Why do I hate the 1970s so much?

[Marc Chevalier]

I tend to agree with that. For me, though, the '70s were awful in the '70s, yet somewhat better today. (After all, today is pretty awful, too.)

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[happyfilmluvguy]

The 70's had it's ups and downs. I like different aspects of it myself.

 

[koopkooper]

Having lived though the late 70's I would say that it was probably a bit kinder place for people like us (if you were old enough and into retro) as many of the clothes, style and attitudes still existed. I found the mid eighties harder to adjust to as everything sped up. I know of one cat who started collecting fifties stuff in the mid seventies and you should see his collection. Most of what he bought was just around fifteen years old and people were just chucking everything out.He bought a 1959 Chrysler from a man that was the guys first and only car and was in mint condition.

You must also remember that not everybodys fashion sense changed.
I have pictures from the mid seventies of my grand parents who still wore the same clothes they bought in the forties and fifties, they also drove a 1960 model Holden. My Aunt in 1979 till wore a twenties bob.

 

[Doh!]

Not to toot here, but,

70s suit

70s suit

You may hate it, but so far here in NY, nothing but compliments.

With all due respect, Senator, THAT is not a '70s suit.

THIS is a '70s suit:

(yep, that's me as a lad.)

 

[Dr Doran]

I'm surprised to hear that Berkeley hasn't changed much from its old stereotype. The friends I know going there aren't super liberal/activist (and I know a fair amount of people who currently go there). Could just be my friends are the exception to the rule?

Depends on what you mean, I suppose. There are fewer lemmings following whatever populist ranter promises to make them "free." Few people are occupying buildings -- but I don't respect that form of protest anyway. There is once in a while an affirmative action rally in which hapless grammar school teachers, liberal white young idealist types, will bring their entire third grade class to the Berkeley campus to DEMAND racial quotas for ethnic minorities in admissions (instead of teaching their students how to read well and study hard so that they do not need affirmative action). I guess if any of you consider this super liberal activist or "progressive" then that sort of politics is still relatively big there. There may be as much sex as there was in the early 70s but ever since AIDS there has been no true 'free love.' It's more careful now. (I would not really know, as I am married; however, I did finish my undergraduate there, before I was married, and it seemed like there was little prudishness on campus.) There are occasional surreal protests: I like these. There was a zombie rights march two weeks ago: everyone was dressed like a zombie. Nobody outside it knew if there was another meaning or metaphor intended. There was a naked protest, a fine thing when there are lovely-bodied young women protesting, about a year ago; they were protesting Berkeley sweatshirts made in sweatshops. A few hirsute males ruined it for the viewers. There is still one old guy from the late 1960s/early 70s who loves to rant and typically has a crowd of 8-12 Asian freshmen who think he is funny; just last week he blew a whistle as I walked by; I ignored it of course; then he called out, "hey sir," so of course I turned around; he said, "it looks like you didn't get that job!" which garnered some chuckles. I said, "that's pretty good, but I was not in fact interviewing for a job," and he, totally confused, said, "well then why are you dressed like that?"

To me, this is the true horror of the 70s. The fact that people think if you wear a suit and tie, you MUST be rooting for "the man" and on the side of "corporate deathculture" or whatever ... a mindless counterculturalism, beyond rationality, close-minded, often more about self-congratulation for being "counterculture" than about politics. They are stuck in the 70s forever.

 

[Senator Jack]

See, I actually like that suit, Doh. I like how the buttons have this weird symmetry. Nice color too!

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

With all due respect, Senator, THAT is not a '70s suit.

THIS is a '70s suit:

(yep, that's me as a lad.)

You look positively thrilled to death to be wearing it too.
I'm happy to say I didn't have one of those.

 

[Senator Jack]

To me, this is the true horror of the 70s. The fact that people think if you wear a suit and tie, you MUST be rooting for "the man" and on the side of "corporate deathculture" or whatever ... a mindless counterculturalism, beyond rationality close-minded, often more about self-congratulation for being "counterculture" than about politics. They are stuck in the 70s forever.

Blame it on American Trad.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I ignored it of course; then he called out, "hey sir," so of course I turned around; he said, "it looks like you didn't get that job!" which garnered some chuckles. I said, "that's pretty good, but I was not in fact interviewing for a job," and he, totally confused, said, "well then why are you dressed like that?"

To me, this is the true horror of the 70s. The fact that people think if you wear a suit and tie, you MUST be rooting for "the man" and on the side of "corporate deathculture" or whatever ... a mindless counterculturalism, beyond rationality, close-minded, often more about self-congratulation for being "counterculture" than about politics. They are stuck in the 70s forever.

Sounds like one of those frequent travelers that went on too many "trips".

 

[WEEGEE]

Just a few i think are great

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Aim_Is_True


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren_(Roxy_Music_album)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moondance

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Doran, is the "Polka Dot Man" still wandering around the campus? How about "Mr. Rare", and the "Bubble Lady"? And the "I Hate You Guy"?

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[Dan G]

My favorite music came out of the 60's and 70's.

 

[M L Correa]

I volunteer to the 70's list of haters...Man, think about the clothes... Awful ! Those checked blasers, giant lapels, large ties...looked like a bad joke from a depressed stylist...

I think that the 1970s were a spoiled and extended version of the late 1960s. Maybe we should blame WWII for that.

 

[Dr Doran]

Jack, I don't know the American Trad reference. The only trads I have heard of are "traditional skinheads" I knew in the 80s and 90s. And a LOT of them went into either rockabilly or swing or both. Correa (SHARP pic) I agree with your assesment of the 70s as continuation from the late 60s but let us remember that the early to mid 60s were different, really still the 50s. It was the late 60s/early 70s that represented the truly huge break in style from the long long period of "man keeps his hair short and wears a suit and tie" to something very very different from that. Nick, I agree that the funny man went on too many trips but I must say I myself have also done a great deal of LSD (in the late 80s only) and I didn't stay in the 80s, I moved on (to the 1930s). Doh, that picture is very sweet! At least you were not an ugly boy. As for the 70s being cool in the 70s -- dunno, I WAS alive during that entire decade and I have a superb memory, and I think it looked horrid back then, too, to be perfectly honest.
Did any of you read Frum's How We Got Here? It really is quite marvelous.
To me the truly most hideous thing fashionwise of all time is the multicolor tie dyed t-shirt which seems to be a visual depiction of a migraine.

 

[jamespowers]

From a stand-point of style and creative arts, my own personal taste holds that all the worst of everything came from the 60's and 70's.

Great minds think alike. If I could literally delete two decades of human history these two would be the casualties. I can live without everything done then---yes and I mean the technology too. we would have just figured it out later. Whee. Like I would enjoy modern airplane travel less if it were done by Stratoliner. :eusa_doh: The computers would look less like plastic junk and more like teh space age stuff we were promised in the 50s. :eusa_clap

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

To me, this is the true horror of the 70s. The fact that people think if you wear a suit and tie, you MUST be rooting for "the man" and on the side of "corporate deathculture" or whatever ... a mindless counterculturalism, beyond rationality, close-minded, often more about self-congratulation for being "counterculture" than about politics. They are stuck in the 70s forever.

You forgot to mention about the naked guy who used to walk around the campus naked and no one would do anything about it. :eusa_doh: Time has stood still for your fair city. I am reminded of the song:
"He's an old hippie and don't know what to do. Should he hang on to the old or grab on to the new."
Well, they are hanging on with both hands hard.

Regards,

J

 

[Dr Doran]

You forgot to mention about the naked guy who used to walk around the campus naked and no one would do anything about it. :eusa_doh: Time has stood still for your fair city. I am reminded of the song:
"He's an old hippie and don't know what to do. Should he hang on to the old or grab on to the new."
Well, they are hanging on with both hands hard.

Regards,

J

Sadly, I read about him recently. He developed schizophrenia and died. He went downhill after he left Berkeley student-hood.

 

[jamespowers]

With all due respect, Senator, THAT is not a '70s suit.

THIS is a '70s suit:

(yep, that's me as a lad.)

Yep, tell me about it. The damned things were hot with that fake material and they had an odd smell to them for some reason. They fit like a sack and the colors. :eusa_doh: Oh geez the colors.
I am sure I have such pictures of myself around here somewhere and when I find them they are going to burn like a Disco Inferno.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Dr Doran]

It is not only us vintage 1930s snobs who think of the hippies as kind of ... umm ...
Even many of the people FROM THE HIPPY GENERATION feel this way. Professor David Hollinger at Berkeley, who taught me American Intellectual History when I was an undergrad (amazing class! look up his stuff at Amazon) was a member of that generation. Once in lecture he said, "you know, I still occasionally see people I knew in the late 60s, still clutching old peace emblems and accusing anyone of selling out who wears a tie. And it's just very, very sad."

 

[jamespowers]

Sadly, I read about him recently. He developed schizophrenia and died. He went downhill after he left Berkeley student-hood.

He "developed" schizophrenia!? I think he had an undiagnosed case for decades before that. :eusa_doh: He could have led a longer life if he was somewhere else where they would have recogized that as a problem not a lifestyle choice. :eusa_doh: RIP Naked Guy.

Regards,

J