Social, Historical, Cultural contexts in the 1960s (Avengers)

Social, Historical, Cultural contexts in the 1960s (Avengers)

SERIES 4 EPISODE 1 - “THE TOWN OF NO RETURN”

• The Avengers is a spy thriller- sub genre
• The avengers as a distinctive generic identity that is rooted in British popular culture.

Brief Summary

• Steed and Emma, are on the tripod several murdered agents. They visit little barely by the sea, a town the strangers rarely leave alive- and discover it is being secretly infiltrated (invaded) by enemy agents.

The swinging 60s

• Beginning to forget the troubles of the war the bleak conservative London was full of freedom hope and promise.
• Young people were given a choice.
• Parents of children who had fought for freedom during their teenage years wanted their children to enjoy their youth and be able to have more fun and freedom.

Music in the 60’s

• British invasion groups e.g Beatles truly began its ground- breaking changes to music 
• Beatles are an example of how music influenced young Britons. E.g. “Sgt peppers lonely hearts club band”
• They experimented with new sounds and develop innovative pieces of music, reflecting on the times- new era new Briton
• young people began to stand up for their beliefs and their individuality.

Drug culture in the 60’s

• recreational drugs started to be taken for entertainment an enjoyment rather than medically, more commonly used in the latter part of the decad
• Woodstock festival show people high on drugs and dancing in fields with paint on their faces
• very difficult for anyone in show business to avoid being involved in drugs
• Many people were encouraged to follow their idols and take hallucinogenic drugs. LSD helped people bring out their inner hippie
• The effects of these drugs were also reflected in psychedelic art, music and films.

Feminism: the influence of patriarchy and feminism 

• 1960’s- the feminist movement 
• Women liberation groups fought for equality: 1965- use of contraception brith control was legalised, this changed relationships attitudes of many young women to sex and sexuality
• Law suits for equal pay- women were paid 60% less than men 
• Fighting for reproductive freedom- women abortion rights. In 1967 abortion was legalised
• Women had lower salaries and worked in ‘pink collar’ jobs such as secretaries, not professional ‘white collar’ jobs such as lawyers/doctors.

feminism: Avengers

• peel seen as steeds professional equal- inspired by James bond and M
• will they /have they sexual tension- peel & steed
• Clothes of Peel and fighting ability- reflected modern liberated femininity. She embodies new international fashion in women who dress and fight like men.
• Leather outfit added to highly fetishistic dimension, very different to the ‘girl next door’ image, Social and cultural change in society 
• A spirited heroine of the 60’s

Sexuality: the illegality of male gay sex in the early 60’s

• In 1963, the minorities research group (MRG) became the first lesbian social political organisation
• A UK poll finds that 93% of respondents see homosexuality as a form of illness requiring medical treatment.
• In 1966, Humphrey Berkley introduced a law to legalise male homosexual relations. He lost his seat in parliament due to his actions to legalise sex
• If men were sent to mental institutions, they endured experimentation, torture and pain causing drugs (electroshock therapy was a cure for homosexuality.)
• mid 60’s gay activists became increasingly aware of the threat of prison.
• The assumption of heterosexuality in the avengers episode compare to the leading gay character in cuffs.

Russian spies: the fear of them in the cold war 1960’s Britain 

• After world war 2, the united states of America and the soviet union were the worlds strongest nations.
• The cold war (45-95) was a long period of time of tension between the democracies of the western world and the communist countries of Eastern Europe.
• There was great distrust between the soviet union and the rest of the allies.
• the west was led by the united states and Eastern Europe was run by the soviet union. these two countries became know as the superpowers.
• arms race- who had the better weapons?
• space race- who could accomplish space races first?
• the cold war came to an end with the collapse if the soviet union in 1991.
• Paranoia was common during the cold war- due to propaganda, ignorance, fear and secrecy.
• The threat of replacement ‘insiders’ in the Avengers reflects the paranoia generated by the cold war, compared to the more everyday threat of crime in cuff.

Russian spies: Avengers

• it takes for granted the existence of Russian spy ring in Britain
• Steed knows where their headquarters are and this episode aired at the time when the reality of Soviet Unions were penetrating the British intelligence.
• English system is seen as an obstacle, preventing the Russians from carrying out their plans.

Ethnicities: the assumption of the common ‘white’ culture in 1960’s Britain, despite presence of minorities 

• A group within a community which has different national born cultural traditions from the main population.
• Only white characters presented although there were ethnic minorities at the time.

Gender: Exploring the changing gender roles in 1960’s

• More females were entering the paid workforce, increasing the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender differences in pay and advancement and sexual harassment at the work place
• by the end of the 60’s, more than 80% of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved birth control pill- this provided women with a lot more freedom 
• Basic goals of the sixties feminists: equal pay for equal work, and end to domestic violence, restricting severe limits on women in managerial jobs, an end to sexual harassment, and sharing of responsibility for housework and child upbringing.

Woman vs Men

• The mini skirt was designed to be free and liberating for women, allowing them to “run and jump”
• in 1968 at a ford factory in Dagenham, 850 women went on strike arguing for equal pay with their male co- workers. The action resulted in the passing of the equal pay act of 1970
• Cigarette advertisements always featured attractive men, most often in suits, but from the 1960’s on, advertisements also showed rugged men in outdoor settings.