1960s: Fistfuls of Dollars and Space Odysseys, Cinema in all its varieties
The 1960’s was complex decade in history, likewise it was complex in movies. A lot of movie genres became popular during these decade. Historical dramas such as Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Dr. Zhivago were made in the same epic style as 1959’s Ben-Hur. Space exploration saw an increase in science fiction appealing. F rom Harryhausen’s clay-mation work in hits such as Jason and the Argonauts to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey , science fiction appealed to all audiences. Cold War espionage also popularized the spy genre, through the James Bond saga. Sergio Leone popularized the western genre through the Dollars trilogy starring Clint Eastwood. Hitchcock was still the maximum representant of psychological horror, as represented by Psycho. The cultural revolution in the late 60’s caused filmmakers to become more daring, which would influence movies in the 1970’s.
Harryhausen, Kubrick and Leone were the names that dominated the Hollywood industry during the 1960’s. This is widely regarded as a fundamental decade for film, as it produced key masterpieces that inspired future productions. Whether it was Bonnie and Clyde stealing a bank, the Beatles in their yellow submarine, or Maria climbing every mountain, film fanatics had a lot to choose from.
1960s: Long Hair, Flowers, and Buses, Sixties counterculture
The 60’s were a complex, overwhelming decade. Vietnam, drug problems, civil rights problems, student protests, major political assassinations, etc. America was a changing nation. While some families remained on their household, joined by the conformity of their television sets, rebels grew their hair long, dressed in colorful clothing, and replaced their Cadillacs with Volkswagen buses. A new countercultural movement had been born to protest against the existing reality. This new movement, referred to as the hippie movement, became popular starting in 1968 due to protests against American involvement in the Vietnam War, and remained popular up to the 70s.
The hippies are a symbol of the 1960s and of the postwar world. They were the first of a series of countercultural movements, followed by the punks, the yuppies, the anarchists, and a variety of other branches that became popular during later decades. In the middle of a troubled world, the hippies managed to create their own world and deliver a clear message of "make love, not war” which was important in such overwhelming times.
1960s: Classic Stars and Soup Cans, The Rise of Pop Art
Andy Warhol is an important name during the 1960’s. He was a particular man in many ways: He was the son of Slovakian immigrants, dyed his hair silver regullarly, and he had an obsession with late celebrities. And yet, Warhol used all of these peculiarities to his favor. During the 1960s, he became the leading figure of a new artistic current known as pop art. The photo above is his portrait of 50s movie star Marilyn Monroe, painted in 1964. Monroe had died two years prior, and yet this is one of her most popular images to the date.
Pop art questioned and twisted the established artistic conventions, by drawing material from comics, brands, and pop culture. Warhol is a prolific pioneer in this artistic current. He’s memorable in the postwar world as the man who proved that late movie stars and Campbell’s soup cans are very easy ways to earn fortune in a culturally changing world.