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| Photo taken from jahsonic.com By: Chris Valletta |
In Mark Kurlansky's book 1968, he explores the reasons why the year 1968 seemed to bring the world together in rebellion. As a matter of fact, the only thing that any of these people did have in common was that desire to rebel. Interestingly enough, the rebellions were mostly split into factions and their paths rarely coincided with each other since they usually had different views. Kurlansky lists the four main reasons people agreed on their desire to rebel: "the civil rights movement; a generation that felt so different and so alienated that it rejected all forms of authority; a war that was hated so universally around the world that it provided a cause for all the rebels seeking one; and all of this occurring at the moment television was coming of age" (Kurlansky xviii).
The Vietnam War seemed to be the dominating factor in uniting everyone, since they all agreed to be in opposition to it. Even the two sides that split during the American civil rights movement were able to agree on their disdain for the Vietnam War. This is one example of how different the generations of the World War II era and the post-World War II were different. Kurlansky highlights this difference even more by citing that the people of this era "did not even laugh at the same jokes" (Kurlansky xix). The main reason for this separation of the generations in desires is related to the invention of the television, which made everyone aware of what everyone else was doing around the world. Now for the first time ever, people could hear news that came from across the world in the same exact day.
The introduction of 1968 by Kurlansky was intriguing because he attempts to dissect the reasons for certain desires from a generations stand point. The main theme is that even though each faction of rebellion had different views and did not necessarily agree with each other on them, the desire to rebel still brought them all together for a common stand against authoritarianism. The television aided this communication and networking to see what others were doing. This was also interesting to think about since at the time of its inception, people awed at the fact that television could bring them news and information, but in the present day the television is primarily used for pleasurable needs by programming and movies, rather than simply receiving the news. As a society today, the communication aspect of the television is taken for granted and is only seen desirable on a high-definition flat screen with either sports or entertainment playing. This current generation has thus evolved, yet again for another time.
The Vietnam War seemed to be the dominating factor in uniting everyone, since they all agreed to be in opposition to it. Even the two sides that split during the American civil rights movement were able to agree on their disdain for the Vietnam War. This is one example of how different the generations of the World War II era and the post-World War II were different. Kurlansky highlights this difference even more by citing that the people of this era "did not even laugh at the same jokes" (Kurlansky xix). The main reason for this separation of the generations in desires is related to the invention of the television, which made everyone aware of what everyone else was doing around the world. Now for the first time ever, people could hear news that came from across the world in the same exact day.
The introduction of 1968 by Kurlansky was intriguing because he attempts to dissect the reasons for certain desires from a generations stand point. The main theme is that even though each faction of rebellion had different views and did not necessarily agree with each other on them, the desire to rebel still brought them all together for a common stand against authoritarianism. The television aided this communication and networking to see what others were doing. This was also interesting to think about since at the time of its inception, people awed at the fact that television could bring them news and information, but in the present day the television is primarily used for pleasurable needs by programming and movies, rather than simply receiving the news. As a society today, the communication aspect of the television is taken for granted and is only seen desirable on a high-definition flat screen with either sports or entertainment playing. This current generation has thus evolved, yet again for another time.
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