Popular+Culture

** Popular culture either celebrated or criticized the moon landing as a part of the "Space Age." **
The various aspects of American society that were affected included songs, television shows, fashion, and architecture.

//__Space Age Music__// British pop idol David Bowie release "Space Oddity" in the year of the moon landing, and it was this single that put him on a path to stardom. (Mason 34) It tells the tale of a fictional astronaut, "Major Tom," and his experience as he is launched into space. Lyrics such as "sitting in my tin c an" refer to the new technology used to create space shuttles and other spacecraft. Major Tom gained instant fame; "the papers want to know whose shirts you wear." He never makes it back to Earth, though; he says goodbye and his circuit dies.

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Another song released in the year of the moon landing was Zager and Evan’s “Year 2525.” It reflected the time of space age with lyrics that criticized the period of rapid development in technology. The song predicted a dull and lifeless future in which man has no purpose because it has been replaced by machines (Mason 35). While it did not directly condemn the moon landing, it contained the common theme of the disapproval . Lyrics to "Year 2525"

The Woodstock Festival was an event that summed up the feelings of mainstream artists on topics including the moon landing. It took place one month after the launch. Hippies tended to be against the space movement because they felt life on Earth was more important to pay attention. The government was spending millions of dollars on space research and some people believed this was unnecessary. Instead, this money could have gone to ending the war in Vietnam. Hippies also tended to condemn the push for accomplishments in space because most people who worked for N.A.S.A. had military backgrounds.

//__Star Trek__//

Although the series //Star Trek// debuted before the date of the moon landing, it aired during the years of preparation for the launch. It was an adventure-based science fiction televsion show that told the story of Captain Kirk and his Starship Enterprise. It captivated a wide audience of people who were caught up in the recent interest in the wonders of space.

Not only did this successful show praise the achievements of the United States with its exciting story lines, it inspired new clothing fashions. Typical "space colors" included white, silver, blue (Space Age). Synthetic materials were common, such as metals or plastic, much like the astronaut costumes used on the show.

//Star Trek// ran for three seasons and went into reruns during the 1970s. Several succeeding series and films were created, and the //Star Trek// franchise continued to profit for decades.

//__Art And Architecture__// Other aspects of American society that were affected are art and architecture. Pop art included images of astronaut and spacecraft. Robert Rauschenberg was a well known artist who often used space imagery in his works. The fact that he chose to represent astronauts in bright, bold, happy images displays a sense of celebration and recognition for their accomplishments. President John F. Kennedy is a central focus of this piece because he intially made the promise to put an American man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, and this promise was kept.

The architecture of the 1960s and 1970s had a futuristic look to it. Motels, gas stations, and diners all took on this similar look. Satellite shapes and starbursts were incorporated into different buildings (Kennedy). This could mean that Americans were proud of their fellow citizens who became astronauts and bravely launched off into space. With the astronauts as their role models, architects strived to create a space age look with their new designs. People tried to get life on Earth to look a little bit more like what the astronauts saw when they looked out the window of the Apollo spacecraft. Shown below are typical designs of this period.



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