That ’70’s show …and when I say show, I mean power-point.

1970’s

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Important Themes

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Hippies Youth rebellion against values of their parents Introduction to the pill Disillusioned youth (Vietnam)

1970’s

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Important facts

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Population: 204,879,000 Unemployed in 1970: 4,088,000 National Debt: $382 billion Average salary: $7,564 Food prices: milk, 33 cents a qt.; bread, 24 cents a loaf; ground steak, $1.30 a pound Life Expectancy: Male, 67.1; Female, 74.8

1970’s

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American Cultural History

• The chaotic events of the 60's, including war and social change, seemed destined to continue in the 70's. Major trends included a growing disillusionment of government, advances in civil rights, increased influence of the women's movement, a heightened concern for the environment, and increased space exploration. Many of the "radical" ideas of the 60's gained wider acceptance in the new decade, and were mainstreamed into American life and culture. Amid war, social realignment and presidential impeachment proceedings, American culture flourished. Indeed, the events of the times were reflected in and became the inspiration for much of the music, literature, entertainment, and even fashion of the decade.

1970’s

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Art & Architecture

1970’s

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Arts & Architecture

• • Seventies art reflected a slowing and refinement of some of the avant-garde trends prominent in the Sixties. Earth art, a movement that combined environmental and minimalist ideas on a large scale, was promoted by artists such as Michael Heizer, Walter de Maria, Robert Smithson, James Turrel, Alice Aycock, Claes Oldenburg, and Richard Serra. Massive earthworks such as Smithson's Spiral Jetty, challenged all the rules regarding mass, time, size, and space. Land art and environmental art, variations of earth art, were also prominent. Other notable schools of art were illusionism, which sought to surprise viewers and cause them to question their interpretation of reality, and photo realism and hyperrealism, which imitated photography, created by such artists as Richard Estes. Pop Art was still represented by artists such as Andy Warhol and David Hockney; and George Segal continued to sculpt his white plaster, such as Three Figures on Four Benches (1979). The influence of the women's movement was represented by Lynda Benglis, Jackie Winsor, and Judy Chicago, who created the feminist art exhibition, The Dinner Party. Performance art challenged the traditional, stationary aspect of art. Andrew Wyeth began painting his Helga pictures.

1970’s

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Arts & Architecture

• • In architecture, the "modern movement" retreated and there was a gradual move toward architectural humanism and a renewed respect for traditional and historical design. Increasingly architects attempted to consider the needs and feelings of the people who would use their buildings. The historical element is evident in the pyramid form of San Francisco's Transamerica Building (William L. Pereira, 1972) and the classical Piazza d'Italia in New Orleans (Charles Moore, 1979). Houston's Pennzoil Place (Philip Johnson and John Burgee, 1976) combined modernism with humanism utilizing an eight-story atrium to connect two trapezoid-shaped towers. Architect Paolo Soleri, advocated Arcology, a new theory of architecture embodying the fusion of architecture with ecology. Modernism survived in buildings such as the Frank Gehry House in Santa Monica, California (1978), and the Dallas City Hall , designed by I.M. Pei (1978).

1970’s

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Books & Literature

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1970’s

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Books & Literature

Many of the books published in the 70's revolved around a general theme of man's alienation from his spiritual roots. John Updike portrayed characters trying to find meaning in a society spiritually empty and in a state of moral decay. Joyce Carol Oates wrote of the search for spiritual meaning in the contemporary world, and Kurt Vonnegut explored the loneliness of contemporary society and the power hungry materialism that pervaded it. One of the strongest literary voices to emerge from this decade was Toni Morrison, who examined the Black American experience as never before. The poetry of Rod McKuen was immensely popular. No playwright dominated this decade of both social and artistic unrest. Among the most acknowledged were Sam Shepherd, Lanford Wilson, David Mamet, Christopher Durang, and Neil Simon.

1970’s

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Books & Literature

Books That Define the Time • All the President's Men - Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward • The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch • The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality - Shere Hite • I'm OK, You're OK - Thomas A. Harris • Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach

1970’s

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Education

• Two trends not directly related to education nonetheless heavily impacted the nation's schools and campuses during the Seventies. Social movements, particularly the anti-war movement, were highly visible on college and university campuses. The Kent State massacre was the most devastating event, with four students gunned down by Ohio National Guardsmen attempting to stem the anti-war demonstrations. Mandatory busing to achieve racial school integration, particularly in Boston and other Northeastern cities, often led to violence and a disruption of the educational process. On a positive educational note, Congress guaranteed equal educational access to the handicapped with the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.

1970’s

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Fads & Fashions

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1970’s

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Fads & Fashions

Mood rings, lava lamps, Rubik's cube, Sea Monkeys, smiley face stickers, and pet rocks all captured the imagination of Americans during this decade. The wildest fad surely was streaking nude through very public places! Families vacationed in station wagons and everyone wanted an RV. The fashion influence of Sixties hippies was mainstreamed in the Seventies, as men sported shoulder length hair and non-traditional clothing became the rage, including bellbottom pants, hip huggers, colorful patches, hot pants, platform shoes, earth shoes, clogs, T-shirts, and gypsy dresses. Knits and denims were the fabrics of choice. Leisure suits for men became commonplace, and women were fashionable in everything from ankle-length grandmother dresses to hot pants and micro-miniskirts. The movie Annie Hall (1977) even inspired a fashion trend with women sporting traditional men's clothing such as derby hats, tweed jackets, and neckties worn with baggy pants or skirts.

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1970’s

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Technology

The floppy disc appeared in 1970, and the next year Intel introduced the microprocessor, the "computer on a chip." Apollo 17, the last manned craft to the moon, brought back 250 samples of rock and soil. Unmanned space probes explored the moon, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Venus. The U.S. Apollo 18 and the USSR's Soyuz 19 linked up in space to conduct joint experiments. Atari produced the first low-priced integrated circuit TV games, and the videocassette recorder (VCR) changed home entertainment forever. Jumbo jets revolutionized commercial flight, doubling passenger capacity and increasing flight range to 6,000 miles. The neutron bomb, which destroys living beings but leaves buildings intact, was developed. In medicine, ultrasound diagnostic techniques were developed. The sites of DNA production on genes were discovered, and the fledging research in genetic engineering was halted pending development of safer techniques. The first test tube baby was born, developed from an artificially inseminated egg implanted in the mother's womb.

1970’s

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Technology

1970’s

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Events & People

• • • • • • During the 1970's the United States underwent some profound changes.

First a Vice President and then a President resigned under threat of impeachment. The Vietnam War continued to divide the country even after the Paris Peace Accords in January 1974 put an end to U.S. military participation in the war.

Roe v. Wade legalized abortion. Crime increased despite Nixon's pledge to make law and order a top priority of his presidency. Increased immigration followed passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, which reformed an earlier policy that favored western Europeans. People from Third World countries came to this country in search of economic betterment or to escape political repression.

1970’s

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Events & People

• Women, minorities, and gays increasingly demanded full legal equality and privileges in society. Women expanded their involvement in politics. The proportion of women in state legislatures tripled. Women surpassed men in college enrollment in 1979. However, the rising divorce rate left an increasing number of women as sole breadwinners and forced more and more of them into poverty. African-Americans also made their presence felt as the number of black members in Congress increased, and cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit, and Atlanta elected their first African-American mayors. Affirmative action became a controversial policy as minorities and women asserted their rights to jobs and quality education. Native Americans began to demand attention to their plight. In 1975 the Indian Self-Determination Act encouraged Indians to take control of their own education and promote their tribal customs.

1970’s

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Presidents

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Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974) Gerald Ford (1974-1977) Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) Houston's U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan gained national prominence with her eloquence during the Watergate investigation and hearings which resulted in impeachment proceedings against Nixon.

1970’s

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Important Events/Dates

• 22 April 1970 • 4 May 1970 • • 24 April 1971 1971 • 17 May 1972 • 29 May 1972 • 5,6 Sept 1972 First "Earth Day" celebrated as environmental movement launched. Four students killed when National Guardsmen opened fire during anti-war demonstrations at Kent State University in Ohio. Huge anti-war march in Washington, D.C. Daniel Ellsberg leaks the Pentagon Papers, massive collection of top-secret government documents, whose publication helps to discredit the Vietnam War policies of the Nixon administration.

Republican agents burglarize Democratic headquarters at Watergate.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) signed by U.S. & Soviets.

Nineteen killed in terrorist siege at Munich Olympic Games

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1970’s

| 1973 22 Jan 1973 10 Oct 1973 6 Dec 1973 1974 9 Aug 1974 1975

Important Events/Dates

Arab oil embargo causes severe shortage and energy prices skyrocket Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion Amid charges of corruption and scandal, VP Spiro Agnew pleads no contest to income tax evasion and resigns from office. Gerald Ford, congressman from Michigan, becomes the new vice president. Economy in worst recession in 40 years. Ford becomes the thirty-eighth president after Richard Nixon, facing impeachment charges, is forced to resign. United Nations declares International Year of the Woman.

1970’s

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Important Events/Dates

• • • • • 30 April 1975 4 July 1976 South Vietnam falls to Communist forces of North Vietnam.

The country commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a spectacular bicentennial celebration. 1978 19 Nov 1978 area.

Residents of Love Canal, NY, evacuated due to dangerous toxic chemicals buried in the American religious cult leader Jim Jones and 900 Peoples Temple followers die in mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. 28 March 1979 Radioactive leak at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.

1970’s

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Important People

• • • • Cesar Chavez Shirley Chisholm Patty Hearst Jesse Jackson • George McGovern Used nonviolent methods to obtain his goals of higher wages, health insurance, and other benefits for migrant workers in California. First African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; ran for the office of President of the United States in 1972.

Granddaughter of newspaper mogul, William Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and subsequently participated with the SLA in an armed robbery of a San Francisco bank.

A leader in the civil rights movement who founded PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in 1971.

The senator from South Dakota who was the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1972.

1970’s

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Important People

• Karen Silkwood • Benjamin Spock • George Wallace • Andrew Young An employee of the Kerr-McGee nuclear processing plant who was killed in a car crash on the way to a meeting with a New York Times reporter to reveal evidence of unsafe and illegal practices at the nuclear plant.

A pediatrician, author, and social reformer whose permissive philosophy in his influential book, The Common Sense of Baby Care, was blamed for a wide range of social problems in the 1970's.

Governor of Alabama; shot and paralyzed from the waist down while campaigning for the presidency in 1972 on an anti-bussing, law and order platform.

First African-American voted into the U.S. House of Representatives from the deep South since 1898.

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1970’s

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Music

By the 1970's, the term "rock & roll" had become nearly meaningless. This decade saw the breakup of the Beatles and the death of Elvis Presley, robbing rock of two major influences. Pop music splintered into a multitude of styles: soft-rock, hard rock, country rock, folk rock, punk rock, shock rock - and the dance craze of the decade, disco! But whatever sub-genre(s) you preferred, rock music was big business. Among the top names in popular music were Aerosmith, the Bee Gees, David Bowie, Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, Eagles, Electric Light Orchestra, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Three Dog Night, and The Who. "Easy listening" regained popularity with groups such as the Carpenters, and Bob Marley gained a huge core of fans in the U.S. performing Jamaican reggae music.

1970’s

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Films

1970’s

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Films

• • • • The Seventies was the decade of the big comeback for the movies. After years of box office erosion caused by the popularity of television, a combination of blockbuster movies and new technologies such as Panavision and Dolby Sound brought the masses back to the movies. The sci-fi adventure and spectacular special effects of George Lucas's Star Wars made it one of the highest grossing films ever. Other memorable movies were the disaster movies, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Poseidon Adventure, and Airport. Sylvester Stallone's Rocky reaffirmed the American dream and gave people a hero with a "little guy comes out on top" plot.

1970’s

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Films

• • • • The Godfather spawned multiple sequels. There also was the terror of Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the chilling Exorcist, and the moving Kramer vs. Kramer. There was a definite public yearning for simpler, more innocent times as evidenced by the popularity of the movies, American Graffiti and Grease, which both presented a romanticized view of the Fifties. Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta fueled the "disco fever" already sweeping the music and dance club scenes; and the nation's experience in the Vietnam War and its aftermath influenced the themes of several movies, including Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now.

1970’s

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Television

1970’s

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Television

• • • Television came of age in the Seventies as topics once considered taboo were broached on the airwaves for the first time. Leading the way was the humorous social satire of All in the Family which had plots on many controversial issues such as abortion, race, and homosexuality. Saturday Night Live also satirized topics and people once thought of as off limits for such treatment, such as sex and religion. Nothing was considered sacred.

1970’s

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Television

• • • • Television satellite news broadcasts from the frontlines of the conflict in Vietnam continued to bring the horrors of war into the homes of millions of Americans and intensified anti-war sentiment in the country. The immensely popular TV miniseries Roots fostered an interest in genealogy, a greater appreciation of whites for the plight of blacks, and an increased interest in African American history. Happy Days, which followed the lives of a group of fifties era teenagers, was TV's primary nod to nostalgia, while The Brady Bunch comically presented the contemporary family. The relatively new publicly funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting gained viewers and stature with such fare as Sesame Street for children, and live broadcasts of the Senate Watergate hearings.