The Terminales are studying the Sixties in the United Kingdom and then the USA at the moment - the whole point being to confront their glamorous visions and clichés to the reality of that decade.Their assignment is to create a moodboard like the one below to depict what they learnt about the decade through the different texts, documentaries, movies and songs they studied. And then, they'll have to present them orally and compare the different moodboards to define the one that truly encompasses the decade.
It would be great if you could share some of your relatives' memories with us - whatever the country they were in at that time - as it would widen our horizons and give us some perspective.
I remember my grandpa telling me stories about the sixties because that was around the time my Dad was born. I was amused when he mentioned that they wore bellbottoms. My Dad has also told me how a lot of the songs were disco themed during this time. Something else that I think is pretty important was that The Beatles was formed during this time and became extremely popular. (My family is from India)
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SupprimerMy grandmother loved to watch Bollywood movies with my grandfather in the 60's. Her favorite actress of the time's name was "Madhubala". She would have been the Indian equivalent of Brigitte Bardot or Marilyn Monroe. Her movies were especially famous in the 60's and she was very glamorous.
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According to my grandma my grandpa would only listen to the Beatles because he was obsessed with them, but my grandma was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. In all their photos from around that time my grandma's hair was always humongous and my grandpa would wear really ugly bell bottoms. My grandma said everyone was a lot kinder to one another back then and everyone was much closer to their neighbors then they are today.
RépondreSupprimerDuring the 1960s, North and South Korea were recovering from the Korean War. In South Korea, where my family lived (and still lives), the '60s marked the rise of anti-North Korea sentiment. My mother told me her elementary school used propaganda techniques to portray North Korea in a negative way. For example, she learned slogans like "development first, unification later," and individuals agreeing with North Korea on particular issues were subject to censorship.
RépondreSupprimerAh the sixties, l'annee d'hippies. This is the time the United States was under "threat" from communism and we sent troops to Vietnam to stop the dominoes from falling. Unfortunately, I cannot say Vietnam was an exception (after last year) but I can say that I am excited for Vietnam Day 2013. One of my favorite movies, "Forrest Gump" took place in this time period. It is one of the best performances of actor Tom Hanks, and one of the most memorable movies of all time. "Mama always said, 'life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.'"
RépondreSupprimerMy father was born in the August of 1965. Today, Afghanistan is recovering from 30 years of war. So one would think Afghanistan in the 60's would be even worse than it is now. Right? It's actually the opposite. During the 1960s, Afghanistan was at its prime. Men and women were free to communicate with each other, women were not forced to wear a hijab, kids could go to parks and the movies, the fashion was very european, education was highly valued, many women went to medical school, and health care was available to more than half the population. The country was almost completely westernized. They even had boy/girl scouts, and other organizations that were popular in the USA. It's saddening to me how a once prosperous country, how my country, could crumble so quickly.
RépondreSupprimerMexico was pretty unstable during the 1960's. There was unrest among laborers because there was unequal wealth distribution. Although, the Olympics did take place in Mexico in 1968 there was a student demonstration there too and hundreds of protesters were killed.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents were in China at that time and there was the Cultural Revolution where my grandpa along with other rebellious people were sent to labor camps. There was also a Civil War and my mother has a very vivid memory of hiding in a bomb bunker for safety and she actually knew a neighbor that died because he's family thought hiding in a bunker was silly. (its really scary, she told this story many times) Other than that people had valuable belongings taken away from them and times were rough.
RépondreSupprimerMy father lived in China during the 60's right in the midst of the Cultural Revolution. Since most if not all the higher level schools were shut down, he was unable to attend school. My grandfather,as a financial manager of the "Board of Education" went through difficult times as well. Ultimately, my parents moved to the US so they could attend higher institutions of learning. In my opinion, the Cultural Revolution was one of the most devastating events in the timeline of cultural destruction. I believe that the loss of the art and artifacts of Ancient China rivaled the loss of art during WWII. Thousands of years of history just vanished in the bonfires built to destroy paintings, tapestries, porcelain and a host of other artifacts.
RépondreSupprimerIn France during the sixties I believe that was above all a period of revolt. This spirit of revolt was present in all of the styles of the period such as the hippies or the rockers. In France "Mai 68" is a perfect symbol of this spirit . In fact, during this month there were many revolts and particulary revolts of student. I think after the war the population needed to be recognized.
RépondreSupprimerWhen I think of the sixties,the concert "Woodstock" comes to mind. Named to be one of the "pivotal moments in pop culture history",Woodstock was a free three-day music festival held at a dairy farm in backwoods of New York in 1969. Despite bad weather, food shortages, and poor sanitation, 200,000 people were able to enjoy a peaceful concert that headlined some of greatest artist in Rock n'Roll history such as: The Who, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix.
RépondreSupprimerOh, your memories, or maybe I should say your families' memories are so interesting ! You have different point of you about the sixties, and , we can see various aspects of this era.
RépondreSupprimerDuring the sixties, France knew the events of Mai, 1968. It's a set of demonstrations which lasted from May till June. It was political, social and cultural revolt against the capitalist world and, the Gaullist power. It began with a revolt of Parisian youth. Students denounced consumer society and its problems. After, workers and union activists joined the mouvement. Manifestations were in all the countries. My grand father worked in a factory, and he had a very bad memory of this time. Indeed, all was blocked and he didn't can do what he wanted to do. So, I think ths Sixties wasn't an amazing era for everyone.
During the sixties, my mom's family was forced to relocate from Beijing as the cultural revolution was going on and Beijing became increasingly politically active and volatile. My grandma's position as a teacher put her and her family in an especially vulnerable position. During that time, China was incredibly anti-American given the current political climate, and my parents grew up memorizing Chinese propaganda and pledging allegiance to Mao.
RépondreSupprimerMy mom told me that people had really big hair. Boys and girls sported Afros, but not everyone followed hair trends. Many of the young people grew out their hair too.
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RépondreSupprimerDem 60's. That was when the Vietnam War was going on. I didn't get any history of my mom coming over to the US, but I have knowledge my dad's travels to the US. Him, and has two brothers go on a pretty small boat to Thailand. They took care of their departure to the US. That's all I got from him, but I have pics of him in his early years in the 60's-70's and he had HAIR, pretty long too. But now, he doesn't... How unfortunate.
RépondreSupprimerWell, during the 1960s, my parents, in fact almost all of my relatives, were in Nigeria, and this decade was a very important time for most of Africa. In 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from Britain. Many other African nations also gained their independence from European countries, including France and Italy. In a sense, the 1960s signaled the end of colonialism. From my parents, I learned about how the British greatly influenced them and millions of other Nigerians, from the prominence of the English language to education to religion.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents were born in the middle of the sixties so they do not remember much of what happened. So I will just discuss what I have learned about it in history. The 60s was a transition decade for America. The music changed with the Beatles and many Americans started to become more liberal (hippies). Also, John F. Kennedy was assassinated which caused great sorrow and upheaval because he was a very popular president. I saw the spot where he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas and paid my respects to his great skill as an orator and leader.
RépondreSupprimerI just telephoned my father (who's born in 1946) about the sixties (since I don't really know much about it ^^ just a very very little) and this is what he said to me :
RépondreSupprimerFor him, the sixties (in France) were like... a lot much better than nowadays.
- French people lived pretty well, they could find work easily. And if they don't really like the boss they are working for they can just leave (there was no contract [as CDD/CDI, etc] like nowadays) and find another one and work for him without any trouble.
- There was no internet, no telephone (only letters hahaha)
- People was more generous/nice
- It is the hippies period! Many people had long hair (or afros), wore sandals, flowers patterned clothing, bell-bottom pants and so on ^^
- In school, it was not as "cool" as nowadays, it was more severe, harsh in the sixties but the students were more respectul.
- About music... my father listenned to the Beatles (of course), Claude François, Sheila, the Rolling Stone, Johnny Hallyday...
- They danced the twist
- And finally ! He said that it has changed a lot from the sixties to nowadays. Especially the advancement... (for example : internet, telephones, televisions)
I hope it will help :)
My parents were born late during the 1960s. They cannot remember much but times were different. There wasn't much techonology, especially for the children. However, new states were added to the nation and holidays celebrating workers were established. This is rather monumental because work in India is brutal with little days off. The Indian army also kicked foreign occupation and was, for the first time in 400 years, finally independent of foreign influence. It was aso a time of many wars and the decade closed with a nation of people weary of what was to come.
RépondreSupprimerMy mom and my dad were born in the late 1960s. They did most of their education over here in California, although my dad eventually had moved to Virginia. They said they don't quite remember how things were in the 60s, cause they were really, really young. From my knowledge, I know that in the sixties, the music was very different, people in America generally listened to the Beatles, The Bees Gees, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and James Brown. The Americans in the 60s were extremely Hipster, and had a really odd way of dressing up. The women had really curly hair and just ended up making themselves look uglier than they really were, haha.
RépondreSupprimerMy Parents were born in the late 1960's in India, so they don't remember much from first-hand knowledge. There were a couple of things that started in the 60's that still remain, such as the concept of a Nehru Jacket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehru_jacket)
RépondreSupprimertook flight. Nehru Jackets are essentially jackets with a mandarin collar that land below your knees, and often kept people extremely warm while looking chic at the same time (men only).
As Rutuja mentioned, Madhubala was a massive influence of the time as well.She was looked up to as a role model by many Indian women who were stuck in the traditional role of a housewife to even realize that she had other options in the world. Also, the Nehru Jacket matched very well with Indian Ethnic Clothes without looking out of place.
From an aesthetic perspective, women almost completely redefined what beautiful meant (in India at least). Eyeliner (liquid or pencil) would be absolutely dark and completely winged all the way almost to the hairline. If a lady's hair was in an up-do, there would generally be a small strand falling off the non-bangs side (non-fringe side) that would be curled into a ringlet. Up-dos were always made tall in length as if to add height to petite women. Eyeshadow was often dramatically colored but the concept of a dual-shade or a smoky eye had not been so popular in those days. The practice of highlighting the browbar with white eye shadow was discovered in the 60's as well, along with the darkening of the eyelid crease with a darker shade of eyeshadow.
The concept of hidden zippers also come up during this time. With the amount of urbanization that India was witnessing, cities were no longer places for girls to roam around freely. But with stars like Madhubala guiding them to independence, girls never shyed away from what was considered slightly provocative at the time: skirts. The one major disadvantage with skirts became the accessibility of anyone to abuse a girl, and so came the instituition of leggings or stockings. It would provide a layer of protection, and battle the reputation of being scandalous. When the weather got too hot for leggings, many women or girls began wearing shorts underneath but many feared that the accessibility of the zipper would get them in "trouble" some day. A tailor in New Delhi thought of the concealed thin zipper that was easily hidden in the fashion of pleated skirts. This design has been much perfected over the years and is now present in almost every type of clothing be it Western dresses, body-con skirts, and dresses or Indian salvar kameez, lehengas, patialas suits and now even in the newly evolved clothing called a kurti.
Essentially, the 60's were a massive influence on current-day Indian culture, especially with the influence of the Disco themed songs. Here's a song for you to enjoy that is a recent disco number! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTmMcCZQxDw The song is called the Disco Song and its from Student of the Year (released October 19th 2012) and is inspired from an older song called Disco Deewane (released in 1981 by Nazia Hassan~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWzTZE-B1fM)
Hope you enjoyed this!
My parents were born in China in the 60s. Cultural Revolution was a major event in China back then. My aunt, who was born in the 50s, was in elementary school/middle school during the revolution. She told me that the students would be very disrespectful to their teachers, and beat the teachers up. They would memorize "Quotations from Chairman Maozedong". And when they are around 16 years old, before they go to high school, they would be sent to rural/poor areas of China, to help with farm work or medical work. The Cultural Revolution was just a period of chaos. My mom's cousin was forced to jump off a building, but somehow she didn't and went crazy instead.
RépondreSupprimerThe French sixties: In 1958, De Gaulle came to power and governed France for ten years.
RépondreSupprimerIt was the begining of the 5th Replublic.After a long war , Algeria became independant.
Then , France gained more confidence , and started a big economic change . It was the so called "Baby-boom".
Many french families went on holidays, driving a brand new 4L Renault or a famous DS Citroen. It was like in England a decade of consumerism . In many ways France followed England but with his own creative spirit.
As fashion is concerned , youngsters were wearing jeans, mini skirts and bikini . The sexy Brigitte Bardot became the french fashion icon. The teenagers were listening to music , they were riding a velosolex or an Italian Vespa. Watching TV in color , they were enjoying "Salut les copains" and thei "yéyé" idols: Claude Francois (cloclo) , Francoise Hardy, Sheila, Johnny Halliday...
Women gained more freedom and contraception was made possible. France was optimistic..!
At th end of the sixties , May 1968 saw the unrest of the students at Nanterre, University followed by many others everywhere in France . The workers attended the demonstrations asking for reforms and more freedom.
It was a cultural revolution
My parents were born in a very small village in Southern India's Andhra Pradesh (AP), in the late 60's, early 70's, so they don't have a clear memory about the time period, and they were oblivious to everything that was happening around the world during that time. Looking back now, my dad tells me that in the 60's there was a cultural revolution for women that was sparked in middle/ northern India, that didn't have as large an impact in AP at the time. In northern India, women with the help of activists like Madhubala were able to move out of their domestic hemispheres, and become a little more liberal. Where my parents were born, was less liberal, and it took almost half a decade longer, until a change in political power came, to see true change for women. This also may be because my parents came from very poor villages, but my mom's home was the only one to have a TV, so when big events were being telecasted, the whole village would come to her house to see. Her family was also one of the first families to have a sophisticated irrigation system in the fields, and a double plumbing system in the house. My dad on the other hand, never saw a TV until he was in his late teenage years to early twenties. Overall, my parents think of it as a good period of time filled with innovation, and liberalization, but just feel bad that they couldn't experience it as much as others had.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents grew up in India during the 1960s. They don't remember much because they were little kids. My parents heard about the hippies in America. They also were aware of the communist threats towards America. They feared that Russia would invade America and turn it communist.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents grew up in China during the 1960's. They were both very young at the time, but the people around them were influenced by the communist party run by chairman Mao.
RépondreSupprimerMy grandpa on my mother's side was in the army during the time and died at the end of the 60's. The 60's were a harder time for my grandmother, having to be a single parent and moving from Germany only a few years beforehand made it hard for her to find a job. My father's parents both led more privileged lives and didn't have many problems during the 60s.
RépondreSupprimerLike Meera, my parents were also kids growing up in India during the sixties. They don't remember much. All my mom remembers is that Barbie dolls were really popular then!
RépondreSupprimerMy mom and dad were born and grew up in China during the sixties. My mom lived in a small town, while my dad lived in a military base where his dad worked. Even though they were young during that decade, they remember Chairman Mao having a heavy influence on the nation. My dad has also told me on multiple occasions how he would eat ants and other bugs for fun (pretty random). Overall, my parents' childhoods during the sixties was easygoing and enjoyable.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents grew up in China in the 60's, and they mostly told me about how poor they were. My dad was actually the only of his several siblings who was able to focus on getting an education rather than working on the family farm.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents were born in China in the 60s when Communism had a heavy influence on the lives of the people. During that time, China was beginning to industrialize and move from a rural lifestyle to and industrial economy to compete with other nations. Much of the government policy back then was to hold resources in common and equally distribute them among the people. My dad told me that his dad (my grandpa) used to own a small shop selling rice and food, but it got taken over when Mao came into power.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents were born in the early 70's so neither of us have any family experiences to tell. I remember my dad telling me about how he found out about colleges by personally mailing each one for information through someone local who traveled to the U.S. to get info and addresses about colleges as a career. That's how my dad ended up moving to California, to attend USC. I found it pretty fascinating; college in the U.S. sounded like an uncharted island. However, that was in the late 80's. The only relevant information I have regarding the 60's is from a song we are singing in choir from the play Hairspray...what was considered fashionable was notably different back then.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents weren't alive at the time, so they didn't have much to contribute. However, my grandparents were alive (in India) and although they don't remember much, they do recall that there wasn't much technology, especially since they lived in a tiny village. They didn't have televisions or computers and barely any electricity, so it was very different back then.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents or grandparents have never really told me about the 60's so I haven't really learned anything about it from any relatives. I picked up what ever knowledge i know about the 60's from movies and so on.However my parents and grandparents do like to watch the old bollywood movies that appear on television (indian channels :P) every now and then. All i have to say is..The Beatles :D
RépondreSupprimerMy parents were born in the 60's and they lived in China. They lived int he Northern part of China and in a rural area. Their lives were based on working on farms or railroads. Attending School was limited, and my parents took any opportunity they could find. Communism also played a big role in China as well as the Vietnam War. They suffered through the many disgusting tragedies that occurred. What I do know about America though is that surfers looked to skateboarding. In addition, the Flinstones appeared as well as Alvin and the Chimpunks and the Jetsons
RépondreSupprimerMy grandfather didn't really other memories of the 60s than Algeria because he to carry out servive army in Algeria war. Apart from this, it remembers Saturday nights when he wents to nightclubs wearing and dressed as Elvis!
RépondreSupprimerDuring the sixties, my grandparents were living in Algeria, when the war begun, they were scared, and 60's was not ot all something happy like in other countries. When my mom was 3 years old, they were forced to leave their country, and after this horrible war Algeria was independant! But in France, their lifes were not better, and my grand mother still disappointed because before the war, even if they didn't have money, they were happy, just with love and simples pleasures of life.
RépondreSupprimerMy mum and grandmother don't really have memories of the 60's.
RépondreSupprimerI know that my grandfather also did the Algerian war, of course it's a horrible memory , he hid during all the war because he didn't want to kill people and it protected him. He didn't want to do this war but he didn't have the choice. Therefore the 60's weren't an amazing decade for him.
My mum was very young during the sixties, but what she remembers the most is the idea of progress with the women's lib movement, the first step on the moon... The 60's led to big social changes. And she obviously talked about music, with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones.. Her favourite bands appeared in the 60's, she still listens to them . According to her, it was the best decade for music. Finally , fashion is an important aspect of the 60's with high heels, mini skirts.. my mum kept her high heels from this period.
Oh ! This is the same for me, my grandfather was a French of Algeria, he live during the Algerian war too. My mum was born in 1969 so she don't really know this decade.
SupprimerI totally agree, this decade was very important on the fashion and the musical aspect. For me, I'd liked to live in the 60's only to be in a group of hippies during the woodstock festival.
My parents were born in the early 70's, so they didn't have much to contribute to 60's. My two sets of grandparents, however, were born and raised in small villages with limited electricity and near to no technology. Without the daily luxuries our generation enjoys daily, my grandparents truly worked their way up to even get the opportunity to attend school and receive an education.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents don't really have any interesting memories from the 60's. But my aunt, who's the older sister of my dad always tell me stories of them when they were little. My aunt had to work at factories when she was our age. She studies really hard to go to college, but unfortunately did not get in. So she focuses her life on hard work both at home and at the factory.
RépondreSupprimerBoth of my parents are from South Korea. Although my mother was not born during this time, my father spent the 1960's spending time with his friends and avoiding curfews. He also has mentioned that his family had the only television in the neighborhood during this time.
RépondreSupprimerMy parents unfortunately were not born in the 60s. But my grandparents did. They live in India, with very limited access to any technology. They lived in the village side. They all studied well, to brighten their future for not only themselves, but for my parents as well.
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