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Cole David

Professor Lynda Davis

ENG 20803

6 April 2017

Beatlemania: To Influence a Generation

The conclusion of WWII brought a huge shift in the American societys actions and

motives. People celebrated the end of an era full of war and violence. They settled down with

loved ones, worked stable jobs, and started families it was the true American Dream. In

1946, this new, blissful, environment jumpstarted the post-WWII baby boom. This generation

grew up in a unique American society, and as societys biggest class, they played a huge part in

the socio-cultural ideological shift that began during their teenage years, specifically, the 1960s.

This era, dominated by a new rise of popular culture, influenced this mass shift towards a more

openminded, inclusive, society. The Baby Boomers became

the first teenage generation to establish themselves as an

important sect of American society. Teenagers no longer

lived a life contained by the parameters laid out by their

parents. This sense of self-empowerment came directly from

the leaders of the rising popular- rock culture such as Jimi

Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and, most importantly, John Lennon and The Beatles.

The Beatles quickly became an American household name and they set the bar for the

future of the music industry. Although originally only a part of popular culture, they eventually

established an influence that went way beyond just entertainment. Their subculture, dominated

by this large Baby Boomer generation, became too large to ignore. With the confluence of
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timing, technological and media advancement, and the American Revolution-style mentality,

The Beatles, an English rock band formed in 1960, took America by storm in 1964, and brought

a cultural influence more popular than [that of] Jesus Christ. (Cleave)

Historical Context

The conclusion of WWII in 1945 led to a mass shift of ideological stance in America. The

horrors of WWII and the Holocaust opened the eyes of the global population. People all over the

world celebrated the end of an era full of violence and destruction, especially in the United

States. American families reunited and the economy finally recovered from the Great

Depression. The American Dream lived on and the most populous generation of American

history, known as the Baby Boomers, was born. This generation would become a major socio-

cultural influence in the future of America. The Baby Boomer generation made up the teenage

population during the 1960s, an era full of controversy, anti-establishment counterculture

movements, and a progressive empowerment of the youth. With the help of advancements in

radio and television medias, communication in America reached an all-time high. Ideas now

moved at a swift pace unfamiliar to the global and American societies. The US government

censored many of the horrors occurring during WWI and II, but now, with the increase in global

communication, this proved impossible. The increase in communication capabilities also allowed

for many previously unheard voices to be heard. People went from a reality of influence coming

only from their immediate family and friends to one that allowed influences to come from all

over the globe.

This globalization of American society provided a new perception for US citizens, and

when the US Army joined the Vietnam War effort the population perceived it in a different way

than any other war of the past. As stated by Daniel Hallin in an article for Museum.tv, the
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Vietnam War was the first television-war (Hallin). For the first-time, American citizens felt the

sheer emotion of fighting in the war, because they could witness it from the comfort of their

homes. The Vietnam War era held an immense impact on the daily American life; people wanted

comfort and security. The rising pop culture, led by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling

Stones, and The Beatles, in the 1960s brought the comfort and security that society had searched

for. Music seemed to soothe the wounds of a society terrified of global destruction. This allowed

entertainers such as Hendrix or Lennon to become socio-cultural leaders in a broken American

society, that influenced an entire generation as well as many others to follow.

Rhetorical Analysis

In the 1960s, an era full of controversy, movements of individual empowerment and anti-

establishment views hit the mainstream. People wanted control of their lives and many believed

that the government intended to divest them of this control. The widespread opposition between

the public and the authority held controversial during the eras of Pro/Anti-Communism

movements, the Vietnam War, and many other controversies ongoing during this time. Americans

wanted to support and have pride in their country, but many felt they couldnt do so because of

the immorality of the people in power. Society came to a crossroads, where everything was

controversial, and people were forced to choose sides. This was an era now known as the

British Invasion, a time when the 1960s British pop and rock music counterculture travelled

across the Atlantic and quickly became a large and influential sect of American society. This

gave an immense amount of political power to those artists who led the music industry. The swift

pace of communication allowed people to develop ideas and emotions conveyed by musicians

through their music. These emotions allowed listeners to feel a connection to their favorite artist

deeper than that of their family or close friends, and as a result, society viewed these musicians
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as an extremely credible source of information. Once an entertainer could connect with their

audience emotionally (pathos), they could establish a credibility (ethos), that allowed them to

convey their ideas (logos) to an un-bias and supportive audience. This segment viewed these

entertainers as a trustworthy friend, so their music became the voice of the generation.

1964 Invasion of Beatlemania in America: A Hard Days Night (film)

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On February 7, 1964, over 8,000 screaming fans and 200 journalists watched as The

Beatles stepped off Pan Am flight 101 on to the runway in New York City, making their first

appearance in America. The band travelled to America to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, a

broadcast viewed by over 73 million people roughly two-fifths of the American population. A

few months after the band visited the US for the first time, a film-documentary called A Hard

Days Night, portraying a day in the life of a Beatle, was released. The black and white 1964

film, despite a low budget of $500,000, earned about $11 million by the

year 1971, received numerous nominations and recognition, including two

Academy Award Nominations, and a spot on TIME Magazines All

TIME 100 Movies (Corliss). Opening in United Kingdom theaters July

6, 1964, and worldwide August 11, 1964, this film set the benchmark

for music film production, and remains influential to this day (thebeatles.com). The director,

Dick Lester, effectively captured the claustrophobia of Beatlemania, while also providing an

up-close and personal portrayal of the unique charisma possessed by each of the bands members

(Lester) (thebeatles.com). Roger Ebert, an established screenwriter and film critic, noted the film

as one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies (Ebert). The film started as an

introduction of The Beatles, a four-man rock band, eager to color outside the lines of society, and

it ended as a monumental piece that changed the music and film industries, as well as the socio-

cultural stance of the American and global society.

Although the film was produced to promote the band and their music, its underlying

theme translated into the theme of a generation and an era. The film discreetly promoted a theme

of liberation. Millions of people witnessed these soon-to-be cultural icons, sport an unmanaged,

shaggy hair-style, give witty remarks to reporters, running childishly away from thousands of
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screaming girls, and persistently acting in accordance to the way they feel (Lester 1964);

(Ebert 1996). These actions, admired by the youth, later translated into a message promoting

rebellion and defiance from the establishment and its orders. A message taken to heart and

reiterated by the baby boomer-teenage population of the 1960s era.

The most vital part this film played in the cultural shift that took place in the 1960s is the

personal introduction it provided of each Beatle member. The film gave personality and

credibility to the creators of the most popular music of the era. People all over the world watched

this film and felt as if they knew Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison at a personal level,

which, in turn, established an unrivalled emotional connection between The Beatles and their

beloved fans.

Protest Music of the 1960s: The Beatles - Revolution

Many entertainers used logical and

emotional appeals in their lyrics to sway their

audiences view on any of the many controversies

going on in America during this time. With the

combination of both, the rise in popular culture,

and the mass globalization in America, The Beatles in 1966 were, as conveyed in an article by a

Professor of History at George Mason University, Sam Lebovic, no longer a British group

apart from domestic concerns; now they were very much a part of Americas cultural

controversies (Lebovic 2017). In 1968, The Beatles released their first protest-style song,

written by John Lennon, Revolution. In this song, Lennon took an alternative approach to the

controversial nature of the current society and called for the promotion of peace by peaceful

action. The idea is effectively conveyed in Lennons first verse stanza:

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You say you want a revolution

Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that its evolution (Lennon 1-4)

Lennon immediately establishes his target audience and directs a blatant theme and message to

them. A promoter of peace, Lennon aspired to have a peaceful influence on his audience and he

used this line, song, to establish a logos appeal against the violent protestors in society. Yoko

Ono, Lennons widow, provided a more distinct perspective on these lyrics in a 1998 interview:

John's idea of revolution was that he did not want to create the situation where when you
destroy statues, you become a statue. And also what he means is that there's too much
repercussion in the usual form of revolution. He preferred evolution. So you have to take
a peaceful method to get peace rather than you don't care what method you take to get
peace, and he was very, very adamant about that (SongFacts 2010)

Using both emotional (pathos) and logical (logos) appeals, with

his representation of credibility (ethos), Lennon articulated an

outspoken opinion that was heard by and influential to an

unbiased audience in only about twenty words. The White Album

and Revolution, represent a significant cornerstone in The

Beatles legacy because it marked the first time the band used

their status and music to promote an agenda relating to the

current global controversies.

The Beatles Influence on Modern Society

The masterminds behind 20 Number 1 hits, 1,278 total weeks on the charts, over 1 billion

records sold, 1,400 plus worldwide performances, and 4 spots on the Rolling Stone magazine

Top 10 Greatest Albums of All Time list (Howard 2016); The Beatles without a doubt still hold

a considerable influence on the current standing of the music industry and the American culture.

They possessed an ability to consistently create music that resonated with the feelings and
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emotions of an entire class. The band proved to the world, and the music industry, that it was

possible to create a sound that everyone, from all corners of the world, could enjoy.

In Eight Days a Week- The Touring Years, a 2016 documentary highlighting the

Beatlemania Era, the Beatles fan base is portrayed in several scenes as thousands people, of all

ages and ethnicities, crowded into a concert venue screaming in astonishment of the band

(Howard 2016). An academic journal written by Marcus Collins, a Senior Lecturer in Cultural

History at Loughborough University, explained the perception of Beatlemania in the 1960s

academic community:

Psychiatrists Erwin Stengel and William Sargant respectively compared Beatlemania to

epidemic hysteria in Nigeria and the brainwashing, conversion, and mass hysteria
induced by witchdoctors and Adolf Hitler. (Stengel 1966; Times 1964); (Collins 2014)

These established doctors could only compare the societal behavior influenced by Beatlemania to

unnatural human experiences such as medical/hunger induced hysteria. All people took note of

the bands influence, even those active in the academic communities. The Beatles influence was

recognized as not only a turning point for the music industry, but also for the global society. The

power possessed by the band, could not be explained with scientific evidence or conclusions, and

their influence proved superior to many of the temporary cultural icons of the era. The bands

influence even surpassed that of their very own cultural icons, such as Elvis Presley and Bob

Dylan.

Post-WWII, the world was in a state of extreme tension and the innocence of the youth

was stolen by the horrific events such as the Holocaust, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and

many other world-startling events. The American youth of the early 1960s searched for a cultural

change, and in 1964, with the invasion of the British rock band sensation, The Beatles, this

transformation began. Lennon and The Beatles held a vital place in the British counterculture
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movement that flourished in the United Kingdom during the early 1960s, and when they arrived

in America they brought this movement with them. The commencement of the American anti-

establishment counterculture movement goes back to the 1963 assassination of President John F.

Kennedy, two months before The Beatles Ed Sullivan Show appearance; a significant moment in

music and television history that crafted inspiration for many future American musicians, such as

Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel, who once proclaimed in an interview, The single

biggest moment that I can remember being galvanized into wanting to be a musician for life was

seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show (Hill 2014). The band provided comfort to a society

broken by the ongoing world-wide controversies. They represented a generations peace and

serenity during a destructive and violent era. Their charisma and many talents caught the

attention of millions, and their compassion and aspiration for world peace transformed that

attention into a devotion.

During their US touring years, 1964-1966, The Beatles performed at over 60 US venues

in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, including the notable 1965 Shea Stadium Concert that

housed 55,000 screaming Beatles fans (Howard 2016). The Beatles wore an anti-establishment

counterculture persona, with their shaggy hair, bold statements, witty personalities, and their

outspoken mind altering drug-use (Howard 2016). Despite their mischievous nature, the Brit-

Rock quartet displayed a compassion for others so powerful, that they felt a conviction to take

the lead toward a more united, and open-minded society. They promoted a movement toward

world peace and acceptance of others. The band quickly became a cultural icon in the eyes of

Americas 1960s youth. The separating factor between The Beatles cultural impact against other

famous musicians impact is that their influence did not die with the breakup of the band in 1970.

They brought more influence and change in four years of touring, than bands like The Rolling
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Stones, who still tour today. The Beatlemania in America

not only influenced the future of the music industry, but also an

entire American generation and the many generations to

follow.

Conclusion

The Beatles impact on the entertainment industry, and American culture has not been

rivaled by any other band or entertainer of all time. They brought a counterculture movement

across the Atlantic and normalized it into the dominant culture of an entire American generation.

The Baby Boomers, being the most populous American generation of all time, spread this culture

of love, unity, and peace across an entire nation and passed their values down to the generations

that now make up the contemporary American society. The Beatles transformed the culture of an

entire nation and every modern American citizen has been shaped, in some way or another, by

their influence.

Word Count- 2631

Authors Note
Development
This is the final draft of my Comprehensive Rhetorical Case Study Final Paper, finished
the first draft Monday, April 17. Since then, I had several classmates read and edit my paper in
accordance with the peer review papers handed out in class. I made several edits to ensure
correct grammar and punctuation, sufficient organization and structure as well as perfecting the
overall flow of my paper. On April 26, my paper was edited by a professor at the WRT Writing
Center. While there, I collaborated with the professor to correct and edit my papers formatting,
clarity, grammar, and punctuation.
My Assessment
This paper, intimidating at first, turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting assignment.
I feel confident that I could spend days and days writing about this subject. During my research I
found it extremely interesting how many Scholarly Sources there were on my subject. Its truly
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amazing that The Beatles were so influential, many scholars and professors at high-caliber
universities are: 1. even writing about a four-man rock band from Liverpool, UK and 2. Are still
writing about their accomplishments, and influence almost 53 years later. I also would like to
thank you for being such an excellent professor, you expanded my writing skills way beyond my
expectations. Very few professors can consistently create a positive and uplifting learning
environment, like you did this semester. Im sure having a career that consists of teaching 18-22
year-olds can be very discouraging at times, but I just wanted to let you know that, as students,
we do notice the difference between a professor who is just doing their job and one who truly
cares about us and our future. Thank you for all that you have done and know that you are
appreciated.
General Questions
I believe at the beginning of the semester you said that by the last paper we would be
very confident in our writing abilities and assignment guidelines, and you were absolutely right. I
feel very confident that I developed a strong paper, with clear and supported ideas and
conclusions.
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Works Cited and Consulted (Primary | Scholarly)

A Hard Day's Night. Dir. Richard Lester. Perf. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
and Ringo Starr. Proscenium Films, 1964.

Lennon, John, and Paul McCartney. Revolution The White Album. Apple Records,
Spotify 1968, https://play.spotify.com/track/5KGLcZLBCAqdPP6sa5zLYs

Lebovic, Sam. Here, There and Everywhere: The Beatles, America, and Cultural
Globalization, 19641968. Journal of American Studies, vol. 51, no. 1, 2017, pp. 43
65., doi:10.1017/S0021875815002686.

Collins, Marcus. We Can Work It Out: Popular and Academic Writing on the Beatles. Popular
Music History, vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 79-101. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1558/pomh.v9il.27619.

Hallin, Daniel. "Vietnam on Television." The Museum of Broadcast Communications

Encyclopedia of Television - Vietnam on Television. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Lennon, John. How Does a Beatle Live? Interview by Maurice Cleave. London Evening
Standard. Mar. 1966. Television.

Lennon, John, and Paul McCartney. Revolution The White Album. Apple Records, Spotify
1968, https://play.spotify.com/track/5KGLcZLBCAqdPP6sa5zLYs

"Revolution by The Beatles Songfacts." Song Meanings at Songfacts. N.p., 15 Feb. 2010
Web. 13 Feb. 2017

Eight Days a Week- The Touring Years. Dir. Ron Howard. Perf. John Lennon, Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Apple Corps, 2016. Film.

"A Hard Day's Night." The Beatles. Apple Corps., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Ebert, Roger. "A Hard Day's Night (1964): Film Review." Rev. of A Hard Day's Night. (n.d.): n.
pag. Rogerebert.com. Ebert Digital LLC, 1996. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Corliss, Richard. "All TIME 100 Movies: A Hard Day's Night." Time Magazine. Time Inc., 14
Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Hill, Lee. "Top 10 Musicians Influenced By The Beatles." Signature Living. Signature Living, 29
July 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.