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  • Essay / How the music industry used film to help create the...

    With all the social, political and cultural changes occurring in the 1960s, youth culture embraced ideologies of rebellion and counter -culture. The folk music of the 60s gave way to the new rock revolution and with it the iconic Rock Rebel. The Rock Rebel is a fictionalized existential figure who rebels against social conventions in a quest for value or a sense of freedom beyond the pre-existing conformities of society. (Camus; 1967) By analyzing, in a sociological context, the way in which the music industry used cinema to help create or reinvent the star image of rock icons, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, we can see how the signifier of Rebel Rock evolved with the developing rock culture. (Dyer; 1979: 1) Even before they first starred in the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night (HDN), the Beatles were already internationally acclaimed and it was this first film, made solely for the marketing of the soundtrack, which proved instrumental in evolving the Beatles from teen idols to more complex characters worthy of acceptance into "the pantheon of family favorites". (Neaverson; 1997: 11-12) Emulating aspects of the French New Wave, this kitchen sink, mockumentary revolted against the classic dramatized jukebox film that previously standardized the British pop film. (Medhurst; 1995: 61) The two main factors in this film which helped to reinvent the group's image were Alun Owen's screenplay and Richard Lester's control over the group's provincial, working-class image. (Neaverson; 1997: 21-22) The storyline, steeped in colloquialisms and Liverpool slang, not only rejected the overly paternalistic moral code evident in previous pop culture films, but also helped develop individual personality. of paper ......ure, pp. 94-105 Medhurst, A. 1995, “It Sort of Happened Here: The Strange Brief Life of the British Pop Film”, Celluloid jukebox: popular music and films since the 1950s, pp. 94-105. 60-71Neaverson, B. 1997, “You Can Do This!” A Hard Day's Night", The Beatles Movies, pp. 15-30Schowalter, D. 2000, “Remembering the dangers of rock and roll: towards a historical account of the rock festival”, Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 86-101 Sinyard, N. 1985, “2. Swingin' Sixties. The Films of Richard Lester, pp 19-38Films: A Hard Day's Night. 1964. [film] England: Lester, R.; United Artist.Cocksucker Blues. np [film] England: Frank, R.Gimme Shelter. 1970. [film] England: Maysles A. & D. & Zwerin, C.; Maysles Films. Help !. 1965. [film] England: Lester, R.; United Artist.Yellow submarine. 1968. [film] England: Dunning, D.; United Artist.