Liberal/Permissive society- 1918-1979 Flashcards
- When did rationing end?
2. What did the relaxation of consumer credit mean for the working class?
- 1954
- Enabled them to enjoy a level of prosperity that they could scarcely have imagined a decade earlier
- Ideas of community, social class, and social mobility increasingly challenged; ppl began questioning class system from position of prosperity au lieu poverty, surrounded by comforts of consumer capitalism.
- Enabled them to enjoy a level of prosperity that they could scarcely have imagined a decade earlier
- When was the Satire Boom?
2. Why did the Satire Boom happen?
- Late 1950s-early 1960s
2. Decline of deference
Example of how popular satire became during the Satire Boom
1960: Subversive, popular stage show ‘Beyond the Fringe’- played to packed audiences. Fierce controversy for ridiculing the establishment: govt, army + upper classes.
What was a sketch performed in ‘Beyond the Fringe’ that satirised the military?
‘The Aftermyth of the War’- poured scorn on war effort, even though it was a recent memory + ppl still proud of win.
What did this sketch that satirised the military and the British war effort lead to?
Success led to TV show ‘The Week That Was’ w/David Frost. Satirical humour + interviews of top politicians. 1st time public saw elite politicians interviewed rigorously by journalists. Showed clear change in attitudes to authority.
- The ‘British New Wave’ was a loose term for what movement?
- What type of fiction was being produced in the late ’50s and early ’60s?
- A generation of writers + filmmakers that articulated Britain’s changing attitudes to class system.
- Many novels about working class men/women coming to terms w/end of old working-class world of pre-war era and birth of new prosperity.
Example of the types of novels being produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s
Alan Sillitoe- Saturday Night Sunday Morning (1958). Later made into a film w/Albert Finney in 1960. Both v. popular + showed working-class + old gen deference in decline
- Angry working class man Arthur Seaton has contempt for bosses, authorities, and even own community.
- Amoral character desperate to escape background but enjoys all benefits of new consumerism. Not a left-wing working class hero, but product of affluent society.
What events led up to the sex scandal of early 1963?
Rumours of sex parties regularly held at stately home owned by Astor family- Cliveden. Satire mag Private Eye important for reporting rumours, but mainstream media latched onto it.
What was the sex scandal of early 1963?
Rumour Minister of War John Profumo sharing 19Y/O Christine Keeler w/Soviet attache. He initially denied it but later confessed, resigned in March ‘63. Some ppl believe it led to govt. losing 4 seats in ‘64 Gen. Election.
- Before the Profumo scandal, did the press report on such sex scandals?
- Who reported on the Profumo scandal?
- No- sexual indiscretions of the establishment (even royals) routinely ignored by powerful press barons.
- Feat. on front pages of the Mirror, News of the World, Daily Express, and Daily Mail.
In terms of social change, what was the significance of the Profumo Scandal?
Significant in the decline of deference in society.
Why was the Profumo Scandal significant?
Ppl shocked members of establishment indulged in seedy practices + routinely lied about it ‘til caught out. Marked watershed where ppl realised leaders weren’t necessarily paragons of virtue, didn’t deserve trust just due to position
1950s Attitudes towards sex
- Idea state had role in regulating private sex behaviour, esp. gayness, widely accepted
- By ‘49 >1/10 of ppl had received any sex education
- Lil evidence that parents discussed sex w/their kids.
A popular view from foreign observers and commentators in the ’50s was that the British were reserved and sexually repressed. Why is this unlikely based on statistics?
- STD cases high in Britain until penicillin discovery
- Prostitution flourished during WW2
- ’50s survey: 1/5 women born 1894-1904 had had premarital sex; 1/2 all women born ‘24-45 had premarital sex.
A popular view from foreign observers and commentators in the ’50s was that the British were reserved and sexually repressed. What book disproves this notion?
’30s onward there was growing demand for sex advice books. Eustace Chesser’s 1941 book ‘Love Without Fear’ explained both men and women could have sex; sold 3M copies by. 1964
Based on statistics from the 1950s and before, was there a sexual revolution in the 1960s?
Could argue we didn’t experience sex revolution in 60s but that sex behaviour had been steadily changing through 1900s. The revolution was in the British Public’s increased openness to discussing sex.
What is the typical mythology about the 1960s?
That the decade was one of sexual exploration and decadence. Statistical evidence gathered during the sixties tends to suggest this image is misleading.
What was ‘The Sexual Behaviour of Young People’?
Study done by Michael Schofield in 1965- based on interviews w/2,000 teens. Uncovered following:
- 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 6 girls between 16-19 had had sex
- Nearly all who had were in established relationships + weren’t promiscuous
What was another study completed in the sixties around sex?
1970: Geoffrey Gorer came to similar conclusions to Schofield. In this survey attitudes to sex, marriage, infidelity, contraception, + gays v. similar to popular attitudes of 50s; suggests not much change by 1969.
How did the media participate in the ‘Swinging Sixties’?
Papers played big role in dissemination of sex ideas. In age of mass consumerism advertisers paid to have ads in tabloids- knew they’d reach many. Tabloid sex scandals + talking about sex in articles + features not only got big readership but linked sex w/celebrity + consumerism.
