Media truly reflects our culture. This statement includes, but is not limited to, the top ten songs, according to the billboard charts, and top ten movies by domestic review, from 1970. The year was characterized by an overall period of unrest. In 1970, the United States was fully committed to a controversial war in Vietnam while protests to end the war and campaigns for equality were active on the nation’s own soil. Pop and rock music were the most prevalent genres of music during this time. The genres of the top ten movies varied widely. The majority of the movies fell into the categories of action (disaster, adventure, comedy, and love (romance). There are several differences between the themes evident in the top ten billboard songs and themes in top ten domestically reviewed films from 1970 which can be accounted for in three main ways.
There is an array of themes present in the top ten lists of songs and movies from 1970. One is the common connection between plots of movies and times of conflict and/or violence. Most directly, this can be seen in the prevalence of the military and major wars in the majority of the films including World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Smaller scale wars such as fights between family members and tensions between two opposing social worlds are also evident in the films’ plots. As a result of the intense presence of this theme in the top ten movies from 1970, there is a predominantly negative feeling brought forward through the storylines about the trial and tribulations of life. In contrast, most song lyrics were optimistic, exemplifying feel-good, simpler times. Many of the lyrics promote morale boosting. This is evident in Ray Steven’s lyrics in “Everything Is Beautiful.” The lyrics read, “Everything is beautiful / in its own way…And everybody’s beautiful.” This excerpt is an example of the positive song lyrics that topped the billboard charts in 1970. Love is a dominant theme in both movies and songs; however, each portrays love in different ways. In songs, love is strongly desired and is the central focus of many of the lyrics. An example of this comes from the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” where the singer is coercing his lover to come back to him, “Oh baby give me one more chance / (show you that I love you) / won’t you please let me / (back to your heart).” Although it is sometimes out of reach, love is portrayed in a typically positive, wholesome manner. Comparatively, in films, there is constant romantic drama frequently tied to strained marriages, infidelity, and scandals.
It is clear that there are conflicting themes between the two top ten lists. One of the primary reasons for the clash in themes resides in Hollywood’s unquestionable desire to embrace ongoing conflict. As a result, Hollywood produces mass quantities of films that include storylines that eagerly embrace strong oppositions, thus the popularity of war in 1970 movies. Additionally, time of artistic creation affects differences in themes of movies versus songs. It is more time-consuming to create a full-length movie than a hit single. The time factor creates a lag behind movies that is not attached to music. As a result, music tends to address more immediate issues than events projected on movie screens. This partially explains why 1970 movies deal with historical issues. In addition, movie production costs substantially more than music production. As a result, movies generally are more conservative because there is more financially at stake. Movies tend to be less edgy because it is necessary to have a greater mass appeal to recoup the investment in the film. Movie producers often choose “timeless and universal” stories to portray in their films because they are consistently profitable; however, these productions don’t necessarily reflect the up-to-the-minute times the way music does. More cutting edge art can be found in music because there is less monetarily at stake.
The song lyrics and images on movie screens from both top ten lists convey powerful messages in their themes from personal romantic love to the horror of war. In its own way, each art form reflects a corner of the culture of 1970, a time of great conflict and longing for personal fulfillment
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