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GTK: Germaine Greer on rock culture, 1971

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Germaine Greer
GTK: Germaine Greer on rock culture, 1971

SUBJECTS: History

YEARS: 9–10


Does music have the power to change the world?

From the 1950s rock 'n' roll to later popular music of the 60s and 70s, music encouraged teenagers to rebel against the ideas and beliefs of earlier generations and, in some instances, to change society for the better.

In this clip, explore some of these changes from the perspective of Australian author Germaine Greer as she is interviewed for GTK in 1971.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What do you know of legendary 1960s bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who? How would you describe their clothes, music, behaviour, and their values? In what ways were they similar to, and different from, musicians who are popular with young people today? What do these similarities and differences suggest about the ways in which audiences have changed over time?
  2. 2.Germaine Greer makes an important distinction between the lyrics of the music she used to listen to as a child and the rock music of the day. What is this distinction and why is it significant? What connections does Greer draw between rock music and politics? How does she describe the status of women in rock culture?
  3. 3.In some instances, Germaine Greer suggests that rock culture didn't usher in the changes it was expected to. In what ways did the Rolling Stones's concert in Hyde Park 'fail to deliver'? Why, according to the interviewer, did young people become disenchanted with Mick Jagger? What gave the MC5 greater credibility? Greer seems to be in two minds about John Lennon. Why?
  4. 4.Towards the end of the clip, Germaine Greer says of young people, '… the music has been terrifically important in helping them to have any notion of themselves as an alternative society'. Talk to three people who were teenagers in the 60s and find out how important rock music was to them. Do their comments echo Greer's? Where do you and your friends turn to find a sense of who you are and what you can achieve? How important is music in this quest?


Date of broadcast: 1 Jan 1971


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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