Popular Culture in the 60's - Essay Example

Americans perceived watching TV as a means of passing time. In fact, any time people were not watching shows, they would be heard taking about them. Most shows of the time were mostly American although some BBC programs were run on the ABC. Television broadcast could now be done on a color TV, as opposed to black and white, which might explain why Americans liked watching TV than listening to radios. Some of the most popular TV shows targeting kids included ‘Walt Disney', 'Howdy Doody Time,' and 'Mickey Mouse Club, just to name but a few.

Some of the popular comedies shows at the time included ‘Honeymooners,’ ''I Love Lucy' and ‘The Families of the Fifties. The way of presenting news also changed significantly from just news reading to presentation of videos of the news events. In addition, live broadcast also became widespread (Storey 9). Music also become common, particularly the Rock ‘n’ Roll, which was introduced in the 60s. At the time of introduction, many parents perceived it a threat to the behaviors of the American teenagers.

Country and western music also became very popular. Some notable popular artists and groups of this genre include Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, and David Hockney. In fact, the beetles could be heard almost everywhere as many people could be seen listening to music through pocket-sized transistor radios, portable record players and eight-track stereo in cars. Everyone with a radio could be seen singing alongside the thrilling quality of stereo FM broadcasts. Some of the biggest stars of the time include the Motown, the British Invasion, and San Francisco sounds (Farina and Candles par. 4). Research also indicates that the emergence of a rock band group known as the Beatles in 1964 brought about significant changes in music and fashion industry.

His influence resulted in the emergence of long hair and beads and psychedelic clothing as new style. In this regard, both women and men like keeping their hair long as opposed to cutting them short. In addition, men considered keeping beads very fashionable. Women clothing were mainly psychedelic, in which most women saw short skirts to be very fashionable (Epstein 43). Drugs were also of great significance to Americans in the 1960s. For example, research shows that the lesergic acid diethylamide (LSD) played a huge role in making the sixties as significant as it is was.

In this regard, LSD was used to help individuals to figure out things at a different angle that their psychedelic trance would grant them. Marijuana, which is also considered a drug was also commonly in use by the people of the 1960s. Even though marijuana has remained an illegal drug for several years, the people of the 1960s who were trying to establish new ways of exploring pleasure would smoke marijuana, despite being illegal (Enu and Kaisha 22). The use of psychedelic mushroom for experiments also became a very popular culture of the people of the 1960s.

Research shows that many Americans of the 1960s experimented with mushrooms in trying to get a new outlook of their world. As such, mushrooms were seen as a very precious food and drug (Oregon Public Broadcasting par. 2). The 1960s also ushered in new methods of cooking