The Influential 15: Culture (Part Two)

Time for part two of the Top 15 Cultural Moments of my Lifetime. First off though I would like to give an honorable mention to the introduction of the Denny’s Grandslamwich. I know that it was only officially introduced today so I don’t have a lot of historical data to go on but I am certain that this will go down as one of the high points of western civilization. How could you go wrong with “scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, American cheese, mayonnaise and a maple spiced spread between two slices of potato bread?” Finally, a meal for those of us who have sat down at a Denny’s while still technically drunk, looked down at our Grand Slam breakfast and said “You know what would make this better? Mayonnaise. And a convenient way to hold it in your hand.”

Anyway, back to the countdown.

Live Aid: This begins with the release of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which I still contend is not only the best charity song ever released but simply one of the best songs of all time. How many other songs from that time frame can you both name and sing in its entirety? This really is the one and only huge concert event of my lifetime. The Baby Boomers can have their Woodstock (three days in the mud to hear Country Joe and the Fish followed by Sha Na Na? The drugs must have been really good.) Gen X will certainly try to disavow any knowledge of Woodstock ’94 (brought to you by Pepsi) and Woodstock ’99 (come for the music, stay for the looting.) Even Lollapalooza never touched the epic scale of Live Aid. It was one of the moments where you spent all of what was a beautiful summer Saturday staying inside watching television because you just did not know what you were going to miss if you left. Led Zeppelin getting back together? Black Sabbath with Ozzy? A reunited Beatles with Julian Lennon replacing John? That last one was plausible on that day. And it was all for a cause that people were really behind. Give Bob Geldof credit, he galvanized the world on the topic of starvation in Africa. While some of the attempts since have focused on needy causes none had the epic scope of Live Aid. Plus, it helped launch U2 into superstardom so we should give it credit for that as well.

The O.J. Simpson Verdict: I was working in an office at ComEd that housed a call center at the time this verdict was read. For the ten minutes before and the five minutes after the verdict they did not receive a single call. This is a call center for one of the largest utilities in the country. That is the best indication that I can give as to how everyone was glued to the television set at the moment this verdict was read. Most people discuss the trial and the verdict and the aftermath from a race viewpoint. In my mind, this trial was all about celebrity. It had little to do with justice or with law and had everything to do with showmanship and fame. Everyone involved became famous. People would comment on Marcia Clark’s wardrobe or Johnnie Cochrane’s wordplay and then go home to watch the Dancing Ito’s on Leno. Yes, in a double murder trial we felt that it was comical to have a vaudeville version of the judge. This wasn’t a trial about race or murder. It was an indication as to how seemingly sensible people can be completely derailed once they discover that the whole world is paying attention to them. And how the shrewd among them can use that aura of celebrity to get away with murder.

Shawn Fanning Launches Napster: The mark of a sea change in the way all media will be created and distributed. We haven’t even begun to understand just what Napster wrought on the world. It wasn’t Shawn’s intention to completely revolutionize (and possibly destroy) the entire entertainment industry. He just wanted to make it easy to share music with his friends. But oh, what a world he has created.

Essentially the issue is this. Napster showed that information and data (which is all that a song or a book or a movie is at the end of the day) wants to be free and easily shared. If I have a copy and I want to lend it to you I will. That has always been true. However, before the internet I would have to physically hand you my copy. Now I can give you a copy over the net that is completely identical to my original. In fact, you don’t even have to be my friend. You can just be some no name online. So we have an end product being treated like it is free when it still costs significant capital to create. People can watch Wolverine before it is even released and the movie studio doesn’t receive a cent for something that cost 50 million to make. That is the biggest issue that Napster has created. How do you have an entertainment industry when there is a system in place that will ensure that you will never profit from your creation?

Also, bonus points for being the application that drove broadband into the forefront. Previously the only people striving for higher bandwith were gamers and people who were interested in accessing the, uh, darker portions of the internet. With the ability to easily download music suddenly the world wanted to go faster. Not a bad accomplishment for a college kid.

Election of Barack Obama: Let’s put politics aside for a moment. Whether you agree with his policies or disagree with them is irrelevant for the points that I am going to make here. Obama marks a massive change in the political landscape. First, he is the first Gen X president. Born in 1961 he just makes the cut under Strauss and Howe’s definition of the 13th Generation (see my 15 Influential Books for more details). After several election cycles in which Baby Boomer candidates were questioned about their activities in Vietnam he comes in from beyond that crisis with a new viewpoint. That alone is worth noting.

But more importantly his election indicates that the idea that anyone can become president has become much more of a reality than it has ever been before. Growing up I assumed that one day we would have an African American as president but it was in the same category as my belief that we would have astronauts flying to Mars and I would have my own flying car. It was a possibility but not a probability. This presidential election though seemed to transcend race. Include Hillary Clinton’s and Sarah Palin’s role and you can even say that it transcended gender. The issue bubbling under the surface wasn’t that of Obama’s race it was the whispers that he might secretly be a Muslim. That is what indicates where the dark side of the American psyche now lies. We may be beyond race but in no way are we beyond religion.

Star Wars Opens on May 25, 1977: No movie ever has or ever will capture the pop culture zeitgeist the way that this movie has. 32 years later and we are still talking about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Kids today whose parents hadn’t even been born when the movie was released can discuss in detail the construction of the Death Star. The only near equivalent is Harry Potter but it builds upon much of the same framework. Create a story that children can relate to and imagine themselves in but provides enough escapism for adults.

Even more important though is that it created the world of marketing and mass consumerism that is tied to every mainstream movie release. This is coming from someone who has his childhood Boba Fett action figure sitting on his printer as he types it. I did not play with generic toys as a kid. I played with Star Wars figures, complete with their own pre-developed backstory and neatly leading me to want to watch the next film. This led to the launch (or relaunch) of G.I. Joe, Transformers, He Man and all of the other toy commercials masquerading as cartoons. The line between play and consumerism was erased. While nothing comes between me and the Fett man I can’t say that is a good thing.

Wednesday Night Music Club: Time to promote Neko Case’s new album “Middle Cyclone”. Here is the best song to ever feature the word “Maneater” in the chorus other than Hall and Oates song of the same name.

Neko Case MTV Music