Chapter 64 Chapter 11 Cultural Revolution 3

3 In a broad sense, youth culture has become the matrix of human cultural revolution in the new era. Its connotation includes the rules of custom activities, the arrangement of leisure methods, and the commercial art that increasingly forms the main space for urban men and women to breathe.Therefore, this cultural revolution has two most important characteristics: on the one hand, it is popular and popular; on the other hand, it advocates the abolition of morality.These two points are particularly prominent in personal behavior, where everyone can "do his own thing" and the restrictive norms of the outside world are at their lowest point.But in fact, everyone can't get rid of the pressure of peers and fashion, and the consistency of everyone is not lower than before-this is at least among peers or subcultural groups.

Instances of the upper class drawing inspiration from the "common people" are actually not new today.At that time, Queen Marie Antoinette had a whim in France and enjoyed milking milk by pretending to be a peasant girl.Regardless of this, romantic people also greatly appreciate and admire rural folk culture, folk songs and folk dances.Among their fashionable and sensual companions, there is a group of intellectuals - such as Baudelaire - who have a nostalgiede la booue for life in the poor.In addition, there are Victorian upper class people who especially like to have relationships with people lower than themselves in social class. They find it very interesting-as for the sex of their objects, it depends on personal preference (this mentality continued until the end of the 20th century. period is not extinct today).For the first time in the Age of Empires, cultural influence was systematically mobilized from below, under the onslaught of two new art forms, the rise of the populace arts, and the quintessence of mass-market entertainment—film—(see Empire The Years, Chapter 9.) In the interwar years, however, the mainstream of popular and commercial entertainment was still largely guided by, or at least in the name of, middle-class tastes.The classical Hollywood film industry is, after all, a "respectable" industry; the social ideals it extols follow the American line of emphasizing "family values"; the ideology it unveils is full of patriotic and noble tone."Good movies" that "promote the American way of life" such as "Andy Hardy (1937-1947)" became the moral standard model for Hollywood productions (the film ran for 15 episodes and won a Academy Awards) (Halliwell 1988, p. 321).Any work that violates this moral world, like the early gangster movies, is in danger of idealizing young people—Hollywood has to hurry to restore moral order in this small world in addition to chasing box office.In fact, its self-limitation is already very strict. According to the Hollywood Production Code of Ethics (1934-1966), the kissing scene on the screen (kissing with tightly closed lips) should not exceed 30 seconds at most.Hollywood's biggest hits—like (Gone with the Wind)—were based on popular fiction for middle-class readers.The cultural worlds depicted in these films fit perfectly with the beings in Thackeray's Vanity Fair, or Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.Only those comedy movies with light-hearted musical or circus sideshow clowns can maintain their messy and disorderly civilian style and not be assimilated by this middle-class wind.By the 1930s, however, even that had lost its hold, crumbling under the pressure of the bright Broadway-style comedy style known as Hollywood's "crazy comedy."

So in the years between the two wars, the Broadway "musical" stood out and became a blockbuster.This kind of colorful musical comedy, interspersed with dance ballads, still belongs to the taste of the bourgeoisie in fact-but it is hard to imagine whether this style can still be successful without the influence of jazz music.The target audience of these works is the middle-class adult audience in New York; the sentiments and meanings in the lyrics are also written for this group of men and women who think they are urban rookies.If we compare the lyrics and music written by Broadway master Porter (Cole Porter) with the Rolling Stones, we can find that there is a big difference between the two.The golden age of Hollywood and the golden age of Broadway reflect each other, and they are all based on a mixed taste of common people and decent people.

The distinctive novelty of the 1950s was that young men and women of the upper and middle classes—at least among the Anglo-Saxon youth who led World Mood Day—began to imitate and assimilate in large numbers the urban lower classes, or were Behaviors of people who think they belong to this class, such as music, clothing, and even language, rock music is the most prominent example. In the mid-1950s, rock music suddenly broke out, and it was originally included in the "Race" (Race) or "Rhythm and Blues" (Rhythm and Blues) music that was originally included in poor blacks by American record companies. become the world language of the global youth - most notably - white adolescents.Working-class hipster boys used to imitate high-society high fashion, or secretly imitate middle-class subcultures, such as bohemian artists -- working-class girls were better at it.But now the situation has reversed, and a strange phenomenon has occurred.Ordinary young men and women gained their own independent status in the marketplace and, in turn, began to lead the fashions of the aristocracy.With the rise of jeans (both men and women), Parisian high fashion (haute couture) either temporarily dies, or simply accepts the fact of failure, carrying its own famous name, or directly or authorized, to go to sea began a mass-market business—by the way, 1965 was the first year that the French womenswear industry produced more trousers than skirts (Veillon, p. 6).Young British men and women of the upper class have taken off their original accents that can prove their superiority and correctness, and switched to an accent that is close to the working class in London.Respectable upper-class men—and upper-class women, not to be outdone, rushed to catch up—also began to imitate the rough tone of labor workers, soldiers and other occupations, and liked to occasionally use dirty words in their speech.This style of swearing on behalf of masculinity was originally a despicable and despicable behavior.The literary and artistic circles are by no means behind: a certain talented drama critic used the dirty word "dry" on the radio.For the first time in history, in the history of the fairy tale world, the beauty of Cinderella no longer needs to win the first prize in the ball with gorgeous costumes.

The tastes of young men and women of the middle and upper class in the Western world suddenly took a big turn, and turned to the civilian style - even in the third world, this trend also exists. The "samba" of the United States - a few years later, middle-class students flocked to the politics and ideology of revolutionary ideas.Between the two, if there seems to be nothing, there may or may not be a joint relationship.But for some reason—and no one knows the answer—fads are often prophetic.With the rekindling of liberalism, the gay subculture has slowly risen, which has played a significant leading role in fashion and art trends, especially among young men.However, whether it is a change in gender orientation or an increasingly commoner taste, both can be seen as a means for the younger generation to rebel against the values ​​of their parents; In the applicable world, a new language way to explore the direction for oneself.

The strong moral awareness of abandonment in the new youth culture, once turned into rational language, its spiritual expression is particularly clear, such as the slogan in Paris in May 1968: "It is forbidden to forbid" (It is forbidden to forbid); American pop singer Jerry Rubin (Jerry Rubin) famously said: "Anyone who has not been in jail is not worthy of trust." (Wiener, 1984, p. 204) According to traditional thinking, at first hearing Under the hood, these seem to be political declarations, but they are not. The objects of suppression they want to abolish actually have nothing to do with the law.Political law is not the target of their resistance.The slogan of the younger generation is nothing more than a public expression of personal voices, private emotional desires, just like another slogan in May 1968: "I take my desires seriously, because I believe in the authenticity of my desires." (Katsiaficas, 1987 , p.101).Their desires may be expressed in the form of demonstrations, groups, and movements; their demands may sometimes even result in mass riots.But at the core of all these appearances is a strong subjective feeling. "My personal business is political business" has become an important slogan of the new generation of feminism, and its effect may also be the longest-lasting link in the years of radicalization.The meaning is not limited to the fact that political behavior is satisfied with the achievement of personal motives, but also points out that the criterion of success in politics depends on its impact on individuals.For some, the definition of politics is simple: "Anything that bothers me is politics." The title of a book in the 1970s spells it out: "Fat— — is also a feminist issue" (Fat is a Feminist Issue, Orbach, 1978).

In May 1968, there was another slogan: "When you think of revolution, you want to have sex." It must be puzzled (Zetkin, 1986, pp. 28ff).On the contrary, the new generation in the 1960s and 1970s, even those radical youths with strong political significance, must not understand the mood and deeds of those who devoted themselves to the Communist International in the early years described by Brecht—that is, they traveled around the world to spread communism , "Things are on the mind even when making love." (Brecht, 1976, ii p. 722).In the 1960s and 1970s, the big thing on the minds of young revolutionaries was absolutely not what they could bring to the revolution.Their focus is on their own actions and how they feel about them.Making love and making revolution are inextricably entangled.

Therefore, personal emancipation and social emancipation naturally complement each other and are two sides of one body.Among them, sex and drugs are the most capable of breaking the restrictions, laws, and habits imposed on us by the country, parents, and neighbors.However, sex has a long history, and its variety and diversity have a long history, so it doesn't need young people to bother to explore.Although conservative poets have worriedly chanted: "Sexual intercourse began in 1963" (Larkin, 1988, p. 167), this sentence does not mean that sexual intercourse was a special event before the 1960s.The poet's true meaning is that the public nature and meaning of sexual intercourse has changed since then.He cited two examples as proof, one is (Lady Chatterley's Lover) book lifting of the ban; one is the release of the Beatles' first record.However, gestures of defiance are not difficult to show for things that have been banned in the past; things that have been tolerated in the past, whether formally or informally - such as homosexual relations of women - especially need to be pointed out. Come out, now there is a gesture of resistance.Therefore, it has become particularly important for homosexuals to show up in public and express their attitude.But drug use is the opposite. Except for smoking and alcohol, which are widely accepted hobbies in society, narcotic drugs have always been limited to small groups and subcultures (although the distribution of cultures this time includes all kinds of religions), and there is no inclusive law. .The popularity of drugs is of course not just a gesture of resistance, because the sensory stimulation brought by smoking itself is very attractive.However, just because drug use is an illegal behavior (usually also a social behavior), drug use not only has a highly provocative and rebellious pleasure, but also makes people feel superior and do not see those who are strictly prohibited. .The most popular drug among young people in the West is marijuana (marihuana)—in fact, marijuana may not be as harmful to the human body as harmful to the human body—this incident further proves the subtlety of psychology involved. In the 1960s, on both sides of the American frenzy where rock fans and radical students gathered, drug use and demonstrations often seemed inseparable.

The lifting of the ban on various behaviors and the relaxation of social norms not only further promote the experimentation and frequency of various behaviors that were previously regarded as forbidden, but also greatly increase the exposure rate of these behaviors.Therefore, in the United States, even in San Francisco and New York, which have always driven the national atmosphere (the two places influence each other), the subculture of openly engaging in homosexuality did not officially appear in the open until the 1960s.The climate for its degeneration into a political pressure group did not take shape until the 1970s (Duberman et al, 1989, p. 460).All kinds of drastic changes, the greatest significance of which lies in the visible and intangible, subverts the human ethical relationship that has been deeply rooted in society and history for a long time, conveyed, recognized, and symbolized by social norms, traditions, and prohibitions.

What's more, this force to overthrow the old order does not come from any well-organized new social order, although some people feel that they must rectify the name and forcefully attribute the credit to "new libertarianism" (new libertarianism).The real driving force is the self-discipline force of the huge and incomparable personal desires. Its assumption is based on the fact that an individualistic world of self-regulation is pushed to the limit.The assumptions about human nature of the rebels of the traditional prohibition are exactly the same as the theoretical basis of the consumer society, at least in terms of human psychological motivation, they are very consistent with those who sell goods and services.The latter believes that the most effective way is to attack the heart first.

According to this consensus, the existence of billions of mortal beings in the world is based on the pursuit of their individual desires.These desires include all kinds of desires that were prohibited and opposed in the past, but are now allowed and exist in society one by one. The reason why they are acquiesced now is not because of the lifting of the ban on morality, but because the hearts of the world are full of desires. they.Until the 1990s, officials stopped trying to legalize the drug and continued to ban it with varying degrees of punishment—albeit always ineffectively. Beginning in the 1960s, the demand for cocaine in the market suddenly increased, especially among the middle class in North America. This trend quickly spread to Western Europe.This trend is very similar to the phenomenon of heroin popular among the working class not long ago (also with North America as the main market).For the first time, the huge profits from drug trafficking turned crime into a large-scale business (Arlacchi, 1983, pp. 215, 208).