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In 1977 the film Saturday Night Fever was released. The
film was marketed specifically to broaden disco's popularity beyond its primarily gay and black audience. It was a huge
success, helping to make disco a worldwide phenomenon. In December 1977, it became the best-selling soundtrack of all time.
Disco's popularity led many non-disco artists to record disco songs at the height of its popularity.
Many of
these songs were not "pure" disco, but were instead rock or pop songs with (sometimes inescapable) disco influence
or overtones. Notable examples include Blondie's ""Heart of Glass" (1978), Barry Manilow’s "Copacabana"
(1978),David Bowie "John I'm Only Dancing (Again)" (1975), Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
(1979), Electric Light Orchestra’s "Shine a Little Love" and "Last Train to London" (1979), George
Benson's "Give Me the Night" (1980), Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" (1980), Paul McCartney
& Wings' "Goodnight Tonight" (1979), Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (part II)" (1979),
and KISS' "I Was Made For Lovin' You" (1979).
The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented
in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the "Magic Cube",
the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toys in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best
Puzzle that year. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes have sold worldwide making it the world's top-selling puzzle game.
It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.
In a classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six
faces is covered by 9 stickers, among six solid colours (traditionally white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow). A pivot
mechanism enables each face to turn independently, thus mixing up the colours. For the puzzle to be solved, each face must
be a solid colour. Similar puzzles have now been produced with various numbers of stickers, not all of them by Rubik. The
original 3×3×3 version celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2005.
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. 
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.
John Lennon and Yoko
Ono made history when they slept their way into the hearts of fans in a daring and provocative peace protest in 1969. The
famous pair shocked conservative viewers and were lionized by supporters as they spent a week in their pyjamas in a Montreal
hotel room bed in support of world peace. In this fabulous and unedited footage supporters and opponents stop by the
room to help or duke it out.
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.
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.
Seventies clothing holds its own special place in American
culture. Ranging from late 60's hippie looks to the eye popping styles of the disco era, 70's clothes were not
designed to be ignored. The decade of the 1970s began as a carryover of late '60s fashion. The hippie influence
was still very present. Shirts of tie dye and worn jeans were the look of the day. Hip huggers and bell bottom
jeans were popular and were likely to be customized and decorated by the person wearing them. Donning patches and using
a variety of bleaching and tie dying techniques was popular. Jean jackets of the day were often stylized by their owners
with a variety of patches carrying whatever message the wearer felt like sharing.
Young women of the day could
be quite unpredictable in their choice of fashion. The same girl wearing torn and faded jeans might next be seen in
"hot pants" accompanied by long knee socks or wearing a floral patterned granny dress, all on top of very high and
clunky looking heels. Women were asserting themselves in fashion and it was difficult to miss. The mini skirt
was still alive and well but "midi" dresses that came to the mid calf region and ankle length "maxi" dresses
were also popular, especially in more formal situations. You never knew what to expect.
The Post Punk movement that originated in the late 1970s
both supported Punk Rock's rule breaking while rejecting its back to raw rock music element. Post Punk's mantra of
constantly moving forward lent itself to both openness to and experimentation with elements of disco and other styles. Public
Image Limited is considered the first Post Punk group. The groups second album Metal Box fully embraced the studio as instrument
methodology of disco. The groups founder John Lydon told the press that disco was the only music he cared for at the time.
No Wave was a sub genre of post punk centered in New York City. For shock value, James Chance who was a notable member of
the No Wave scene penned an article in the East Village Eye urging his readers to move uptown and get "trancin' with
some superadioactive disco voodoo funk". His band James White and the Blacks wrote a disco album Off White. Their performances
resembled those of disco performers (horn section, dancers etc). In 1981 ZE Records led the transition from No Wave into the
more subtle Mutant disco (post-disco/punk) genre. Mutant disco acts such as Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Was Not Was,
ESG and Liquid Liquid influenced several British Post Punk acts such as New Order, Orange Juice and A Certain Ratio
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The Hues Corporation's 1974 "Rock The Boat",
a U.S. #1 single and million-seller, was one of the early disco songs to hit #1. Other chart-topping songs included "Walking
in Rhythm" by The Blackbyrds, "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae and "Love's Theme" by Barry White's
Love Unlimited Orchestra. Also in 1974, Gloria Gaynor released the first side-long disco mix vinyl album, which included
a remake of The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" and two other songs, "Honey Bee" and "Reach
Out (I'll Be There)". Also significant during this early disco period was Miami's KC and the Sunshine Band. Formed
by Harry Wayne Casey ("KC") and Richard Finch, KC and the Sunshine Band had a string of disco-definitive top-five
hits between 1975 and 1977, including "Get Down Tonight", "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake,
Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "Keep It Comin' Love".
The Bee Gees used Barry Gibb's falsetto to garner hits such as "You Should Be Dancing", "Stayin'
Alive", "Night Fever" and "More Than A Woman". In 1975, hits such as Van McCoy's "The Hustle"
and Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" and "Could It Be Magic" brought disco further into the
mainstream. Other notable early disco hits include The Jacksons’s "Dancing Machine" (1974), Barry White’s
"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974), LaBelle’s "Lady Marmalade" (1975) and Silver
Convention’s "Fly Robin Fly" (1975). Chic's "Le Freak" (1978) became a classic and is heard
almost everywhere disco is mentioned; other hits by Chic include the often-sampled "Good Times" (1979) and "Everybody
Dance" (1978).
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.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the
World Cup, was held in Mexico, from May 31 to June 21. Mexico was chosen as hosts by FIFA in October 1964. The 1970 tournament
was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of teams
that had won the World Cup twice, the final was won by Brazil, who beat Italy 4-1. This means Brazil were the first three-time
world champions and were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently.
The Brazilian team, featuring the
likes of Pelé (who was in his fourth and final World Cup), Carlos Alberto, Clodoaldo, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivelino,
and Tostão, is usually regarded as the greatest attacking World Cup team ever. This tournament saw the return of free-flowing,
attacking play after the physical battles of 1962 and 1966, and is still considered by many fans to be the finest World Cup
in history.
The perfect word to describe 1970 clothes is psychedelic!
Colors and crazy motifs characterize the style of this era. First the hippies, and then the disco music were the main influences
on 1970 clothes and fashion.
At the end of the 60’s, fashion was based on the hippie and swinging style.
In the 70’s, some fashionable items of the previous decade remained. Bell-bottom pants from the hippie era and mini-skirts
from the swinging era were still on vogue. But this time, fashions were mixed, and a woman could choose to use a mini skirt
or a full length skirt whenever she wanted and she would look great. Full length skirts came into fashion when hippie women
started wearing them. These skirts were out of fashion as in the 60's mini-skirts were the new trend.
The fashion
of the 70’s is characterized by its mixture of colors and interesting motifs. The travel conditions of the 70’s
allowed people to travel around the world easily and designers could bring ideas as regards motifs and designs from other
ethnic groups. This is why we find so much variety and exoticism in 1970 clothes.
Pants went through many changes
during this decade. After the hippies, bell-bottom pants appeared, but they flared gradually during the 70’s. At first
they flared a bit, but then they got really wide until the end of the 70’s when they were narrow again. Today, wide
bell-bottom remain a symbol of 1970 clothes.
But 1970 clothes also demanded a change in hair style. With the new
decade, new hair style trends emerged. Short androgynous haircut for women was very fashionable during the 60’s. But
at the end of that decade the hippie movement produced some modifications in fashion and long hair was again seen on the streets.
During the 70's long hair style for women was very feminine and in vogue. Hair styles were wild and flat at the same time.
The disco fashion was some sort of movement during the 70’s that brought about a new and original style. The
1970 clothes during the disco era went through a series of changes. From shoes to hair, the disco style could be detected
at a glance. Bright colors, satin fabrics, high platform shoes and tight t shirts were some of the items that characterized
this 1970 clothes style. During this era, the aim was to look as cool as possible and to show off your body. If you were skinny
enough to fit into super tight pants and shirts, then you had to show it.
When we remember the disco fashion and
1970 clothes from this era we immediately associate it with Saturday nights and fun. The dance movement was some kind of explosion
of nine-fivers, who were tired of working so much during the week and were craving for some fun and relaxing. Disco clothes
were worn during the night and were not appropriate for day wear. However, this type of 1970 clothes had great influence on
everyday wear and even children wore pimp shirts.
Well-known late 1970s disco performers included Donna
Summer, Amanda Lear, The Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, Chic, and The Jacksons. Summer would become the first well-known
and most popular disco artist, giving her the title 'The Queen of Disco', and also played a part in pioneering the
electronic sound that later became a part of disco (see below). While performers and singers garnered the lion's share
of public attention, the behind-the-scenes producers played an equal, if not more important role in disco, since they often
usually wrote the songs and created the innovative sounds and production techniques that were part of the "disco sound".
Many non-disco artists recorded disco songs at the height of disco's popularity, and films such as Saturday Night Fever
and Thank God It's Friday contributed to disco's rise in mainstream popularity.
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