2010s VS 1970s (2010s Versus Series Part III)
Dec 17, 2019 13:09:06 GMT 10
Post by Captain Nemo on Dec 17, 2019 13:09:06 GMT 10
Greetings everyone. Today, the hexology is half-complete. This is the third of a series of six threads where I compare the 2010s to each of the six decades preceding it (1950s-2000s)
If you haven't checked out the first two threads of this series, one where I compared the 2010s to the 1950s, and another where I compared the 2010s to the 1960s, here's the link to them below;
popedia.boards.net/thread/3086/2010s-1950s-series
popedia.boards.net/thread/3090/2010s-1960s-series-ii
This thread will be comparing the 2010s to the 1970s, a decade which both my parents grew up as children in, and the decade in which my favorite sitcom of all time, "That '70s Show", takes place in.
This will also be the last thread of this series to be posted in the "Before the 1980s" subboard as well, since the 1980s-2000s all have their own subboards.
The 1970s were the decade when the United States celebrated its 200th birthday, a decade in which Richard Nixon almost became the first president since Andrew Johnson to become impeached, a decade when the metal and punk genres became solidified as a separate entity from rock music, when disco took over, when Color TV became standard, and it was the decade which birthed Star Wars, video games, personal home computers, and rap music. Music Television also began to take off in this decade with the advent of Video Concert Hall and "Video Killed the Radio Star". This was also the last decade of the "campfire television", when most households had only one television in one room, as opposed to having two or more in multiple rooms.
So how does this decade compare with the 2010s, a decade succeeding it by 40 years? How do these changes in technology help the 1970s in this contest?
Let's compare and contrast.
Music
The 1970s not only sweep this category, but do so in a row of shutouts. The 1970s was a continuation of the artistic peak in music that was reached in the 1960s, and in my opinion even improved upon it. It was also the last decade of music before the artform became over-commercialized by television, although the first signs of that did show late in the decade with Video Concert Hall and "Video Killed the Radio Star".
In the country music world, you had artists such as Kris Kristoffen, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson enter the mainstream, as well as a continuation of success for Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, to further solidify the outlaw country subgenre as a sensation popular with fans of not only country music, but other genres outside of country as well, and it was also in the 1978 when Kenny Rogers released the classic hit song "The Gambler".
In the folk music world, artists such as John Denver, Jim Croce, and Kenny Loggins hitting their prime, and folk rock also hit its prime in this decade with bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
Funk, soul, and R&B music hit their prime in this decade with classic hits from artists such as Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Peaches & Herb. Sure, disco music, which formed out of these three genres, isn't my cup of tea, but that genre did help to bring rap music into the mainstream with the Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight", so it deserves a lot of credit there.
Reggae music took off with hits from Bob Marley & the Wailers, which helped put Jamaica on the pop cultural map.
Heavy metal music was solidified in 1970 with Black Sabbath, and later on was re-established with Judas Priest kicking off the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Punk music was solidified with albums from bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. Also, there's Queen, arguably the most creative and experimental band of the decade.
None of the repetative, low-fi cashgrab hits of the 2010s could even light a candle to the overall artistry of music from the 1970s. Also, one again, the 2010s underground scene, which is great, is not great enough to save it in this category.
The 1970s wins this category, let's move on.
Society
To be honest, the 1970s would probably be the furthest back in time I'd ever want to travel to. The aftermath of the revolutions of the 1960s has indeed led to a more comfortable, more humanistic society than in previous decades, which was definitely for the better. Also, the fact that microwave ovens were more widely available, the fact that color television became more widely available, and with home interiors sporting a more modern look as opposed to the more antiquated designs of the mid 20th Century, as well as with video games being a thing, one could make the argument that this was the first real modern decade rather than the 1950s.
The more negative aspects of 1970s society however are the more political aspects, such as the continuation of the Vietnam War as well as the backlash towards it within the early part of the decade, the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon's resignation, and the oil crisis. Not only that, but it was also in the 1971 when the War on Drugs was started by Richard Nixon, which highly likely had a deep correlation with the surging crime rate in big cities. Also, racist attitudes were still far more common as the Civil Rights Act and desegregation were still new, and society still needed to adjust to them, the status quo overall was still mostly conservative in this decade.
So are the 2010s better or worse? To be honest, while I did give the 2010s a free ride on the threads comparing it to the 1950s and 1960s, on this thread I think I'm going to diverge from the script a bit and say society wise, the 1970s might actually be the better decade. Sure, the 1970s had an abundance of issues, but so do the 2010s, not only that but society has gotten worse in the 2010s, as opposed to it getting better in the 1970s. With Trump, the rise of both Antifa and the alt right, the US and Russia entering a new Cold War which is more dangerous than the first, with tech giants infringing on people's privacy and freedoms, and with divisiveness becoming more widespread, the 2010s are a heavily flawed decade, society-wise, and honestly I might just consider it to be even more flawed the 1970s were. The 1970s are no ideal decade either, but honestly, I actually would argue that, in many ways, the 1970s society-wise are superior to the 2010s.
Movies/TV Shows/Games
For movies, these decades are pretty much tied, but I'm going to give a slight edge to the 1970s.
For sitcoms, I'm also going to say the 1970s are better in this category, as I would perhaps argue the Golden Age for sitcoms started in this decade with shows such as "MASH", "All In The Family", and "Happy Days".
For cartoons, I'm actually going to give this category to the 2010s, mainly because animation actually hit something of a dark age after Walt Disney's death in 1967, and didn't really recover until the mid 1980s.
For video games, the 2010s obviously wins it for the fact that video games were new and primitive in the 1970s, but honestly gaming seemed like it would've been more exciting as a social tool back in the 1970s due to it being a hot new fad.
Overall, for this category, I'm going to say both decades are relatively tied.
Aesthetic
Honestly, I'm not too fond of the aesthetic of either of these two decades.
But if there's one tiebreaker, it would be for the 1970s for the wooden furniture;
I just really dig the vibe given off by this type of furniture. It gives off a nice earthly aesthetic, a vibe that feels similar to that of a log cabin, yet still feels modern at the same time.
Overall Conclusion
To be honest, I'm going to have to say the 1970s are the better decade.
Not only for more superficial aspects such as the music, TV shows, fashion, and furniture, but I would also argue society was a little bit better in the 1970s as well. Not much better, there were certainly still major societal issues, of course, but I would argue the societal issues of the 2010s are even worse. The 1970s at least had society still moving in a more positive, more individualistic direction, and the status quo was also far more liberal and humanist than it was in previous decades.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know down below.
If you haven't checked out the first two threads of this series, one where I compared the 2010s to the 1950s, and another where I compared the 2010s to the 1960s, here's the link to them below;
popedia.boards.net/thread/3086/2010s-1950s-series
popedia.boards.net/thread/3090/2010s-1960s-series-ii
This thread will be comparing the 2010s to the 1970s, a decade which both my parents grew up as children in, and the decade in which my favorite sitcom of all time, "That '70s Show", takes place in.
This will also be the last thread of this series to be posted in the "Before the 1980s" subboard as well, since the 1980s-2000s all have their own subboards.
The 1970s were the decade when the United States celebrated its 200th birthday, a decade in which Richard Nixon almost became the first president since Andrew Johnson to become impeached, a decade when the metal and punk genres became solidified as a separate entity from rock music, when disco took over, when Color TV became standard, and it was the decade which birthed Star Wars, video games, personal home computers, and rap music. Music Television also began to take off in this decade with the advent of Video Concert Hall and "Video Killed the Radio Star". This was also the last decade of the "campfire television", when most households had only one television in one room, as opposed to having two or more in multiple rooms.
So how does this decade compare with the 2010s, a decade succeeding it by 40 years? How do these changes in technology help the 1970s in this contest?
Let's compare and contrast.
Music
The 1970s not only sweep this category, but do so in a row of shutouts. The 1970s was a continuation of the artistic peak in music that was reached in the 1960s, and in my opinion even improved upon it. It was also the last decade of music before the artform became over-commercialized by television, although the first signs of that did show late in the decade with Video Concert Hall and "Video Killed the Radio Star".
In the country music world, you had artists such as Kris Kristoffen, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson enter the mainstream, as well as a continuation of success for Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, to further solidify the outlaw country subgenre as a sensation popular with fans of not only country music, but other genres outside of country as well, and it was also in the 1978 when Kenny Rogers released the classic hit song "The Gambler".
In the folk music world, artists such as John Denver, Jim Croce, and Kenny Loggins hitting their prime, and folk rock also hit its prime in this decade with bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
Funk, soul, and R&B music hit their prime in this decade with classic hits from artists such as Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Peaches & Herb. Sure, disco music, which formed out of these three genres, isn't my cup of tea, but that genre did help to bring rap music into the mainstream with the Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight", so it deserves a lot of credit there.
Reggae music took off with hits from Bob Marley & the Wailers, which helped put Jamaica on the pop cultural map.
Heavy metal music was solidified in 1970 with Black Sabbath, and later on was re-established with Judas Priest kicking off the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Punk music was solidified with albums from bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. Also, there's Queen, arguably the most creative and experimental band of the decade.
None of the repetative, low-fi cashgrab hits of the 2010s could even light a candle to the overall artistry of music from the 1970s. Also, one again, the 2010s underground scene, which is great, is not great enough to save it in this category.
The 1970s wins this category, let's move on.
Society
To be honest, the 1970s would probably be the furthest back in time I'd ever want to travel to. The aftermath of the revolutions of the 1960s has indeed led to a more comfortable, more humanistic society than in previous decades, which was definitely for the better. Also, the fact that microwave ovens were more widely available, the fact that color television became more widely available, and with home interiors sporting a more modern look as opposed to the more antiquated designs of the mid 20th Century, as well as with video games being a thing, one could make the argument that this was the first real modern decade rather than the 1950s.
The more negative aspects of 1970s society however are the more political aspects, such as the continuation of the Vietnam War as well as the backlash towards it within the early part of the decade, the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon's resignation, and the oil crisis. Not only that, but it was also in the 1971 when the War on Drugs was started by Richard Nixon, which highly likely had a deep correlation with the surging crime rate in big cities. Also, racist attitudes were still far more common as the Civil Rights Act and desegregation were still new, and society still needed to adjust to them, the status quo overall was still mostly conservative in this decade.
So are the 2010s better or worse? To be honest, while I did give the 2010s a free ride on the threads comparing it to the 1950s and 1960s, on this thread I think I'm going to diverge from the script a bit and say society wise, the 1970s might actually be the better decade. Sure, the 1970s had an abundance of issues, but so do the 2010s, not only that but society has gotten worse in the 2010s, as opposed to it getting better in the 1970s. With Trump, the rise of both Antifa and the alt right, the US and Russia entering a new Cold War which is more dangerous than the first, with tech giants infringing on people's privacy and freedoms, and with divisiveness becoming more widespread, the 2010s are a heavily flawed decade, society-wise, and honestly I might just consider it to be even more flawed the 1970s were. The 1970s are no ideal decade either, but honestly, I actually would argue that, in many ways, the 1970s society-wise are superior to the 2010s.
Movies/TV Shows/Games
For movies, these decades are pretty much tied, but I'm going to give a slight edge to the 1970s.
For sitcoms, I'm also going to say the 1970s are better in this category, as I would perhaps argue the Golden Age for sitcoms started in this decade with shows such as "MASH", "All In The Family", and "Happy Days".
For cartoons, I'm actually going to give this category to the 2010s, mainly because animation actually hit something of a dark age after Walt Disney's death in 1967, and didn't really recover until the mid 1980s.
For video games, the 2010s obviously wins it for the fact that video games were new and primitive in the 1970s, but honestly gaming seemed like it would've been more exciting as a social tool back in the 1970s due to it being a hot new fad.
Overall, for this category, I'm going to say both decades are relatively tied.
Aesthetic
Honestly, I'm not too fond of the aesthetic of either of these two decades.
But if there's one tiebreaker, it would be for the 1970s for the wooden furniture;
I just really dig the vibe given off by this type of furniture. It gives off a nice earthly aesthetic, a vibe that feels similar to that of a log cabin, yet still feels modern at the same time.
Overall Conclusion
To be honest, I'm going to have to say the 1970s are the better decade.
Not only for more superficial aspects such as the music, TV shows, fashion, and furniture, but I would also argue society was a little bit better in the 1970s as well. Not much better, there were certainly still major societal issues, of course, but I would argue the societal issues of the 2010s are even worse. The 1970s at least had society still moving in a more positive, more individualistic direction, and the status quo was also far more liberal and humanist than it was in previous decades.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know down below.
