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The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of
the United Kingdom, Malta and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be
seen in many places. The rainy British climate necessitates protection of callers from the elements. The colour red was chosen
to make them easy to spot.
The perception of the established institutions of nuclear family, religion and trust in one's government continued to lose
ground during this time. Major developments of the sexual revolution included the awareness of the impact of contraceptive
pills on social-interactional relationships, and an increase in divorce rates, single parent households, and pre-marital sex.
By the end of the decade, the feminist movement had helped change women's working conditions. The Gay Rights movement became
prominent, and the hippie culture, which started in the 1960s, peaked in the early 1970s and carried on through the end of
the decade. The United States' withdrawal from its extensive military involvement in Vietnam and the resignation of Richard
Nixon helped bring about a sense of malaise and mistrust in political authority.
The United States experienced an economic recession, but the economy of Japan prospered. The economies of many third world
countries continued to make steady progress in the early 1970s, because of the green revolution. They might have thrived and
become stable in the way that Europe recovered after the war through the Marshall Plan; however, their economic growth was
slowed by the oil crisis.
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Women were finally entitled to equal pay (whether they got it or not was a different matter), the first kidney transplant
was televised and dog spectacles were patented.
Womblemania hit Britain, and building blocks had never been so much fun. Lego was Toy of the Year for the second year
running and parents had to get used to finding lumps of plastic embedded in their bruised feet.
The wedge-shaped Lotus Esprit, which later found fame as James Bonds ride in "For Your Eyes Only", was launched.
Sadly conventional models would not operate under water.
The pop video was born. A seven minute rock opera complete with dodgy visuals gave Freddie Mercurys Queen their first
number one single, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The world was in danger of exploding in a burst of static as polyester ruled disco fashion. Only animals wore fur, as
lobbyists took to throwing blood or paint over wealthy women draped in dead fox or mink.
The first ethos of the 1970s emerged from a transition of the global social structure. It reflected the transition from the
decline of colonial imperialism since the end of World War II to globalization and the rise of a new middle class in the developing
world.
Globally, the 1970s had several features that were similar and definitive across economic levels and regions. These aspects
and essence that make up global essence of the 1970s are the defining points of the 1970s: the Bretton Woods system and its
subsequent failure, the impact of the contraceptive pill on social-interactional dynamics, the rising of the Black community
and the oil shock of 1973.
The green revolution of the late 1960s brought about self sufficiency in many developing economies. At the same time an increasing
number of people began to seek urban prosperity over agrarian life. This consequently saw the duality of transition of diverse
interaction across social communities amid increasing information blockade across social class.
Other common global ethos of the seventies world include: increasingly flexible and varied gender roles for women. More
women could enter the work force rather than remain housewives. However, the gender role of men remained as that of a bread-winner.
The period also saw unprecedented socioeconomic impact of an ever-increasing number of women entering the non-agrarian economic
workforce, and the sweeping cultural-religious impact of the Iranian revolution toward the end of the 1970s.
The global experience of the cultural transition of the 1970s and an experience of a global zeitgeist revealed the interdependence
of economies since World War II, and showed the huge impact of American economic policies on the world.
The 1970s was perhaps the worst decade of Western and American economic performance since the Great Depression. Although there
was no severe economic depression as witnessed in the 1930s, economic growth rates were considerably lower than previous decades.
As a result, the 1970s adversely distinguished itself from the prosperous postwar period between 1945 and 1968. Then, the
world economy was buoyed by the Marshall Plan and the robust American economy. However, the high standing enjoyed by the American
economy gradually became discomposed by years of loose domestic spending (particularly the Great Society campaign) and funding
for the Vietnam war. The oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 added to the existing ailments and conjured high inflation throughout
much of the world for the rest of the decade. Soaring oil prices compelled most American businesses to raise their prices
as well, with inflationary results.
The average annual inflation rate from 1900 to 1970 was approximately 2.5 percent. From 1970, however, the average rate
hit about 6 percent, topping out at 13.3 percent by 1979. This period is also known for "stagflation", a phenomenon
in which inflation and unemployment steadily increased, therefore leading to double-digit interest rates that rose to unprecedented
levels (above 12% per year). The prime rate hit 21.5 in December 1980, the highest in history. By the time of 1980, when President
Jimmy Carter was running for re-election against Ronald Reagan, the misery index (the sum of the unemployment rate and the
inflation rate) had reached an all-time high of 21.98 percent.
In Eastern Europe, Soviet-style command economies began showing signs of stagnation, in which successes were persistently
dogged by setbacks. The oil shock increased East European, particularly Soviet, exports, but agriculture became a growing
annoyance to such economies.
In the United Kingdom, color channels were now available; three stations had begun broadcasting in color between 1967 and
1969. Notable UK dramas included Play for Today and Pennies From Heaven. The science fiction show Doctor Who reached its peak.
Many popular British situation comedies (sit-coms) were gentle, innocent, unchallenging comedies of middle-class life; typical
examples were Terry and June, Sykes, and The Good Life. A more diverse view of society was offered by series like Porridge
and Rising Damp. In police dramas there was a move towards increasing realism; popular shows included Dixon of Dock Green,
Softly, Softly, and The Sweeney.
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In a year otherwise lacking in street cred, the ultimate "cool" sport of snowboarding was born and the car to drive
was the Austin Allegro, preferably in brown, with velour trim and square "quartic" steering wheel.
Daredevil motorcycle stunt rider Evel Knievel was the man of the moment. Chopper even launched a Knievel push-bike, complete
with fake exhaust pipe.
Making good use of the things that they find, the Wombles emerged from their Wimbledon Common burrow for the first time
to tidy Britain (and eat Madame Cholets cakes).
Women were allowed onto the floor of the Stock Exchange in London for the first time on the 1st of February.
Priests were called out to calm audiences as the most reviled horror movie of all time, The Exorcist, opened in cinemas.
Never again would absent-minded smokers return home from the pub gutted, after lending their brand new Zippo to "that
bloke on the pool table". The Bic disposable lighter was born.
Not quite a crisp, not quite an alien spaceship. Not even a drummer in a band. Golden Wonder introduced Ringos.
The developing nations experienced economic growth that came in the wake of political independence. However, several African
economies declined and political states became dictatorial regimes. Many Middle Eastern democracies crumbled into chaotic
regimes with pseudo-democratic governments.
The 1970s ethos in much of the developing world was characterized by the constant need to re-define social norms to newer
socio-economic systems. As well, people were influenced by the rapid pace of change of the new social influences and the constant
aspiration for a more egalitarian society in cultures that were long colonized and have an even longer history of hierarchical
social structure.
The first facelifts were attempted in the 1970s.
The 1970s saw the rise of experimental classical music and minimalist music by composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich
and Michael Nyman. This was a break from the intellectual serial music of the tradition of Schoenberg which lasted from the
early 1900s to 1960s.
Experimental classical music influenced both art rock and progressive rock as well as the punk rock and New Wave genres.
Hard rock also emerged among British bands Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. In Europe, there was a
surge of popularity in the early decade for glam rock. The mid-seventies saw the rise of punk music from its protopunk/garage
band roots in the 1960s and early 1970s. Major acts include The Ramones, Blondie, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash.
The rise of disco music, which first crept into dance clubs in the mid-seventies, was another major trend. Disco soon fell
out of favor in the early 1980s, however, due to a religious revival and the rise of conservatism. The first half of the 1970s
saw many jazz musicians from the Miles Davis school achieve cross-over success through jazz-rock fusion. In Germany, Manfred
Eicher started the ECM label, which quickly made a name for 'chamber jazz'. Towards the end of the decade, Jamaican reggae
music, already popular in the Caribbean and Africa since the early 1970s, became very popular in the U.S. and in Europe, mostly
because of reggae superstar and legend Bob Marley. The late '70s also saw the beginning of hip hop music with the song Rapper's
Delight by Sugarhill Gang. Country music remained very popular in the U.S. In 1977 it became more mainstream after Kenny Rogers
became a solo singer and scored many hits on both the country and pop charts.
Hollywood emerged from its early 1970s slump with young film-makers taking greater risks and exploring more adult subject
matter in movies such as A Clockwork Orange and The Godfather. The nostalgic Love Story was a huge commercial and critical
hit. The 1970s saw a rebirth of the action film with movies like The French Connection. Airport was hugely successful and
launched a series of disaster-related films, such as Earthquake. Throughout the seventies, the horror film developed into
a lucrative genre of film; notable examples include The Exorcist, The Omen, Halloween, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Blaxploitation
also emerged as a genre. Top-grossing Jaws(1975) ushered in the blockbuster era of film-making, though it was eclipsed two
years later the science-fiction epic Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977).
In the United States, long-standing trends were declining. The Red Skelton Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, long-revered American
institutions, were canceled. The "family sitcom" saw its last breath at the start of the new decade with The Brady
Bunch. Television was transformed by what became termed as "social consciousness" programming such as All in the
Family, which broke down television barriers. The television western, which had been very popular in the 1960s, slowly died
out during the 1970s, with The High Chaparral, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke ending their runs. By the mid- to late 1970s, "jiggle
television"--programs centred around sexual gratification and bawdy humor and situations such as Charlie's Angels and
Three's Company--became popular. Soap operas expanded their audience beyond housewives with the rise of All My Children and
As the World Turns. Game shows such as The Hollywood Squares and Family Feud were also popular daytime television. Another
influential genre was the television newscast, which built on its initial widespread success in the 1960s. Finally, the variety
show received its last hurrah during this decade, with shows such as The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and Donny & Marie.
During the Seventies, support for the British royal family was thought to have dwindled, but the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth
II in 1977 assuaged the family's fears of being irrelevant in a more modern Britain. Elaborate parades and street parties
were thrown in the Queen's honour, and the Queen met with millions of her subjects on a tour throughout the Commonwealth.
In spite of such widespread support, an emerging class of people voiced opposition to the monarchy, epitomized in the Sex
Pistols' song "God Save the Queen". About two thousand people died in political violence between the police, British
army and paramilitary groups during the seventies.
In 1970s European cinema, the failure of the Prague Spring brought about nostalgic motion pictures such as István Szabó's
Szerelmesfilm (1970). German New Wave and Rainer Fassbinder's existential movies characterized film-making in Germany. The
movies of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman reached a new level of expression in motion pictures like Cries and Whispers
(1973).
Asian cinema of the 1970s catered to the rising middle class fantasies and struggles. In the Bollywood cinema of India,
this was epitomised by the movies of Bollywood superhero Amitabh Bachchan. Another Asian touchstone beginning in the early
'70s was traditional Hong Kong martial arts film which sparked a greater interest in Chinese martial arts to the West. Martial
arts film reached the peak of its popularity largely in part due to its greatest icon, Bruce Lee.
Fiction in the early '70s brought a return to old-fashioned storytelling, especially with Erich Segal's Love Story. The seventies
also saw the decline of previously well-respected writers, such as Saul Bellow and Peter De Vries, who both released poorly
received novels at the start of the decade. Racism remained a key literary subject. John Updike emerged as a major literary
figure. Reflections of the 1960s experience also found roots in the literature of the decade through the works of Joyce Carol
Oates and Morris Wright. With the rising cost of hard-cover books and the increasing readership of "genre fiction,"
the paperback became a popular medium. Criminal non-fiction also became a popular topic. Irreverence and satire, typified
in Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, were common literary elements. The horror genre also emerged, and by the late seventies
Stephen King had become one of the most popular genre novelists.
In nonfiction, several books related to Nixon and the Watergate scandal topped the best-selling lists. 1977 brought many
high-profile biographical works of literary figures, such as those of Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Books discussing sex such as Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask were popular as authors took advantage
of the lifted censorship laws on literature in the sixties. Exposés such as All the President's Men were also popular. Self-help
and diet books replaced the cookbooks and home fix-it manuals that topped the sixties's charts.
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In the 1970s, the renegade sports leagues of the National Basketball Association (founded in 1946), the World Hockey Association
(lasting from 1972 through 1979), and the World Series Cricket (lasting from 1977 to 1979) challenged older, established organizations.
The "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, who proclaimed the women's game
to be inferior, was a turning point in sports during the decade; after King's victory, the match was heralded as a major victory
for women in athletics. The 1970s marked a boom in the popularity of distance running, especially in the United States. The
1972 Summer Olympics were marred by terrorism and Cold War-related international controversy. Among the competition's highlights
was the performance of swimmer Mark Spitz, who set seven World Records to win a record seven gold medals in one Olympics,
bringing his total to nine. The 1976 Summer Olympics were highlighted by the legendary performance of Romanian female gymnast
Nadia Comaneci and the strong U.S. boxing team.
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