A Formula for Success? Utilizing Culture in Social Movements: The Civil Rights Movement, the Antiwar Movement, and the Music of the 1960's

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2000
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
Everyone who was alive at the time with access to a television certainly can remember the events that transpired the night of April 29, 1992. That marked the night of the unforgettable Rodney King beating at the hand of the Los Angeles Police Department, and an aerial camera was there to capture those unbelievable proceedings blow-by-blow. It did not take long for the video to soon be broadcast on every news report in the nation, nor did it take long for the black community of Los Angeles to initiate riots in response to acquittal of the white policemen accused of the beating. For every face, white or black, who viewed the images from that video, acquittal did not seem to be the likely verdict and the masses certainly voiced their displeasure through their actions. Millions of dollars in damage was done to the city courtesy of fires, looting, and general violence and vandalism. Though the case was quickly re-tried and the policemen were then found guilty for the unnecessary beating of Mr. King, no one will ever forget that tape. Even upon reviewing the video or simply observing a single image of the beating again some time later, those brutal moments of anger and rage can quickly paint all of the events that ensued as a result back into one's mind as if it had just happened. The beating of Mr. Rodney King is just one example of how a social movement, no matter how large or how small, can use culture to its advantage in achieving its goals. But does this theory hold true across the board in relating to all social movements? What methods are most effective, why are they effective, and is it possible to augur them before they actually happen? In the following pages we will attempt to answer these questions, first by studying how four sets of established scholars in the field of culture and social movements have answered them. They are Ron Eyerman and Andrew Jameson, David Snow et al. and Robert Benford, William Gamson, and Todd Gitlin. Then, in an attempt to answer the question ourselves, we will investigate the music of the 1960's and the effect it had on the Civil Rights Movement and the Antiwar Movement as our case studies. Finally, drawing from the established theories in addition to the information we have gathered from the case studies, we will ultimately determine how social movements consistently utilize culture in fulfilling the goals it sets out to accomplish.
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