(Pop & Entertainment) The impact of mass popular culture, 1918-79

Question 1

Cinema - how did the sale of cinema tickets change in the 30s?

Answer 1

18-19 million tickets sold a week.

Question 2

Cinema - what are examples of cinemas for the upper-class?

Answer 2

43 Club, Soho

Question 3

Cinema - what were smaller cinemas for the working-class called?

Answer 3

‘Flee pits’

Question 4

Cinema - what did the Films Act of 1927 ensure?

What did this do?

Answer 4

At least 7.5% of films shown in British cinemas were British made.
Rose to 20% in 1935.
Lessened the quality of films.

Question 5

Cinema - what did cinema provide?

Answer 5

Escapism at an affordable price.

Question 6

Cinema - cinemas were ______ during ____ in case of _______ but were _________, acting as a ______ _____.

Answer 6

a) closed
b) WW2
c) bombing
d) reopened
e) morale boost

Question 7

Cinema - what 2 films are representative of cinema acting as a morale boost during WW2?

Answer 7

‘In Which We Serve’, a patriotic military film.

‘Let George Do It’, George Fornby (comedian) hit Hitler.

Question 8

Cinema - when and why did cinema start declining?

Answer 8

After 1950s with the increased availability of televisions.

Question 9

Cinema - give evidence of cinema declining in the 1950s.

Answer 9

Attendance fell from 1.4 million weekly in 1947 to 800,000.

Question 10

Cinema - what remained culturally significant?

Answer 10

British films.

Question 11

Cinema - give an example of how British films remained culturally significant?

Answer 11

Eeling Studios, 1945-50s - a collection of film studios producing popular British films.
Produced ‘Passport to Pimlico’, late 1940s - about a part of London that becomes an independent country that doesn’t ration.

Question 12

Cinema - what was notable about cinema in the 60s?

Answer 12

The social realism genre that portrayed the hard life and changing roles of the working-class.

Question 13

Cinema - what happened to cinema in the 1970s?

Answer 13

It suffered an artistic dip with the exception of the James Bond film franchise.

Question 14

Cinema - what were the most popular films in the 70s?

Answer 14

Softporn comedies like Confessions of a Windowcleaner (1974)

Question 15

Music - what did music reflect throughout the 20th century?

Answer 15

The mood

Question 16

Music - who was the most popular recording artist of the interwar years?
Give an example.

Answer 16

Ivor Novella

‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ - written in WW1 to appeal to those with loved ones fighting.

Question 17

Music - what was Ivor Novella’s sound known as?

Answer 17

Crooning

Question 18

Music - what happened to music in the 1930s?

Give an example.

Answer 18

American music was introduced with jazz & swing.

Artists such as Duke Ellington and ‘I’m Beginning to see the Light’ were popular.

Question 19

Music - give an example of the impact American music had.

Answer 19

There were 20,000 dance bands in Britain by 1930

Question 20

Music - what did the arrival of American music influence?

Answer 20

Future British bands.

Question 21

Music - what music was popular in the 50s/60s?

Give an example.

Answer 21

Rock n roll.

Elvis Presley

Question 22

Music - what did rock n roll artists like Elvis Presley popularise?

Answer 22

Black blues music for the masses.

Question 23

Music - what kind of rock n roll emerged in the 50s/60s?

Answer 23

British style, eg Skiffle.

Question 24

Music - what was skiffle?

Give an example.

Answer 24

Mix of jazz & blues with traditional folk music.

Lonnie Donegan ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman’.

Question 25

Music - what was skiffle seen as?

Answer 25

The blueprint for punk music.

Question 26

Music - what began happening to Skiffle and American blues in the early 60s?
What happened from 1963 onwards?

Answer 26

Replaced by bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones with their own sound.

This sound invaded the world.

Question 27

Music - what were the popular genres of the 70s?

4

Answer 27

Glam rock, ska, punk & reggae.

Question 28

Music - what did glam rock become?

Give an example.

Answer 28

A way of expressing challenges to gender identity.

David Bowie

Question 29

Music - what did glam rock do?

Answer 29

Excited younger generations, alienated older generations.

Question 30

Music - when did reggae/ska emerge?

What did this reflect?

Answer 30

1950s

Increasingly multicultural Britain after the 1948 British Nationality Act

Question 31

Music - give an example of reggae/ska music being popular.

Answer 31

Desmond Dekker - Israelites was no.1 for several weeks mid 60s.

Question 32

Music - what is an example of a band that reflected ska music/the multiculturalism of Britain?

Answer 32

The Specials

Question 33

Music - when was punk music popular?

What was it labelled as?

Answer 33

1970s

‘The music of the dole queue’

Question 34

Music - what did punk music reflect?

Answer 34

The anger felt by young people regarding loss of jobs and declining living standards.

Question 35

Music - where did punk first develop?

Answer 35

NYC

Question 36

Music - what are examples of popular punk albums?

Answer 36

The Clash - ‘London Calling’

Question 37

Music - how did punk compare to other genres?

Give an example.

Answer 37

It was a minority genre - bands like Queen & Elton John were bigger.

Question 38

Music - what were new music and styles reflective of?

Answer 38

Teenage independence and new disposable income to indulge in it.