The Vietnam War: The Entertainment in Relation to Social Outcries

1
The Vietnam War The Entertainment in Relation to
Social Outcries

• By Jackson Harter
• Hour 4

2
Important Questions

• What was the relation between student protests
  and other public forms of disapproval, and the
  popular musicians of the era, during the Vietnam
  War?

3
Important Info

• Slide 3-13 Popular Artists of the time period
• Slide 14-22 Important dates in music, popular
  discontent, and Vietnam War
• Slide 23-25 Thoughts and Reasoning
• Slide 26-28 Final Analysis

4
Joan Baez

• She was highly involved in the resistance of the
  Vietnam War effort. She did not pay taxes 1964 to
  protest the war and greatly supported draft
  resistance. She went as far as to publicly
  discredit the US even after the war because of
  the atrocities she claims the army committed.

5
Buffalo Springfield

• Was against the USs effort throughout the war
  and effectively displayed it with the song For
  What Its Worth. The war is not directly tied
  with Vietnam, but the USs poor choices and
  ineffective ways at handling the unrest in the
  US. For What Its Worth, in 1967, got to 7 on
  the Billboard Hot 100.

6
Creedence Clearwater Revival

• This band broke up and got back together many
  times, but their notable addition to the anti-war
  sentiment in the US was their hit song Fortunate
  Son in 1969. Fortunate Son talks about how
  unfair the draft is in favor of fortunate people.
  If you were the son of a wealthy or important
  individual you didnt have to go to Vietnam
  because of your superior position to many others
  in American society.

7
Bob Dylan

• Although Dylan was a major songwriter and
  lyricist of his time. He focused mostly on
  domestic problems as the target of his music and
  not Vietnam. He sang a lot about helping out
  those who are in poverty. Bob Dylan does mention
  the problems in Vietnam however with his songs
  Masters of War, Talkin John Birch Paranoid
  Blues, and The Times They Are A-Changin.

8
The Beatles

• The Beatles were the most popular band of this
  time and the era before it. During the Vietnam
  War era, they came out with songs that protested
  and questioned the war, although they were never
  really associated as a anti-Vietnam band. They
  came out with the song Revolution. The song
  Revolution talks about many of the problems
  with the world, which indirectly includes the
  problems associated with Vietnam, but not Vietnam
  itself.

9
The Rolling Stones

• Although the Rolling Stones never really directly
  spoke out against the war, their opening song of
  their album Let It Bleed, Gimme Shelter in 1969
  warns the listener of what the world is to come
  to, apocalypse, if they let wars like Vietnam
  continue. The whole Let It Bleed album was
  listened to and respected by much of the Rock
  nRoll world.

10
Jimmy Cliff

• Jimmy Cliff is important in the resistance to
  Vietnam because he attracted a whole new audience
  due to his Reggae background in music. The song
  Vietnam released in 1970 directly speaks out
  against the inequality involved in the draft, and
  speaks of the hardships at home during the war.

11
Steve Earle

• Although Earle was just gowning up and wasnt a
  popular country singer when the US became
  involved in Vietnam, his surroundings while
  starting his career made him not only hate all
  wars, but the Vietnam War in particular. Unlike
  many people though, Earle empathized with the
  Veterans instead of hating them for being
  involved in the war.

12
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

• Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young was a folk group
  not so much involved in the opposition of
  Vietnam, but the opposition of the government of
  the time. Mainly, their song, Ohio released in
  1970 after the Kent State shootings. The group
  focused their abuse on the Nixon Administration
  and the mistreatment of students during protests.

13
Johnny Cash

• Johnny Cash was upset with the government for
  getting into Vietnam, but not upset with the
  soldiers because he knew it wasnt their fault
  that they were there. After visiting Vietnam,
  Cash wrote Singin in Vietnam Talkin Blues.
  The song speaks of the constant battering of
  shells, the harsh conditions of the country, and
  in it, he tends to show sympathy for the soldiers.

14
Important Events of 1964

• Joan Baez resists taxes in early part of year
• Creedence Clearwater Revival-starts band, no
  releases
• Dylan releases The Times They Are A-Changin
• The Beatles release A Hard Days Night and
  Beatles for Sale
• Earle- develops anti-Vietnam mentality
• Johnny Cash releases The Original Sun Sound of
  Johnny Cash
• First major student protest against Vietnam in
  Time Square- 1000 students

15
Important Events of 1965

• Bob Dylan releases his influential album Highway
  61 Revisited
• March- Students for a Democratic Society
  organizes the first teach-in against the Vietnam
  War, with 2,500 participants, at the University
  of Michigan.
• April- The first SDS march against the Vietnam
  War draws 25,000 protestors to Washington, DC.
• May-The largest teach-in to date begins at
  Berkeley, California, attended by 30,000.
• June- A planned anti-war protest at The Pentagon
  becomes a teach-in, with demonstrators
  distributing 50,000 leaflets in and around the
  building.
• October- The National Coordinating Committee to
  End the War in Vietnam stages the first public
  burning of a draft card in the United States to
  result in arrest under the new law.

16
Important Events of 1966

• Bob Dylan releases Blonde on Blonde
• The Beatles release Revolver
• Joan Baez releases With God on Our Side
• Buffalo Springfield is formed
• Johnny Cash releases Everyone Loves a Nut
• March- demonstrations held nationally across the
  US against the war
• May- more demonstrators picket the White House
  and rally at the Washington Monument
• May- MLK makes his first speech involving Vietnam
• August- 50 demonstrators are arrested when they
  disrupt the House Un-American Activities
  Committee holds investigation to prosecute those
  helping the Viet-Cong

17
Important Events of 1967

• The Beatles release Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts
  Club Band
• Creedence Clearwater Revival is formed
• Buffalo Springfield releases famous anti-war song
  For What Its Worth
• April- MLK denounces the Vietnam War in sermons
• April- 14,000 march against the Vietnam War in
  San Francisco
• June- demonstrators and police clash at anti-war
  protest in LA where Johnson meets with Soviet
  Premiere
• October- tens of thousands of war demonstrators
  protest at the Pentagon

18
Important Events of 1968

• The Beatles release The White Album
• The Rolling Stones release Beggars Banquet
• Creedence Clearwater Revival releases their first
  album
• February- picture of a Viet-Cong member being
  executed sways mood about the war all over the
  world
• March- campus unrest is growing, students begin
  publicly protesting the war, draft, and ROTC as
  well
• April- student protesters at Colombia University
  in NY take over the school and shut it down
• May- The Cantonsville Nine burn dozens of Draft
  Cards with Napalm
• August- police clash with anti-war protesters
  outside of the Democratic National Convention

19
Important Events of 1969

• The Rolling Stones release Let It Bleed
• Woodstock is held in NY. Many anti-war artists
  played at Woodstock, increasing the anti-war
  sentiment
• Creedence Clearwater Revival releases the song
  Fortunate Son speaking the burden of the common
  man against the war
• Crosby, Stills, Nash release their first album
• John Lennon hosts a Bed-In for peace against
  the war
• May- National Guard puts skin stinging powder on
  anti-war protestors
• October- hundreds of thousands across the country
  participate in demonstrations known as the
  National Moratorium
• November- truth of the My Lai Massacre reaches
  the population of the US
• November- hundreds of thousands of people
  participate in The March Against Death in
  Washington D.C.
• John Lennon of the Beatles returns the MBE medal
  given to him by the British gov to protest
  Britains support of the Vietnam war
• December- first draft lottery since WWII is held

20
Important Events of 1970

• Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young release Ohio
  about the student shootings at Kent State
• Johnny Cash performs at the White House by the
  invitation of Richard Nixon
• Jimmy Cliff releases Vietnam speaking directly
  out against US government
• April- large anti-war demonstrations occur around
  the country to protest the invasion of Cambodia
  by the US
• May- 4 students are killed at Kent State
  University by National Guardsmen as they are
  protesting the war
• May- 100,000 demonstrators protest the war in
  D.C.
• September- anti-war protest held at Valley Forge
  attended by Jane Fonda and John Kerry

21
Important Events of 1971

• Jimmy Cliff releases Another Cycle
• Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young release 2 new
  albums
• May- National Poll shows that 60 of the US
  population is against the Vietnam War
• May- as many as 12,000 protesters are arrested in
  D.C. while trying to disrupt government

22
Important Events of 1972

• Jimmy Cliff releases The Harder They Come
• August- Jane Fonda travels to Vietnam and makes
  anti-war broadcasts from there

23
Thoughts

• The relationship between music and protesters
  could be one of the following

24
Music to Protesters

• In this form of relationship, the music is made
  first trying to convince the listener of the
  artists opinion. The artist is trying to get the
  listener to believe in something that they may or
  may not yet believe in. For the time period, this
  is a very possible scenario because of the hippie
  movement and wide range of very popular artists
  that reach many people like The Rolling Stones,
  The Beatles, Bob Dylan, etc.

25
Protesters to Music

• Here, artists will create music based off of the
  events and actions of the protesters of the war.
  By relating like this, the protesters are
  influencing the musicians and not the other way
  around like in Music to Protesters in slide 24.
  This scenario is very likely as well since the
  Vietnam War Era was filled with many
  controversial and moving events that involved
  protesters.

26
Final Analysis

• After reviewing dates, the second form of
  relationship, on slide 25, with protesters
  influencing music is much more likely than the
  first scenario. With songs like Vietnam, Four
  Dead in Ohio, and For What Its Worth it is
  easy to see that although the songs were very
  moving, they were based off of events that had
  already happened to the protesters.

27
Final Analysis

• With 60 of the US population already unhappy
  with the war in Vietnam, it was much harder to
  influence a population to oppose Vietnam when
  much of the nation already did. However, there
  are some exceptions, like the song Fortunate
  One in which Creedence Clearwater Revival is
  calling out the US government that the poor
  people are fighting a rich persons war.

28
Final Analysis

• With many people listening to the radio and
  following the popular music movement, the artists
  did not find it hard to reach their listeners.
  However, after researching the topic, popular
  artists were much more effective at moving their
  listeners with their actions rather than their
  words. Burning of draft cards and resisting to
  pay taxes was as powerful as any words sung
  throughout the Vietnam Era.

29
Final Analysis

• However, as powerful as many artists were. Many
  chose not to oppose Vietnam and had no side on
  the topic. Many more artists could have chose to
  oppose Vietnam and raise anti-war feeling in the
  US and all over the world. Only a few artists
  chose to use their power of voice.