disease, squalor, want, and idleness. In response to these issues, the report suggested a variety of benefits and healthcare plans funded by the taxation and national insurance. Regardless of the optimism, the government that was in power was not ready to act on these issues and it was until six years later that the new government introduced a project to form the National Health Services, which would ensure that people would receive health care from birth to the day that they die. This health care plan made most hospitals to be under the government. Still this allowed doctors and medical practitioners who wanted to run their private hospitals to do so. Most doctors agreed and accepted the system. A few years after Beveridge Report, an education act called Butler was passed. It aimed at changing Britain’s education system so that sharp children would continue with an education that was more in line in the areas of their gifts and abilities. These children would later go ahead to join college and university level of education. Another Act of 1944 introduced a new system of education which divided the education system into three parts, these were; academic, basic general education and vocational. Through this new system it was thought that it would allow children to pursue areas that they are gifted in and with their capabilities. It was also believed that it would produce a skilled workforce for Britain, which would be able to thrive in the harsh post-war world economy. However, the reforms contained in the Education Act of 1944 were not fully executed. The main parts that were fully executed were the creation of secondary grammar and modern schools. Public schools continued with the privileges that they were originally used to in the traditional education system. Because of this minor execution, the class still played a role in the determination of the quality of education a child would receive. It is also because of the little changes that the increase of in number of children who made it university was not noticeable (Marchant, 1945, p. 325). Another area that saw significant changes was the British Empire. After 1947, there were steps that were taken to ensure independence was given to various colonies these included; Kenya, Pakistan, India, Zambia, Nyasaland, and Sri Lanka. Although there were other reasons for it, the main reason is because Britain did not have enough funds to maintain its empire and neither did it have the desire to do so (Burkett, p. 93). It does not matter how the giving of independence was done. What is worth noting is that it had a substantial impact on the British people and their culture. This is so because it made Britain more introspective. Another thing that brought with it serious social repercussions is the British immigration policy. With the dissolving of the British Empire, those who were citizens of British colonies were allowed into Britain to supply the country’s high demand for labour. A majority of the immigrants did not make a good living, and they were forced into areas that provided cheap housing. This lead to ghettoization of Britain as cities developed ghettos. Some of these cities include; Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Bradford, Leads and Birmingham (Rosemont, 2005, p. 56). Yes, the demand for labour was quenched but the government did not care how the new immigrants settled in their new way of life. Neither did it strive to educate or create awareness of its locals so that they would not give the new visitors a hard time. In time, the immigrants started see the people in power with evil eyes. It was especially so when the immigrants started riots and the police quelled these riots using brutal force. This made it tremendously hard for the British government to foster any real social integration of the immigrants. In the 1950s, cinemas were a common thing that was growing popularity. By 1960s, television programs were trending in the stations and cinemas. There were programs that criticized the British structure and evoked emotions of its viewers. The programs were not used to improve social cohesion. Through the criticism, it was made known that the British traditional structure lacked relevance and was becoming unable to regulate change. Another thing that the television industry did was to quench the growing interest in secular music. There were programs that brought pop music to people’s homes, and it revealed the power of music industry to influence people’s fashion and attitude (Kutschke, 2013, p. 52). It is through some of the bands that anti-establishment sentiments and wildness of the youth was expressed. The result of this is that the older generation felt a wider gap between them and the youth. The young culture brought with it many other things. In 1964, London came to be known as the swinging London because of its views on drugs, music, and love. What surprised many is the great sexual freedom and more equality. The development of the family planning pills freed women sexually (Banting, 1979, p. 73). The Abortion Act of 1967 also offered women greater control of their sexual activities. Another significant act was the Divorce Act of 1969, which allowed women to divorce violent husband as compared to staying with them no matter what. It is at this point in history that a feminist’s movement was beginning in the Britain. It is critical to note that these changes were mainly taking place in large cities and metropolitans. In rural and remote places, the changes were not very noticeable and were slow involving brief steps. In politics, labour party that was not considered a strong party took power and the conservative party was associated with scandals, and this is what led to their downfall (Wallenfeldt, 2013, p.117). The labour party was trying to create a name for itself and for Britain. It is because of this that the Labour party offered to demolish slum building and put up higher raised buildings. The result is that more people were table to stay in a smaller space (Armstrong, p. 78). These structures ended up emphasizing a sense of isolation and this lead to increased crime rates and alienation. The traditional feel of a community was ruined and undermined by the high street introduction of supermarkets (Sandbrook, 2007, p. 89). They were gradual in developing and when they finally started to become popular, they run smaller shops that focused on a particular type of products out of business. Though this was convenient in protecting the locals, losing the small shops had a severe impact. As the 1960s went by the economy moved into a state of increasing inflation. The Labour party and the conservative parties both tried to control the situation by introducing limits at which the prices of both goods and services could be obtained and also increased the rate of income (Taylor, 2008, p. 97). The result for this was that there was a sudden move into deflation and an equally sudden increase in unemployment (Grenville, 1997, p. 56). This caused friction between the Labour government and trade unions causing a severe economic and industrial unrest. The population ended up not liking the public service and the British manufacturing industries. Since Britain was able to attain full employment during the war years, there was a great feeling of financial security among its citizenry. It was obvious that income rates would not be forever increasing. Since the Labour government was brought into power due to the influence of trade unions, the government was not readily going to challenge the trade union (Powell, 2009, p. 119). In 1964, the government tried to challenge the trade union directly, and it lost terribly. This emphasized that trade unions had significant influence. References. Armstrong, M. (n.d.). Swinging Britain: Fashion in the 1960s. Banting, K. (1979). Poverty, politics, and policy: Britain in the 1960s. London: Macmillan. Burkett, J. (n.d.). Constructing post-imperial Britain: Britishness, 'race' and the radical left in the 1960s. Gilbert, B. (1992). Cultural revolution?: The challenge of the arts in the 1960s. London: Routledge. Grenville, J. (1997). A history of the world in the twentieth century. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Harris, A. (n.d.). Love and romance in Britain, 1918-1970. Jones, I. (2008). Aging in a consumer society: From passive to active consumption in Britain. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. Kutschke, B. (2013). Music and protest in 1968. New York: Cambridge University Press. Marchant, J. (1945). Post-war Britain, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. Powell, D. (2009). Studying British cinema: The 1960s. Leighton Buzzard: Auteur. Rosemont, F. (2005). Dancing in the streets!: Anarchists, IWWs, Surrealists, Situationists & Provos in the 1960s as recorded in the pages of The rebel worker & Heatwave. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr. Sandbrook, D. (2007). White heat: Britain in the sixties. London: Abacus. Tames, R. (1983). Growing up in the 1960s. London: Batsford Academic and Educational. Taylor, B. (2008). A minority and the state Travellers in Britain in the twentieth century. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Wallenfeldt, J. (2013). Sounds of Rebellion Music in the 1960s. Chicago: Britannica Educational Pub. Read More