Vietnam War and American Pop Music Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Vietnam War and American Pop Music - Term Paper Example Feminism, African-American Civil Rights Movement, Anti-Vietnam War Protests and even Sexual Revolution occurred in the Sixties. But there is no revolution in that era that has had the profound effect like the one the Vietnam War had. The Vietnam War has left a huge mark in America’s social psyche, and subsequently made an impact in the collective consciousness of the American people. Many films have been made, songs, books and even TV shows that echoed the sentiments of the people during that time. This era changed the people’s view on media, politics, the government and other institutions. If the people in the other eras before trusted the government with its actions, this era saw that the people did not trust the government as much because it deployed their sons to another country, in what the Americans viewed as a futile war. The Vietnam War actually started in 1955. As an offshoot of the Cold War between the Communist Russia and the Democratic United States, the Vie tnam war is also about the battle of communism and democracy. It was between the communist Vietnam (North), controlled by the Viet Congs and the democratic Vietnam (South). The US, as a protector of liberty, tried to protect the democratic Vietnam from the communists who were trying to unite Vietnam by making the country a wholly communist one. Because of this threat to democracy, America rounded up its troops, mostly composed of young men. In 1960, the first massive recruits occurred, doubling up in numbers in 1962, and in 1963, the world saw that the American troops have tripled in number. These young troops were to be deployed in Vietnam. This happening, along with other socio-cultural movements in the 60s, spurred a massive protest movement. It has to be noted that this era saw the African-Americans being granted equal rights, the women equality with men, the environment being taken importance, etc. This war added to the agenda that the people were so keen to push. The people di d not want to wage war, unlike the government. The people pushed for peace and focusing on the environment, not having their sons, brothers and husbands killed. This conflict between the people and the government spurred the people’s disillusionment on the American government. This event, the Vietnam War, challenged their views pertaining to their leaders and their heads of state. It was inevitable anyway, the troops were sent to fight in the war. For nineteen years the United States has been deploying troops over at the Asian country. They lost the war. This fueled the masses’ discontent for the government. This discontent permeated through the pop culture. It has made its way in the people’s everyday lives, especially with the movies and music. Art is a reflection of reality. Music and movies are art forms and they do reflect reality in whatever form they can, intentionally or not, since the creators’ consciousness also reflects the events that happen a round him, through the art he has been making. This is especially true in protest music that made its way into the lives of the Americans in the 60s. Protest music is a result of a musician’s conscious effort to be heard. The rise of protest music in the United States was seen during the time of the Vietnam War. True, protest music existed way before, ever since man started to sing, but the Vietnam War, with the