From the evolution of early man roaming around with stones like nomads, to
the time technology has now taken over the world. Pop Culture in every society has an astonishing power to induce emotions. We have seen Pop Culture evolve in its own little shell.
~ From giant Gramophones to Vinyl players to iPods to tiny apps like Spotify,
we have changed so much time after time ~
Why and how was this possible?
It’s because we humans have combined technology and our brains. The brain
that is continuously caught up with so many thoughts, imaginative ideas that
not only have shaped up our being, but also made us realise that we still have
the ability to think differently and just use AI or Technology just as a tool and
not as a right-hand person. We have utilised technology and our minds
together to enhance our living, entertainment, fashion, politics, & our
economic sector through the years.
The rise in the use of social media & networking sites has made it easier for
designers, magazine & newspaper editors, film makers to gauge or analyse the upcoming trends in every sector of the world. Due to advances in technology, digital filmmaking has enabled people to make various films of different genres.
If we divide the world into 4 main eras, they would be:
• 1960-70s
• 1980s
• 1990s
• 2000s
1) 1960-70s:
FASHION: An era where everything was chic. It was the beginning of modern
pop culture. Where long bell bottoms with denim or polka dot patterns were
like a thing for the people of the 70s. Where long flared tops for females and
tight tshirts with long knee length boots could be seen if we see through any
long old magazines.
PEAK THINGS OF THE ERA: From kids to old people, exchanging vinyl records
was an experience every child must have, whether it's now or back in time.
MUSIC: Men with long hair, most fashionable thing which was at peak at that time, slowly started to fade away. Rock n roll bands like: The Doors, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath came with a god-gifted enlightenment around them, creating such deep impact on the
entire music history that even I, being a GenZ child, still listen to such legendary people.
MOVIE BLOCKBUSTERS: Hollywood movies like: The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Jaws, Star Wars were like the shining stars of hollywood sector.
In Bollywood we had: Sholay (ofc), Don, Gol Maal, Namak Haraam, Chotti Si
Baat, Shataranj Ke Khiladi made their own way out known as the greatest
movies of all time in India, which I suppose cannot be remade by anyone.
2) 1980s:
FASHION: An era of DISCO, passion, excitement, fame & fantasy running
around globally! People still keeping up with men having long hair but with a
different style. Women have their hairstyles permed, with sparkly outfits.
People prefer roller skates to normal shoes so that they can jump on a disco
rink with a giant disco ball hanging in there in the middle.
PEAK THINGS OF THE ERA: Children and adults all exchanging movie/music cassettes with each other. Walkmans make it easier for people to listen to their choice of music wherever and whenever they want.
MUSIC: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock/Alternative Wave bands, respectively, like: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Guns n Roses, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, ACDC,
Aerosmith, Police, R.E.M etc dominated the heavy & hard rock genres globally.
MOVIE BLOCKBUSTERS: People of this generation have gone through a fandom of movies like: E.T, Back To The Future, Dead Poet Society, Dirty Dancing, Ghostbusters, Top Gun, Breakfast Club. And when we talk about Bollywood masterpieces, of course we have: Shaan, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Namak Halal, Mene Pyaar Kiya. Movies like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro impact all of us by showing how sometimes the world can be cruel & unfair to normal citizens who are not guilty in our country. 80s was all about sci-fi, romance & comedy.
3)1990s: This was the era of being effortlessly chic & fashionable. This era was all about the transformation of global pop culture across the globe. Advances in the field of technology, rise in celebrity influence.
FASHION: The 1990s were a decade of minimalist fashion, where people changed their attitudes, which helped them shape the way they dressed themselves. “Grunge Look” was the new aesthetic for the commoners & celebrities, mainly inspired by the famous band “Nirvana”. Popularising clothing patterns like: Ripped Jean, Combat Boots, Flannel T-shirt made a common man look effortless yet chic at the same time.
PEAK THINGS OF THE ERA: People still used Mixtapes, Vinyl, Cassettes. But CDs were a new invention that made it convenient for humans to carry movies and music stored in a small piece called a CD. Without any stress of rolling the wires of cassettes back into it with the help of a pencil like my father used to do back when he was a kid in the 80s, nor were they as big as Gramophones.
MUSIC: There was a huge rise of music genres like “Grunge & Alternative Rock or Pop” that impacted our audience to a great level. Hip-Hop, R&B are slowly entering and making a powerful prominence in music history. People listen to music through using cassettes, CDs, & TV Channels like MTV, VH1, 9XO. Alternative Rock & Pop: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Spice Girls, Mariah Carey. Hip Hop: Dr. Dre, Notorious B.I.G, Ice Cube.
MOVIE BLOCKBUSTERS: Areas in tech enhanced & pushed the movies up by enhancing the quality of movies using technologies like “Computer Generated Imagery” (CGI) that helped improve the imagination & overall storytelling methods in movie making. Both the movie industries had their own way to express their side of imagination. This art of thinking differently made such legendary directors and movie makers use technology and innovative thinking together in such a majestic way that made a huge impact to the audience around.
Hollywood’s psychological thriller masterpieces like: “Silence of the Lambs”,
“Pulp Fiction” brought a feel of chills & terror to the audience. Spielberg’s-
“Schindler’ List” – a famous historical drama. On the other side of the world, Bollywood had a genre of “Romcom – Romantic Comedies” like: Hum Apke Hai Kaun, DDLJ, Andaaz Apna Apna and some
famous thriller, crime movies like Baazigar.
4)2000s: We entered a brand-new century, a century that introduced us to the famous term “Y2K Flashy Fashion Columns”.
FASHION: Y2K was a sensational start for Rhinestone Accessories, Chunky
Spiked Belts, Mini Skirts. Wearing high-heeled slippers or loafers was the top fit for the 2000s summer fashion.
As the people of this generation progressed, it helped expand the famous
runway-inspired fashion fits more comfortable & accessible to the general
public.
PEAK THINGS OF THE ERA: People started switching from burning CDs to transfer music & movies from the computer to small iPods or easy-to-download websites that made it simpler for humans to just download their desired file into their computers.
Magazines were still quite influential, since they created a strong impact when
the hot topics were about Fashion, Blogs, In & Out of the new trends done by
the celebrities.
MUSIC: This industry took a revolutionary turn with the help of digital
technology. Music artists started to take their music to the next level by using
digital beats instead of traditional instruments in the name of tunes and beats.
Transition in music, between 1990-2000s, talks about how Pop Culture has
continued to evolve in response to technological innovation.
MOVIE BLOCKBUSTERS: Since it was a whole new generation for people to start their lives with. People wanted something different; they’ve been in their “Thriller, Sci-Fi, Vintage Renaissance era. So, they came up with something that can be viewed by people of various age groups. We saw a combination of a genre of “Fantasy + Comedy”.
It wasn’t a new concept, but people loved to have a fandom of Superheroes,
Popular books like Spiderman Trilogy, Pride & Prejudice, Little Women.
Hollywood has: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Mean Girls, School of Rock, No
Country for Old Men, Finding Nemo etc. On the other side, Bollywood is making films like: Kal Ho Naa Ho, Veer Zara, Jab We Met, Lagaan, Phir Hera Pheri.
To conclude,
Every generation has its own unique style of the way they used to present
themselves, its own way to express their emotions in films & composition of
great music that we still listen to after 50-60 years.
Many artists, producers, and designers have used their creative minds to
embrace, shape & make this society into a new piece of Art.
Transition in music, fashion, paper media, film industries and other sectors of
the Pop Culture Society between 1960s - till date in the new 2026 talks about
how Pop Culture has continued to evolve in response to technological
innovation.
“May the force of creating this art & embracing this society of Tech & Pop be that way till the end”
Bibliography:
New York Times, Chat GPT
By: Divya Krishna (BCA 2024-28)