Punk is not dead!

Punk's not dead

The past in the present: Can the spirit of punk still shake society?

BRAINSTORMING

If you don't know anything about the subject, go on the internet and do some research work.

What do you know about British society in the 1970s ?

Fashion: clothes and hairstyle

Politics

Economy

Music

What did you find online about British society in the '70s ?

1970s Britain: Historical Facts

Read the text and answer the questions.

Politics 1970: The Conservatives in power with Prime Minister (PM) Edward Heath. 1974-1979: Labor Party in power. Harold Wilson became PM in 1974. He resigned in 1976 and was replaced by James Callaghan. 1979: Margaret Thatcher, a Conservative, became Britain’s first female Prime Minister.

1. The four Prime Ministers in Great Britain in the 1970s were ...

2. The two Conservative PM of the decade were...

3. The two Labour PM of the decade were ...

Summary:

The economy The economy was in deep recession and the country was in debt. Industrial workers were badly affected as manufacturing industry collapsed. Inflation: The peak was reached in 1975 at almost 25% annually. So, prices were high and it was hard for people to buy basic commodities for everyday use.

There was also a high rate of unemployment among young people. 1973: International Oil Crisis. Price inflation reached double digits (=two figures like 10, 11, 12…) 1976: IMF bail-out (IMF: International Monetary Fund; bail-out = the IMF help with money). This was very extremely unusual for a developed nation.

1. All the words that indicate a movement or an economic movement:

• Backward movement =
• Upward movement =
• To fall down abruptly =
• To reach the top =
• A movement in a certain direction =
• A type of upward movement =

A crisis in terms of the economy means that ...

Summary:

Society Social unrest in Britain: The Winter of Discontent Winter of 1978-79, is called the “Winter of Discontent”. It was coldest winter for 16 years. Strikes paralyzed Britain: Lorry drivers, petrol tankers, hospitals, dustmen went on strike.

Public sector trade unions were demanding larger pay rises but the government (Labor government with James Callaghan as PM) was imposing rules that kept pay rises below 5% to counter inflation. The governments were unable to contain the strikes and this led to the rise of Margaret Thatcher (1979-1983; 1983-1987; 1987-1990).

The phrase “Winter of Discontent" is from the opening line of William Shakespeare's III "Now is the Winter of our Discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York…” The weather turned very cold in the early months of 1979 with blizzards and deep snow, the coldest since 1962–63, rendering some jobs impossible, reducing retail spending and worsening the economy.

Under Heath government, the country would go on to lose 9 million working days to strike action. His government was in constant turmoil, declaring a state of emergency in a peacetime record of five times. The last of these, in 1974, triggered an early election, bringing Harold Wilson back in power: a known face hoping to govern an increasingly ungovernable Britain. Many important private and public services were halted across the country.

Unburied coffins in Liverpool piled up and there was no garbage collection in many cities. The strikes were having a highly disruptive effect on the lives of average British citizens. The country was now in gridlock. (= dead end). There was a general feeling of helplessness. The government seemed completely unable to control either inflation or the strike action.

1. List all the problems that British society had to face in the 1970s :

• Weather =

1. List all the problems that British society had to face in the 1970s :

• Trade unions =

• When you stop working at the call of a workers organization and you demand changing work conditions or benefits =
• A severe snow storm =
• Distribution (usually of goods or products =

Vocabulary:

• Disorder =
• Truck drivers =

• Consequence of lorry drivers' strike =
• Trucks transporting gas =
• Consequence of petrol tankers' strike =

• Garbage man / garbage collector =
• Salary increase =

• The contrary of below =
• Work organizations that defend workers’ rights, negotiate higher pay raises with bosses and fight for workers’ benefits =

• When you buy something =
• To make the situation worse =
• Chaos =
• Declared by the government in times of social or political trouble =
• To start =

• People are put in it where they lay underground when they die =
• To break apart or to cause trouble =
• A dead-end; there is no exit possible =

Summary:

Counter-culture movement Punk rock emerged out of this chaos to express the British working class’s sense of anger and despair at the apparent hopelessness of its situation at the bottom of a rigid class hierarchy.

Punk rock was explicitly anti-establishment, and it articulated its opposition to socio-economic inequality not only through its songs but also through its fashion style. Punk championed a Do-It-Yourself aesthetic that involved appropriating banal objects from everyday life for outrageously bizarre purposes.

Safety pins, lavatory chains, belts and ripped clothing became “signs” that alluded to the bondage of the working class to poverty in a decadent consumerist society. The deliberate outlandishness (= bizarre, strange) of punk fashion also signaled the working class’ resigned acceptance of its alienated, ‘outcast’ status in British society.

Punk was also opposed to racism, which was strong in the 1970s. In fact, punk openly identified with the black music subculture of reggae. It admired reggae’s opposition to race and class oppression and its complete disavowal (= refusal) of white mainstream society.

1. Pick out the negative expressions in the first paragraph.

They lived in a system of rigid class hierarchy, which means that ...

There are three categories of classes:

2. Describe what characterizes the punk movement (2nd paragraph) :

They were against ... They wanted ...

They thought ...

3. List the different items used by punks (2nd paragraph) :

3b. What do they signify?

These items symbolized ...

4. What is the relationship between punk and black music?

Summary:

Iconic images of the 1970s in Britain

Find one iconic image of the 1970s and post a comment about it.

Look at the record sleeve and react !

1. What do you imagine about the song? 2. Listen to the song by the Sex Pistols and react to the music and the words you understand. 3. Pick out the elements that sound rebellious to you. 4. Pick out repeated words to find the expression that became the motto of the punk movement.

Oh when there’s no future How can there be sin We’re the flowers In the dustbin We’re the poison In your human machine We’re the future Your future God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen We mean it man There’s no future In England’s dreaming God save the queen No future No future No future for you No future No future No future for me No future No future No future for you

God save the queen The fascist regime They made you a moron A potential H bomb God save the queen She’s not a human being and There’s no future And England’s dreaming Don’t be told what you want Don’t be told what you need There’s no future No future No future for you God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen ‘Cause tourists are money And our figurehead Is not what she seems h God save history God save your mad parade Oh Lord God have mercy All crimes are paid

God Save the Queen by The Sex Pistols