2010s VS 1960s (2010s Versus Series Part II)
Dec 16, 2019 15:54:38 GMT 10
Post by Captain Nemo on Dec 16, 2019 15:54:38 GMT 10
Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the second part of the "2010s Versus Series", a hexology of threads where I compare the 2010s to each of the six decades preceding it (1950s-2000s).
In the first thread, I compared the 2010s to the 1950s, if you haven't checked that thread out, here's the link - popedia.boards.net/thread/3086/2010s-1950s-series
In this thread, I'll be comparing the 2010s to the 1960s.
CNN describes the 1960s as "the decade that changed the world". It was in this decade when you had the white conservative status quo was struck hard, and American society began moving into a more neoliberal direction.
With the Civil Rights Act, the Black Panther Movement, the Sexual Revolution, the Psychedelic Movement, the backlash against the Vietnam War and subsequent decline in trust in the American government, the 1960s truly were a decade of a major shift in American society. While there is a lot of appreciation for the music, movies, and cultural aesthetic of the 1960s, neither liberals nor conservatives are particularly nostalgic about this decade. Conservatives view the 1960s as the decade when America lost its innocence, and liberals aren't nostalgic about this decade either due to the Vietnam War as well as racism and sexism still being heavily prevalent in this decade. Plus, with the turmoil surrounding the 1968 election, it's no wonder that "nostalgia" (and I put that word in quotations for a reason) for this decade is mostly limited to the superficial aspects of this decade.
But how does this decade compare to the 2010s, a decade succeeding it by a half century? Both decades were ones of political turmoil, but which decade had it worse, and which decade is better when regarding the superficial aspects like the music, movies, and overall aesthetic?
Let's compare and contrast;
Music
[/video]
The 1960s absolutely sweeps this category. It just has to. The 1960s features an absolute abundance of phenomenal songs and albums that are top notch in artistry and creativity, that even rival the works of Beethoven and Mozart, and that will remain relevant for generations. The music industry's move into a more liberal direction as opposed to the conformity of past decades has allowed musicians to express their creativity in ways otherwise unthinkable. Albums such as Pet Sounds, Revolver, Freak Out, Disraeli Gears, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road are key examples of this. Even more simpler rock songs from this decade such as Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and Niel Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" are composed so beautifully, and are likewise timeless classics that are still relevant a half century later. Even outside of rock music, you had the legends in Motown, as well as the formation of funk music which was the precursor to disco music. Hit songs from country artists such as Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard helped solifiy the Outlaw Country genre, which helped break the genre apart from the conformist Nashville Sound. Legends of previous decades such as Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra were still going strong and would release phenomenal hits such as "What a Wonderful World" and "My Way" respectively. Even the more '50s sounding hits from earlier within this decade I feel are worth listening to.
2010s music on the other hand has no where near the staying power of 1960s music. The abundance of commercialized, low-quality rap and pop songs that are only relevant for a few months at best before being forgotten about will do just that, hits from the 2010s will be no where near as relevant in the 2060s as hits from the 1960s are today, that's just a fact. Not even the great underground music scene of the 2010s could save it in this category.
The 1960s wins this category, concluded.
Society
As I already mentioned, both these decades are ones of political turmoil. The 1968 and 2016 presidential elections were easily the most turbulent presidential elections of post-WW2 history, and both share an abundance of parallels to one another.
In the 1968 election, you had blowback from liberals over the Vietnam War, and their subsequent support of Robert F. Kennedy, and disapproval over Hubert Humphrey, but there was also blowback from conservatives who felt that the country was going to hell who through their support behind segregationist independent candidate George Wallace. The 2016 election had blowback from both liberals and conservatives over both the ongoing War on Terror as well as over corruption in Washington, many supporters of Bernie Sanders felt similarly about Hillary Clinton as supporters of RFK felt about Hurbert Humphrey, and Donald Trump, like George Wallace, was favored among conservatives who felt the country was going to hell, the only difference, besides the fact Trump isn't a segregationist, is the fact that Trump actually won the 2016 election. But like Richard Nixon, Donald Trump is facing a real possibility of getting impeached, and like him may possibly resign and ask Pence to pardon him to avert this, so there's that...
But even outside the election, both decades share parallels in the amount of demonstrations from both liberals and conservatives who both feel the world is going in the wrong direction, and want to "save" it. Plus the Black Panther movement is the precursor to the Black Lives Matter movement. Overall, these decades share large quantities of parallels to one another regarding how society was in these decades.
But which decade had it worse? For the sake of the fact that racism and sexism were still a lot more standard back then, I could say the 1960s had it worse. However, but the liberal movements from the 1960s I feel were in for a much better cause than the liberal movements of the 2010s. The hippie movements of the 1960s were truly liberal, as they were about liberation, liberation of all individuals from oppression regardless of race, sex, income, or what have you. The leftist movements of the 2010s, on the other hand, have become borderline authoritarian by supporting censorship and by promoting physical harm towards individuals who disagree with you, which is absolutely dispicable, and I would argue is fueling backlash from dangerous individuals within the alt-right.
Honestly, I'm going to say that both decades tie for this category.
Movies/TV Shows/Games
For movies, this category is pretty much tied, but I'm going to give the 1960s the edge solely because of the golden age of the James Bond movies.
For sitcoms, the 2010s wins, as there aren't all that many notable sitcoms of the 1960s.
For cartoons, it's definitely the 1960s, as it was the tail end of the Golden Age of Animation, which ended with Walt Disney's death in 1967.
For video games, there's no need to compare for this category since video games didn't even exist in the 1960s.
Overall, I'd say this category is mostly tied between these two decades, but the 1960s gets a slight edge.
Aesthetic
The 1960s wins this category solely because the 2010s aesthetic is practically a copycat clone of it.
The hispter aesthetic borrows heavily from the hippie and Swinging London aesthetic, with guys sporting long and/or facial hair with sunglasses, girls sporting more airy clothing, as well as the emphasis on more of a British-inspired vibe.
It's no wonder that the words "hipster" and "hippie" sound so much alike.
Overall Conclusion
I'm going to say both decades are tied.
The 2010s are certainly the better decade to live in, but the 1960s certainly had the better cause, and featured a much more positive direction society was taking than the 2010s did.
Not only that, but the 1960s had better music, movies, cartoons, and a better aesthetic than the 2010s do. In many ways, I'm inclined to say the 1960s are the better decade, but I can't ignore the numerous negatives about that decade.
So, there you have it.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know down below.
In the first thread, I compared the 2010s to the 1950s, if you haven't checked that thread out, here's the link - popedia.boards.net/thread/3086/2010s-1950s-series
In this thread, I'll be comparing the 2010s to the 1960s.
CNN describes the 1960s as "the decade that changed the world". It was in this decade when you had the white conservative status quo was struck hard, and American society began moving into a more neoliberal direction.
With the Civil Rights Act, the Black Panther Movement, the Sexual Revolution, the Psychedelic Movement, the backlash against the Vietnam War and subsequent decline in trust in the American government, the 1960s truly were a decade of a major shift in American society. While there is a lot of appreciation for the music, movies, and cultural aesthetic of the 1960s, neither liberals nor conservatives are particularly nostalgic about this decade. Conservatives view the 1960s as the decade when America lost its innocence, and liberals aren't nostalgic about this decade either due to the Vietnam War as well as racism and sexism still being heavily prevalent in this decade. Plus, with the turmoil surrounding the 1968 election, it's no wonder that "nostalgia" (and I put that word in quotations for a reason) for this decade is mostly limited to the superficial aspects of this decade.
But how does this decade compare to the 2010s, a decade succeeding it by a half century? Both decades were ones of political turmoil, but which decade had it worse, and which decade is better when regarding the superficial aspects like the music, movies, and overall aesthetic?
Let's compare and contrast;
Music
[/video]
The 1960s absolutely sweeps this category. It just has to. The 1960s features an absolute abundance of phenomenal songs and albums that are top notch in artistry and creativity, that even rival the works of Beethoven and Mozart, and that will remain relevant for generations. The music industry's move into a more liberal direction as opposed to the conformity of past decades has allowed musicians to express their creativity in ways otherwise unthinkable. Albums such as Pet Sounds, Revolver, Freak Out, Disraeli Gears, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road are key examples of this. Even more simpler rock songs from this decade such as Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and Niel Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" are composed so beautifully, and are likewise timeless classics that are still relevant a half century later. Even outside of rock music, you had the legends in Motown, as well as the formation of funk music which was the precursor to disco music. Hit songs from country artists such as Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard helped solifiy the Outlaw Country genre, which helped break the genre apart from the conformist Nashville Sound. Legends of previous decades such as Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra were still going strong and would release phenomenal hits such as "What a Wonderful World" and "My Way" respectively. Even the more '50s sounding hits from earlier within this decade I feel are worth listening to.
2010s music on the other hand has no where near the staying power of 1960s music. The abundance of commercialized, low-quality rap and pop songs that are only relevant for a few months at best before being forgotten about will do just that, hits from the 2010s will be no where near as relevant in the 2060s as hits from the 1960s are today, that's just a fact. Not even the great underground music scene of the 2010s could save it in this category.
The 1960s wins this category, concluded.
Society
As I already mentioned, both these decades are ones of political turmoil. The 1968 and 2016 presidential elections were easily the most turbulent presidential elections of post-WW2 history, and both share an abundance of parallels to one another.
In the 1968 election, you had blowback from liberals over the Vietnam War, and their subsequent support of Robert F. Kennedy, and disapproval over Hubert Humphrey, but there was also blowback from conservatives who felt that the country was going to hell who through their support behind segregationist independent candidate George Wallace. The 2016 election had blowback from both liberals and conservatives over both the ongoing War on Terror as well as over corruption in Washington, many supporters of Bernie Sanders felt similarly about Hillary Clinton as supporters of RFK felt about Hurbert Humphrey, and Donald Trump, like George Wallace, was favored among conservatives who felt the country was going to hell, the only difference, besides the fact Trump isn't a segregationist, is the fact that Trump actually won the 2016 election. But like Richard Nixon, Donald Trump is facing a real possibility of getting impeached, and like him may possibly resign and ask Pence to pardon him to avert this, so there's that...
But even outside the election, both decades share parallels in the amount of demonstrations from both liberals and conservatives who both feel the world is going in the wrong direction, and want to "save" it. Plus the Black Panther movement is the precursor to the Black Lives Matter movement. Overall, these decades share large quantities of parallels to one another regarding how society was in these decades.
But which decade had it worse? For the sake of the fact that racism and sexism were still a lot more standard back then, I could say the 1960s had it worse. However, but the liberal movements from the 1960s I feel were in for a much better cause than the liberal movements of the 2010s. The hippie movements of the 1960s were truly liberal, as they were about liberation, liberation of all individuals from oppression regardless of race, sex, income, or what have you. The leftist movements of the 2010s, on the other hand, have become borderline authoritarian by supporting censorship and by promoting physical harm towards individuals who disagree with you, which is absolutely dispicable, and I would argue is fueling backlash from dangerous individuals within the alt-right.
Honestly, I'm going to say that both decades tie for this category.
Movies/TV Shows/Games
For movies, this category is pretty much tied, but I'm going to give the 1960s the edge solely because of the golden age of the James Bond movies.
For sitcoms, the 2010s wins, as there aren't all that many notable sitcoms of the 1960s.
For cartoons, it's definitely the 1960s, as it was the tail end of the Golden Age of Animation, which ended with Walt Disney's death in 1967.
For video games, there's no need to compare for this category since video games didn't even exist in the 1960s.
Overall, I'd say this category is mostly tied between these two decades, but the 1960s gets a slight edge.
Aesthetic
The 1960s wins this category solely because the 2010s aesthetic is practically a copycat clone of it.
The hispter aesthetic borrows heavily from the hippie and Swinging London aesthetic, with guys sporting long and/or facial hair with sunglasses, girls sporting more airy clothing, as well as the emphasis on more of a British-inspired vibe.
It's no wonder that the words "hipster" and "hippie" sound so much alike.
Overall Conclusion
I'm going to say both decades are tied.
The 2010s are certainly the better decade to live in, but the 1960s certainly had the better cause, and featured a much more positive direction society was taking than the 2010s did.
Not only that, but the 1960s had better music, movies, cartoons, and a better aesthetic than the 2010s do. In many ways, I'm inclined to say the 1960s are the better decade, but I can't ignore the numerous negatives about that decade.
So, there you have it.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know down below.
