9 Beatlemania and the cultural politics of 1960s America
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Thomas C. Mills
Abstract
Tom Mills considers the impact of transatlantic cultural crosscurrents though analysis of the Beatles’ 1964 conquest of the American popular music market and the apex of the cultural phenomenon known as Beatlemania. Placing Anglo-American musical transference into context with US consumer capitalism, the bourgeoning youth movement, and increasingly turbulent gender and racial politics, Mills reveals how Beatlemania fundamentally challenged many social norms of the era even while the group’s humor and charm, as well as American perceptions of British respectability, helped to mask its culturally subversive elements from the white American middle class.
Abstract
Tom Mills considers the impact of transatlantic cultural crosscurrents though analysis of the Beatles’ 1964 conquest of the American popular music market and the apex of the cultural phenomenon known as Beatlemania. Placing Anglo-American musical transference into context with US consumer capitalism, the bourgeoning youth movement, and increasingly turbulent gender and racial politics, Mills reveals how Beatlemania fundamentally challenged many social norms of the era even while the group’s humor and charm, as well as American perceptions of British respectability, helped to mask its culturally subversive elements from the white American middle class.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Towards Something Fresh? 18
- 2 America in ‘British’ history textbooks 41
- 3 Film follows the flag 66
- 4 Debating Downton 90
- 5 Anglo-American political culture 108
- 6 Pageantry, legitimation, and special Anglo-American relations 130
- 7 ‘A great Englishman’ 158
- 8 Anglo-American narratives in public space 189
- 9 Beatlemania and the cultural politics of 1960s America 221
- 10 Culture and re-membering the alliance in Kosovo and Iraq 243
- Conclusion 271
- Selected bibliography 277
- Index 294
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Towards Something Fresh? 18
- 2 America in ‘British’ history textbooks 41
- 3 Film follows the flag 66
- 4 Debating Downton 90
- 5 Anglo-American political culture 108
- 6 Pageantry, legitimation, and special Anglo-American relations 130
- 7 ‘A great Englishman’ 158
- 8 Anglo-American narratives in public space 189
- 9 Beatlemania and the cultural politics of 1960s America 221
- 10 Culture and re-membering the alliance in Kosovo and Iraq 243
- Conclusion 271
- Selected bibliography 277
- Index 294
