Top 10 Songs
10. The Beatles -Long and Winding Road
9. Ray Stevens - Everything is beautiful
8. The Guess Who - American Woman
7. Jackson Five - ABC
6. The Beatles - Let it Be
5. Simon& Garfunkle - Bridge Over Troubled Waters
4. Sly & Family Stove - Thank You For Being My Friend
3. The Shocking Blue - Venus
2. Jackson Five - I Want you Back
1. B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
Top 10 Movies
10. Joe
9. I Never Sang For My Father
8. Little Big Man
7. Five Easy Pieces
6. Love Story
5. Tora! Tora! Tora!
4. MASH
3. Airport
2. Ryan’s Daughter
1. Patton
We compiled our list and found summaries for our movie list here.
After much research, we were able to develop a top ten list of movies from 1970. In the end, it was the academy awards reference that was used to determine which movies were the most popular. Although each movie had a different plot, they were all dramas. Along with being dramas, the two other types of genres that were most used were war-based and romantic. The top ten songs from 1970 followed a similar pattern to the movies when it comes to their themes. For the most part, they were all either love songs or ones of a positive nature. The movies sought to reflect a darkened society because of war, while songs attempted to uplift society and not remind the people of the war in Vietnam.
On April 30, 1970, Nixon ordered U.S troops to invade Cambodia without seeking congressional approval. Nixon did not anticipate the protest that would follow leaving four dead and nine wounded at Kent State in Ohio, two dead and twelve wounded at Jackson State University in Mississippi, and other demonstrations at about fifty campuses. Many Americans grew dissatisfied with the war in Vietnam. The war continued on for several years with no hope of ending anytime soon with the Americans as victors [1]. This dampened America’s outlook on life and created a clouded, despairing society. Many of the films and movies of the time reflected these conditions. Over half of the movies on the top ten list were dramas involving themes of war, violence, or action. Four of the movies, Patton, Tora! Tora! Tora!, MASH, and Little Big Man, directly dealt with war. Times of war created instability, so the other movies, although, some were love stories, reflected this theme. For example, Ryan’s Daughter was a movie that showed the instability of a marriage eventually leading to betrayal. Joe was a movie about how a father’s insecurities lead to murder of his daughter’s boyfriend and other complications. The themes of these movies and the feelings one gets after watching them, correspond with the events of the time.
In 1970, the themes of the top ten songs on the other hand, were opposite the themes of the top ten movies. The top songs were mostly about love and happiness. The # 10 song, Long and Winding Road, was a love song about someone who lost the love of their life and now thinks about it all the time. The # 9 song, Everything is Beautiful, was a song about how everything that was created no matter what it was, was beautiful. The #8 song, American Woman, was about an old love that someone once had, but now is trying to forget about the girl and relationship. The #7 song, ABC, was the only song that wasn’t about love; it was more of a happy and upbeat song. The #6 song, Let It Be, was religious in nature. It’s about someone who wanted to get advice from a religious figure. The #5 song, Bridge Over Troubled Water was a love song about a lover who promised he would take care of his girlfriend no matter what bridge they crossed. The #4 song, Thank You For Being My Friend was about being oneself and not having to pretend to be someone else. The #3 song, Venus, was a love song about fantasy. The #2 song, I Want You Back, was about a couple breaking up. Then the man realized he needed his girlfriend and now wants her back. The #1 song, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, was about people who had bad luck and could do nothing about it. The themes of the 1970 top ten songs reflect love and happiness because they tried to keep people upbeat and not think about the war in Vietnam. Most people listened to the radio or music on a daily basis and did not want to hear about the latest casualties of the war. So music was a positive force that provided a diversion from the horrors of war.
[1] Faragher et all, Out of Many, p. 590.
The commentator for the group was Jaime. We met two times, once before Thanksgiving break and one time after. We met for about an hour each time. During our meetings, we were able to compile a Top 10 Movies list. After that, we divided up the workload evenly for this blog. Alex wrote the introduction, Jaime wrote a body paragraph and Amanda wrote a body paragraph. Margaret and Julian then edited the blog and added in their own ideas.
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