Americans are becoming more accustomed to marijuana usage due to the increasing frequency of displays in pop culture, a growing availability, and it being a serious political issue. The film and TV industry have played a vital role in how marijuana is seen by America. The first instance of the drug use in pop culture is the 1936 film Reefer Madness by Arthur Hoerl. The film takes two ordinary teenagers, who are pressured into using marijuana, through an over-the-top journey that includes a hit-and-run accident, suicide, manslaughter, and even an attempted rape. However, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which was established in 1970, used the movie satirically to aid in the reform of marijuana policy.
It’s called Rock ‘n’ Roll and it had parents, teachers, and politicians worried for the youth of America. Rock ‘n’ Roll was the first of its kind in that the vocals were not always the center of discourse, but the body language of the performers and the beat of the music moved the audience a lot of times…Rock and Roll was elemental, savage, dripping with sex; it was just as our parents feared” (8). The reason for the fear: Rock ‘n’ Roll evolved from recordings by African-American artists known
Music was changing in the sixties decade, in the fifties it was all about rock’n’roll, this changed when pop music and acid rock became popular. The music of the this decade promoted dropping out of society, doing drugs, and helped popularize the word “hip” (Miller 222). The Beatles were one of the most influential bands of their time and changed the way people listened to music forever (Miller 222). During the sixties teens were swept up by the Beatlemania. Another thing teens were crazy about were music festivals.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. It was known for its range of styles and sounds, a mix of pop and electronic noises; songs like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life.” Many of the songs on the album were carefully examined for hidden “clues” about The Beatles use of drugs. This album spent 15 weeks at number one, and sold over 8 million copies. On June 25th, 1967, The Beatles recorded “All You Need Is Love,” with a live television audience of 400 million, part of the Our World broadcast. Later that year, while The Beatles were in Wales beginning their six month involvement with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Brian Epstein died of an accidental overdose on his prescribed sleeping pills, Carbitral.
Drug Trafficking in the United States Jason Reed ENG122 English Composition Instructor McKenna September 23, 2012 Drug Trafficking in the United States Over forty years ago, the world declared the war on drugs. Today, after decades of failing to control drug consumption, the drug problem has emerged and allowed violent drug traffickers to expand their networks and corrupt even more Mexican and American government officials. The use of violence by traffickers against authorities and witnesses represents a major challenge to the neighboring countries as the ultimate guarantor of law and order within their borders. This in turn, has allowed drug cartels to move illegal narcotics freely throughout Mexico in an attempt to smuggle them
Problems of Alcohol and Drugs resulted in a breakup of Fleetwood Mac. Peter Green named the group by combining the surnames of two of his former band mates (Fleetwood, McVie). Green had achieved a UK number one with “Albatross”. After that, Fleetwood Mac as a group, produced 10 new singles and remained number 1, on the American albums chart for 31 weeks! He was a great help in the band, Fleetwood Mac.
This act raised the drinking age to 21 for all 50 states and was huge step for lowering the damage caused by drunk driving. By the end of the year MADD had reached 330 chapters nationwide while helping pass over 129 laws against drunk driving. Not only did MADD make the most successful pushes for anti-drinking laws in last century but they remained true to why the organization was formed in the first place, to comfort victims of the crime. In Kentucky of 1988 the nation watched as a drunk driver took the lives of 41 children and 3 adults, while injuring 30 more. The driver had slammed head on with a bus returning from a church outing.
These words and phrases were commonly used during the 60s and 70s to describe certain aspects of the heroin trade. “American pop culture historians place a direct link between… pop stars and celebrities… and heroin” (Mark 1). Another way the music industry has been greatly affected by heroin was the deaths of many famous music stars like Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobaine. Both were very popular in the 70s and made heroin look glamorous to many young fans. Other artists such as Ray Charles, Van Morrison, and Robert Downy Jr. have had their careers greatly affected by the use of heroin.
Their producer, George Martin helped Brian Espstein push this group, dubbed the “Fab Four” toward international stardom by 1964. The Beetles were the first of the British Invasion of rock artists to the USA, and to date, the biggest sellers of British pop music. They toured for 3 years, and are thought to be the globe’s biggest influence on pop-rock music. They were also the most lucrative performers of all time. The Beetle-mania sensation lead the record sales up the charts, with over a billion sold in the UK, and today, have sold 177 million more records in the USA than any other
Sexual Liberation in the 1970's Name HIS145 Date Instructor Sexual Liberation in the 1970's It could be said that the introduction of the birth control pill to the public in 1960 started the sexual revolution. Over the past 50 years, “the pill” has gone through many changes. The first pill was effective but dangerous. It was later found that the dose was 10 times too high and caused life threatening blood clots. In 1965 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Comstock laws that banned female contraceptives.