What decades had a late start culturally in your opinion?

I would say the 1960s and the 1990s.  What we think of as "the sixties" weren't in full swing until 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated.  Beatlemania began in 1964 which began the core '60s.  The decade peaked late, with 1967-1969 being the quintessential years of the decade.  The early '60s, during Kennedy's Presidency, were an extension of the late 1950s.  I would say the '90s also had a late start.  True '90s culture began to emerge in 1992 and didn't become dominant until 1993.  1990 and to an extent 1991 were pretty much extensions of the late 1980s.

Some would say the 2000s didn't really get started until about 2004 (not me, usually it's average internet joes on Facebook, Youtube, etc. who say this), and that 2001-2003 was still leeching off the late 90s' feel.

Definitely the 50's. The zeitgeist didn't begin until the second half of the decade, in 1955 when the youth rebellion took off.


Depends. If you were transported back to 1950, I think you'd easily be able to tell that you were in the 1950s or the immediate post-war era.

The 60s are by far the biggest case of this. The first three years of that decade were almost purely a watered down continuation of late 50s culture. You may have had some things that were technically distinct to the period, like Roy Orbison, Del Shannon, Brian Hyland, The Twilight Zone, JFK, and The Flintstones, but hardly anything distinguished the era's overall culture and tone from the previous handful of years. It was still an era dominated by old school social values, beatniks instead of hippies, rockabilly music, generic song compositions, television shows shot in black and white, and Khrushchev being a bigger concern than Vietnam. The 60s didn't truly develop an identity for themselves until roughly the period from late 1962 to early 1964, when spy flicks became popular, hairspray, flips, and shift dresses really took off on in the fashion world; beat music. Surf rock, and countercultural folk became popular; and global politics gradually transitioned into a different era from 1953-1962, but even then, 1963 still felt caught heavily in between the two cultural decades, the 60s zeitgeist still not really having manifested itself yet. Things were not full-on 60s until about mid-1964.

The 60s are by far the biggest case of this. The first three years of that decade were almost purely a watered down continuation of late 50s culture. You may have had some things that were technically distinct to the period, like Roy Orbison, Del Shannon, Brian Hyland, The Twilight Zone, JFK, and The Flintstones, but hardly anything distinguished the era's overall culture and tone from the previous handful of years. It was still an era dominated by old school social values, beatniks instead of hippies, rockabilly music, generic song compositions, television shows shot in black and white, and Khrushchev being a bigger concern than Vietnam. The 60s didn't truly develop an identity for themselves until roughly the period from late 1962 to early 1964, when spy flicks became popular, hairspray, flips, and shift dresses really took off on in the fashion world; beat music. Surf rock, and countercultural folk became popular; and global politics gradually transitioned into a different era from 1953-1962, but even then, 1963 still felt caught heavily in between the two cultural decades, the 60s zeitgeist still not really having manifested itself yet. Things were not full-on 60s until about mid-1964.


Honestly, the period between late 1963-1965/66 is not even that different from the 50's, at least I don't think.  You might have had the Beatles and British invasion but the main things most people associate with the decade: hippies, psychedelia, mass protests didn't begin until roughly 1967.

Honestly, the period between late 1963-1965/66 is not even that different from the 50's, at least I don't think.  You might have had the Beatles and British invasion but the main things most people associate with the decade: hippies, psychedelia, mass protests didn't begin until roughly 1967.


There's a tendency for people to focus way more on the late 60s than any other part of the 1960s, but actually, the mid-60s are, in fact, very different from the early 60s. In music, not only was there the British Invasion, but Motown fully found its voice and began churning out soul classics far more memorable and powerful than the repetitively formulaic pop coming out in the early 60s. Beyond that, you had Bob Dylan at the height of his career, singers like Lesley Gore, Cilla Black, and Dusty Springfield bringing far more substance to female pop, and in general just far more of a willingness to creatively explore different types of compositions than the one-note age of before. Even artists like Roy Orbison and the Four Seasons were putting out more sophisticated music by 1964 than they were the years prior.

Television changed dramatically in 1964 and 1965, with countless new shows iconic to the whole decade premiering those years, while leftovers from the 50s and early 60s mostly subsided. Color started to become normal in tv shows, as well.

Protests were already a major part of the 60s back in 1963, with the March on Washington and the infamous police raids in Birmingham. The Black Panthers under Malcolm X were also a big deal early in the 60s.

Fashion from 1964 is extremely easy to distinguish from the 50s, thanks to the ubiquity of shift dresses, flipdos, beehives, and hairspray, plus guys beginning to adopt the British Invasion look.

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Latest Start: 1960s (1964 when it culturally started)
Earliest Start: 1970s (Some people say that 70s culture started around 1969)

The Black Panthers under Malcolm X were also a big deal early in the 60s.

Incorrect. You mean the Nation of Islam....which Malcolm X was a prominent member but not leader (he left the group and spoke out against it and was thus assassinated because of that).

The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, CA in 1966 (a year after Malcolm X was assassinated) by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.

Honestly, the period between late 1963-1965/66 is not even that different from the 50's, at least I don't think.  You might have had the Beatles and British invasion but the main things most people associate with the decade: hippies, psychedelia, mass protests didn't begin until roughly 1967.


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I don't think any of this is 50s.

Protests were already a major part of the 60s back in 1963, with the March on Washington and the infamous police raids in Birmingham. The Black Panthers under Malcolm X were also a big deal early in the 60s.


1. Malcolm X wasn't really the leader of the Black Panthers. In fact, he wasn't even a member of the party.
2. He was more influenced under the Nation of Islam, before he went to Mecca.
3. The Black Panthers and Nation of Islam were more of a big deal in the mid and late 1960s.

Just to correct you historically.

1. Malcolm X wasn't really the leader of the Black Panthers. In fact, he wasn't even a member of the party.
2. He was more influenced under the Nation of Islam, before he went to Mecca.
3. The Black Panthers and Nation of Islam were more of a big deal in the mid and late 1960s.

Just to correct you historically.

The Black Panther Party didn't even exist in Malcolm X's lifetime. The BPP came into existence in October 1966 and Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965.

The Black Panther Party didn't even exist in Malcolm X's lifetime. The BPP came into existence in October 1966 and Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965.


Well, at least my post was more historically accurate than Infinity's.

Well, at least my post was more historically accurate than Infinity's.

True.

I'm sorry for getting the details wrong - Malcolm X wasn't actually a black panther - but at the very least, he and the Nation of Islam WERE highly influential to the black panther philosophy, which is basically what I was aiming at.

I'm sorry for getting the details wrong - Malcolm X wasn't actually a black panther - but at the very least, he and the Nation of Islam WERE highly influential to the black panther philosophy, which is basically what I was aiming at.

If you're talking about a more militant approach to civil rights then...maybe. However, other than that the NOI and BPP aren't comparable (even though, they are compared often).

I'm sorry for getting the details wrong - Malcolm X wasn't actually a black panther - but at the very least, he and the Nation of Islam WERE highly influential to the black panther philosophy, which is basically what I was aiming at.


When did the 1980's begin, culturally, in your eyes??

When did the 1980's begin, culturally, in your eyes??


On a basic level, they started pretty much on time, but it wasn't really a solidly 80s world until late 1982, since late 1979 to mid-1982 was mostly a hybrid of 70s and 80s influences.

When did the 1980's begin, culturally, in your eyes??


The 80s began with a definitive crack in 1981. It was not a late blooming decade, culturally. 1980 still had a breeze of the 70s blowing through it. Jimmy Carter was still president. Then at the end of 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected, John Lennon was assassinated, and the country swung drastically to the conservative right almost in the blink of an eye. Seldom has a cultural decade turned so swiftly and so definitively. It was not gradual. Everything 70s and certainly everything 60s were  mocked and vilified. New wave fashions were 50s-like with skinny ties and lapels.  There was a sudden wave of Alex P. Keaton type "young  Republican" conservative youth, which would have been unheard of just a few years before. It was a strange time for those of us who had come through the 60s and 70s.

The 80s began with a definitive crack in 1981. It was not a late blooming decade, culturally. 1980 still had a breeze of the 70s blowing through it. Jimmy Carter was still president. Then at the end of 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected, John Lennon was assassinated, and the country swung drastically to the conservative right almost in the blink of an eye. Seldom has a cultural decade turned so swiftly and so definitively. It was not gradual. Everything 70s and certainly everything 60s were  mocked and vilified. New wave fashions were 50s-like with skinny ties and lapels.  There was a sudden wave of Alex P. Keaton type "young  Republican" conservative youth, which would have been unheard of just a few years before. It was a strange time for those of us who had come through the 60s and 70s.


It seems like only the first half of the 80's is where republican fashion really had a hold on things. Second half looked a lot different.

On a basic level, they started pretty much on time, but it wasn't really a solidly 80s world until late 1982, since late 1979 to mid-1982 was mostly a hybrid of 70s and 80s influences.


Karma.

The 80s began with a definitive crack in 1981. It was not a late blooming decade, culturally. 1980 still had a breeze of the 70s blowing through it. Jimmy Carter was still president. Then at the end of 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected, John Lennon was assassinated, and the country swung drastically to the conservative right almost in the blink of an eye. Seldom has a cultural decade turned so swiftly and so definitively. It was not gradual. Everything 70s and certainly everything 60s were  mocked and vilified. New wave fashions were 50s-like with skinny ties and lapels.  There was a sudden wave of Alex P. Keaton type "young  Republican" conservative youth, which would have been unheard of just a few years before. It was a strange time for those of us who had come through the 60s and 70s.


Nice to hear from both you and #Infinity's points of views. I'm not surprised. I believe people wanted stability after how tumultuous the 60's and 70's were. Perhaps that's why the 80's and 90's were relatively peaceful in America.