Rock-and-roll

Rock-and-roll is both a music and a lifestyle an has nurtured both since its inception. As a music, it was derived from earlier musical forms including be-bop and the blues. As a lifestyle, it has been manifested in the non-conformist behavior of its practitioners. Rock-and-roll came into being in the 1950s at a time of social conformity among the white middle-class who constituted the majority of the country. The nation was still recovering in some sense from World War II while at the same time facing a new sense of tension because of the Cold War, a new kind of confrontation that seemed to have no set rules. Young people as always wanted to differentiate themselves from their parents, and pressures to conform at home could be overcome through music when out in the world. Many of the rock-and-roll oriented movies of the 1950s acted out precisely the kind of social confrontation taking place between the conformity of the suburbs and the more radical social and sexual rhythms of rock-and-roll music.

The American Dream is based on the image Americans have of themselves as a people achieving much because they live in a country that is egalitarian so that self-improvement is the way to achieve success. While this might seem a very practical vision of the American Dream, there is also a mystic quality to it, as if Americans are more directly connected to some broader moral and empowering universe which gives them a stronger sense of self and the will to succeed. Achievin

Related Essays

Effects of rock 'n' roll on Society This paper will be concerned with the effects of rock and roll on society. Throughout its history, rock and roll music has had a profound impact on its fans. .... (2127 9 )

Rock and Roll Films The rock and roll film came into being at the The rock and roll film came into being at the same time as the music began to make itself known. The use of "Rock Around the Clock .... (1634 7 )

Sexual Component of Rock n' Roll Films The sexual component of rock and roll has been a strong element in films about and featuring rock and roll from the beginning. In .... (1066 4 )

Rock and Roll Music in an Economic Context INTRODUCTION Pop rock Pop rock music, commonly referred to as rock and roll, has developed into a major social phenomenon in most western coun tries over the past three decades .... (6265 25 )

Jim Morrison and The Doors .... The leading voices in this culture were the rebellious stars of Rock and Roll, a kind of music that belonged only to the teenagers. .... (628 3 )

nd shock audiences at the same time. Rock-and-roll followed the same pattern, and for all the uproar it caused in the fifties, its sexual,content was still subliminal. At the same time as David Walley points out, rock and roll was always about sex even if no one came out and said so openly. Rock-and-roll from the 1950s "promoted adolescent angst and alienation." Rock-and-roll was more than this in the social fabric of the time: More to the point, rock-and-roll was part of the background of the fifties American life, a specialized soundtrack for the insular teen subculture of the sock hop and the prom as well as mood music for furtive rec room gropings, or summertime fun, harmless fun. Rock-and-roll was more and more a social phenomenon as well as a musical style. Some historians of the era see rock-and-roll as deserving of serious study because it is one of the most important forces in American popular culture since World War II and had a considerable effect on the way the 1950s developed into the 1960s. They find that studying rock-and-roll provides information on a variety of social attitudes and issues, including race, gender, religion, and social class, while also offering fascinating details of daily life and e

Category: Arts - R