i	Sociology 432: Social Movements

Our purpose in seeing this film is to analyze how change in the popular culture made the student social movements of the 1960s more possible. The film was released in 1955 so it pre-dates the social movement. Sociologists studying the student movement suggest that the change in popular culture as seen in

• films,
• music, and
• literature

We need to find the themes in this film that support that interpretation. What are the themes that divide the generations in this film? What are the cultural motifs (the values) that the film celebrates that were to become important rallying cries for youth in the Sixties? Look especially for evidence of:

• nonconformity
• anti-materialism
• sexuality
• compassion for the underdog
• sincerity (vs. "phoniness")

Beyond this particular film, what else was happening in popular culture in the 1950s that support a theory that cultural change is an important cause of this social movement?

Are there more recent cultural changes that might help explain why students seem less radical and protesting today? Or are most of the same themes found in the 50s culture still present in popular culture today (thus providing counter-evidence to the theory that culture helps cause protest)?

If we turn our attention to somewhat more recent social movements, e.g., the women's movement or the gay rights movement, can we identify any changes in the culture that made those movements more likely?