Stayin alive Essay Example

race, patriarchy, and a desire for community (p. 16). Cowie also offers an insightful examination of how social class was reflected in the music, movies, and popular culture of the 1970s. He argues that this decade presented significant opportunities for the American labor movement because of the influence of counter culture and protests advocating for peace and racial equality.

Cowie reflects on a series of strikes and uprisings carried out by young workers, such as the Lords town autoworkers strike of 1972, which was dubbed an Industrial Woodstock. The movements that occurred in relation to racial and sexual equality provided a prime chance to connect identity politics with social class. Cowie pinpoints several instances when these potential opportunities could be observed in the rebellions of farm workers, textile workers, and office workers. As detailed in the second chapter, their lack of success was encapsulated in the 1972 McGovern campaign.

While Richard Nixon courted white working-class voters, he emphasized cultural values instead of economic interests. He used the new southern strategy to attract George Wallace supporters and those affected by antiwar protests and social deviance. Nixon positioned himself as a proponent of working-class populism, opposing the stereotypical image of Northeastern liberal elites. He portrayed himself as a champion for hard-working taxpayers who felt oppressed by a union of underclasses.

Stayin’ Alive highlights why the white working class turned away from New Deal Liberalism. The book explores how popular music and Hollywood films reflected and were part of the social changes of the 1970s. One example is country music, which became a significant player in the political struggles of the time, aiming

to represent the experiences of the white working class.

During the late 1960s, countercultural musicians like Bob Dylan, the Byrd’s, and the Grateful Dead started creating albums with a country influence. This theme of country rock played a significant role in the record industry's growth in the 1970s. Similar to how certain New Left activists aimed to infiltrate factories and working-class neighborhoods, musicians such as Jackson Browne and The Band romanticized the past challenges faced by working-class Americans through their music.

Regardless, the practicality of the working class did not embrace these countercultural views as identifiers. Cowie also points out that the migration of white working-class voters occurred not in 1980, but in 1972. Consequently, Labor made every effort to assist in McGovern's defeat that year and this left a lasting impact. Nixon devised a strategy to effectively engage with the white working class, something the Democrats had failed to accomplish. Thus, comprehending the decade necessitates examining the politics of culture and representation.

The concept of class in American civic life has always been delicate, but it faced political, cultural, and economic challenges in the 1970s that ultimately led to its downfall. Cowie extensively examines this issue in the seventh chapter of his book "Stayin Alive", focusing on the analysis of music and popular culture during this period. A notable example is Bruce Springsteen's songs about racing in the streets of rustbelt cities undergoing deindustrialization. Similarly, punk bands like the Ramones and Devo explore themes of crime and social failure within working-class neighborhoods such as Queens and Akron.

Meanwhile, there is a disgruntled cabdriver scowling at the signs of social decay

in Times Square. There is also an Italian-American boxer who rises from the mean streets of Philadelphia to challenge the cocky African American champion. Additionally, there is a disco dancer who escapes his ethnic neighborhood in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge for the glamorous Saturday nights of Manhattan. These movies portray the actions that real Americans would take.

In the last of these, the protagonist's escape in a movie with a signature soundtrack gives Cowie's book its title. This escape serves as a small example of the future direction American society would take as factories closed, finance capitalism expanded, and working-class urban neighborhoods transformed into profitable post-industrial playgrounds. The most enjoyable sections of Stayin' Alive relate the political events of the decade to its cultural background. Cowie proposes that American popular culture was either openly antagonistic or confused about the possibilities for a "new Popular Front."

The text discusses the different expressions of possibility found in various songs, spaces, and movies. Despite certain examples showing glimpses of potential, the entrenched conservatism in Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee" and the conflicting aspirations and revolutionary spirit in films like Taxi Driver and Dog Day Afternoon ultimately caused the fragmentation of the working-class hero from the 1930s (p. 200).

By the late 1970s, the concept of class had lost its popular significance. Reflected in the film Saturday Night Fever, class was portrayed as a superficial status that only a privileged few could abandon. The protagonist Tony Manero, portrayed by John Travolta, strives to escape the struggles of his working-class existence. Initially, he seeks solace in the fantasy world of disco and later, aspires to a luxurious lifestyle in Manhattan.