The social and cultural context Lecture 3 The social and cultural context

Review Who replaced Winston Churchill as prime minister after World War 2? What made his time as prime minister significant? What is his legacy? What is austerity? In the 1950s, how did the people of the United Kingdom react to austerity measures introduced by the government and media?

Progress and pop (1960-70) In spite of the material gains of the 1950s, by the mid-1960s there was a feeling of disappointment with a Conservative Party which had been in power for thirteen years. The country and had changed greatly, developing into a dynamic consumer society, but the old-fashioned speech, manners and dress of the figures of authority identified them with a much earlier age.

Disappointment with conservative government In the mid-1950s there were stories of top civil servants defecting to Russia. In 1956 there was a major government failure in the handling of the Suez Canal crisis, which resulted in a brief war and an embarrassing retreat. The public was beginning to lose respect for the government, its institutions and the ruling class.

Harold Wilson The conservatives were out, and the Labour Government took over one again. At this time, technological innovation as well as major advances in science and industry brought hope for change and modernization. Almost everyone had a TV at home, and people were more informed than ever.

Quality of Life improved... But the British people felt restricted and limited in their individual freedom. Dissent flourished.

The government listened... ...and changed many of the strict social controls common in Britain since the Victorian Era.

Research & Discussion What was the Victorian Era? What were important values in the Victorian Era? (hint: search for 'Victorian Morality') Examples?

End of strict social controls In the 1960s, the government ended many of the strict social controls that had been part of British society since the Victorian Era. End of capital punishment Changed laws on obscenity, homosexuality, abortion Gambling legalised Homosexuality legalised in 1967, changes tmade o abortion law

Independence within the kingdom In the 1960s, Scotland, Wales and Ireland demanded greater regional autonomy. Riots in Northern Ireland (Catholics VS. Protestants) in 1969 British military remain in Northern Ireland to this day to keep the peace.

Not everyone appreciated social reforms Churches in the UK remained firm on social values

Discussion Last semester we learned about religious values in the USA and compared Protestantism to Catholicism. What is Protestantism? Examples? What is Catholicism? Examples? What is the Church of England?

Role of the Church and Religion While churches enforced strict social values, the church saw its influence decline during the 1960s.

Immigration Issues As we have learned, immigration to the UK increased rapidly after the end of the British Empire and beginning of the Commonwealth. People living in the Commonwealth were invited to live in the UK without needing a work permit or visa.

Discussion What are some possible problems with large-scale immigration? How might people of the UK reacted to sudden immigration from parts of the Commonwealth such as Pakistan and parts of Africa and the Caribbean? How should immigration be controlled? Or not?

Rivers of Blood

Enoch Powell A conservative MP warned (in 1968) of the problems caused by uncontrolled immigration. He delivered a speech referred to as the 'Rivers of Blood' speech.

Selections from 'Rivers of Blood' "Here is a decent, ordinary fellow Englishman, who in broad daylight in my own town says to me, his Member of Parliament, that the country will not be worth living in for his children. I simply do not have the right to shrug my shoulders and think about something else. What he is saying, thousands and hundreds of thousands are saying and thinking – not throughout Great Britain, perhaps, but in the areas that are already undergoing the total transformation to which there is no parallel in a thousand years of English history."

Selections... "We must be mad, literally mad, as a nation to be permitting the annual inflow of some 50,000 dependents, who are for the most part the material of the future growth of the immigrant descended population. It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre. So insane are we that we actually permit unmarried persons to immigrate for the purpose of founding a family with spouses and fiancées whom they have never seen." "As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see "the River Tiber foaming with much blood."

Comparing immigration in the UK... … with the fall of the Roman Empire.

Anger and division 1970-9

Discussion Review and discuss with your partners about the major events, politics and changes in the UK... In the 1950s... Post-War Economy, industry Movements, rights In the 1960s... Changes in traditional values Immigration

The 1970s... A strong contrast to the 1960s Social division, strikes, inflation, unemployment, political violence Strong, organised Unions, threat of Communism Irish, Scottish and Welsh nationalism at its peak Racism and the media

Strong contrast to the 1960s The 1960s were known for innovation in music and the arts, dissent leading to social progress and reform. The 1970s...

High Unemployment As unemployment rose, so did the number of strikes, and towards the middle of the decade inflation reached 25 per cent. Numerous social groups were demanding rights denied to them, as society became increasingly confrontational.

Social Dysfunction Acts of vandalism were frequent, and there was public hostility towards the oppressive severity and frequently dysfunctional modernist architecture. Many felt threatened by the presence on the streets of numerous young vandals, skinheads and football hooligans. Punks appeared on streets around Britain. Their shocking appearance reflected a sense of disgust with a society which seemed to have abandoned its youth and its future.

Research, Discuss & Share Research (using the internet) more on the 'punk movement' in the United Kingdom. Search 'punk subculture' and select 'ideologies' from the article's table of contents. What are the values of the punk movement? Prepare a short written response to share with the class.