Crossroads: American Popular Culture and the Vietnam Generation

(Paperback)

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Description

The Vietnam War affected nearly every aspect of American life. It altered the economy, challenged citizens to reassess their values, and played a key roll in the downfall of two presidential administrations. However, most people's attention remained focused on their daily livesincluding the latest movie, the baseball score, and the new group on American Bandstand. But those elements were not immune from the war's effects.

American popular culture changed dramatically during the Vietnam erafrom Leave it To Beaver to All in the Family and from Bobby Darin to Bob Dylan. In Crossroads, historian Mitchell K. Hall explores the popular culture that shaped the baby boomers and the transformation that generation wrought in movies, television, sports, and music. As he traces the evolution of American culture, Hall looks at the ways in which these cultural elements not only underwent radical structural changes, but also reflected the upheaval and unrest in Vietnam era America.

Reviews

Mitchell K. Hall's fascinating book shows that between the Fifties and the Seventies movies, television, music and sports in the United States became much less controlled and restricted. The resulting revolution in American popular culture brought out vibrant new forms of entertainment and expression. -- Robert Brent Toplin, author of Reel History: In Defense of Hollywood
Mitchell Hall's Crossroads is an exciting trip through American popular culture from the 1950s to the 1970s. It is all hereTV, movies, sports, rock and rollall in living color from American Bandstand to Muhammad Ali to Woodstock to The Godfather. An entertaining read, especially for students who did not live through that era. -- Terry H. Anderson, author of The Movement and the Sixties
Professor Hall has written a model study of American popular culture that will make wonderful reading in appropriate college courses. He wisely chooses to focus on four aspects of pop culture from 19501980movies, television, sports, and popular musicand has a fine eye for the telling quotation and pertinent detail. Students and faculty alike will find it enjoyable and illuminating. -- Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State University
The book is packed with useful and entertaining information and insights. Recommended. -- J. A. Hijiya, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth * Choice Reviews *
Hall . . . presents a wealth of possible texts, events and cultural residues to consider under the rubric of the Vietnam Generation. -- Graham Chia-Hui Preston, University of Melbourne * Media International Australia *
Especially useful for grasping the contemporaneity of popular culture trendsfrom film and television to music and sports. Would be very useful for any class focusing on the Vietnam era, a time redolent with popular culture influences. -- Peter C. Rollins, editor-in-chief, Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and TV Studies

Author Bio

Mitchell K. Hall is professor of history at Central Michigan University. He is the author of The Vietnam War and Because of Their Faith: CALCAV and Religious Opposition to the Vietnam War.