Tumultuous Decade
By Balsubash Balakrishnan
1970s decade overview
Novel - If I die in a combat zone. Author - Tim O' Brien.
If I die in a combat zone is a personal memoir. Tim O'Brien recounts his experience as a young man drafted into military service during the Vietnam War. He illustrates his opposition to the war, and his struggle to decide whether or not to dodge the draft or to flee basic training. O'Brien talks about foxholes and night marches through the villages and minefields of Vietnam. He tests his courage, justice, and his brutal behavior during Vietnam War.
This book relates to this decade because, the book talks about the Vietnam War and the book was written at 1973.
The theme of this novel is a constant moral and ethical struggle with O' Briens participation in a war he feels is unjust. Before he went to Vietnam, O'Brien notes that he wrote editorials against a war he did know he would have to fight.
I learned that Vietnar war was a struggle to the soilder and guys were forced to serve it. Lives were lost. Things could be learned through mistakes and learn to like things you hate.
Movie - Rocky (1976)
Director: John G. Avildsen
Produce: Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
This movie relates to the decade because the movie was made during 1976.
The main inspiration for movie was Chuck Wepner taking on the legendary Muhammad Ali on March 24, 1975 at the Richfield Coliseum outside of Cleveland in Richfield, Ohio.
Music
1970s was the breakup of the Beatles and the death of Elvis Presley. Two major influences died during the decade. Pop music changed to different styles such as soft rock, hard rock, country rock, folk rock, punk rock, shock rock and the decade of disco. Rock music was big business during this time.
Popular songs during 1970s
I'll Be There - The Jackson 5 (1970)
Shining Star - Earth, Wind and Fire (1975)
Dancing Queen - ABBA (1977)
Stayin' Alive - The Bee Gees (1978)
Y.M.C.A. - The Village People (1979)
Sports memorabilia
Big business dominated the sports world in the Seventies. Professional athletes were previously owned by their teams, demanded in 1970s players received the right to free agency, whereby they would be able to market themselves to the highest bidder. By 1979, baseballer Pete Rose was able to negotiate a $1 million per year contract. Additionally, professional atheletes substantially increased their worth by appearing in television and print advertisements and endorsing products.
This decade also saw the rise of Ping Pong Diplomacy as the Americans faced the Chinese in a series of highly publicized matches.
Joe Frazier was honored as the world's heavyweight boxing champion.
The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany saw swimmer Mark Spitz set seven World Records and won a record seven gold medals.
The Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the decade in the NFL.
Headlines/Current Events/News
The Headlines during the 1970s talked about the Vietnam War to the President Nixon Scandal. OPEC - Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was also talked about during the 1970s. Many events occurred during this time and many were important. News played important role during Vietnam War because it got U.S. Involved in war.
Citation
"American Cultural History." - 1970-1979. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.