The influence of popular culture can be seen through examples of fashion, music and political events. We see the influence of fashion at the beginning of the novel when Cathy declares, "I had to find those matching outfits that the popular blonde girls wore." She goes through the process of buying the "Ladybug blouses", "John Meyer of Norwich cable-knit sweaters with matching knee socks" and "London Fog raincoats in three variations of khaki." Although she admits that the exercise was "incredibly expensive", she reasons that it is simply, "the price of doing business." This need to be a part of the ever-changing fashion world is again evident much later in the novel when Cathy is packing to return to Ohio for her sophomore year. Cathy comments on her previous attire by saying, "I looked at my matching golf-club clothes, the hairpieces and shoes that I had spent on, and wondered who the girl was who'd worn them. By then I had switched to hip-hugger bell-bottom jeans, men's long undershirts and desert boots." This latter style was representative of the hippie era, and all of the political and social views that went along with it.
Another example of popular culture which had a great influence on people was music. We see how different parts of Cathy’s life are complimented by a particular era of music. Her escapades with Roy in the delivery car are represented by the "staccato blast of the Les McCann and Eddie Harris rendition." At her 8th grade slumber party, Cathy speaks of how they were "doing the twist to Chubby Checker's music". After getting into an argument with her father over Donny, Cathy escapes to the attic and listens to "Louis and Ella singing, ‘Cheek to Cheek’". Cathy and Leora (along with the majority of the population) are drawn into the rage surrounding the Beatles. The girls clear out their evening’s calendar in order to watch them perform on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time in 1964. They "locked themselves into her parents' room and watched the Beatles singing, ‘She Loves You’". When Cathy resorts to having her father pick her up from the "Idle Hour", she recalls turning on the radio, listening to "Stand by Me" and "I've Got You, Babe," and being shocked that her father knows the words to "popular music”. Later, in university, Cathy's friend (Sarah) introduces her to an album called, "Cheap Thrills". Cathy recalls, "I listened to Janis Joplin wail with a voice that sounded like a freight train with a broken heart: ‘A Piece of My Heart,’ ‘Summertime’ and ‘Ball and Chain.’”
Political events also had a huge influence in Cathy's life, beginning with the emergence of John F. Kennedy as a political force. Cathy’s mother started volunteering to do the accounting for JFK’s local campaign office. "In her new role, she worked on that campaign day and night. She organized the late stages of the Buffalo Kennedy Campaign with military precision, dividing up volunteers and making sure every square inch of the city was covered." We can see how this election had a huge influence over the culture as, "everyone at school watched the Kennedy-Nixon debates with bated breath." When Kennedy won, her mother was honoured at a luncheon at the Statler Hilton for all the work she had done. This added to the importance that this election had in Cathy's life. Another political event that had a great influence on her life was the assassination of President Kennedy. At this point in her life, Cathy had been working at "The Dunk". They dragged a TV out of the back room so that everyone could watch the news coverage. People from all over stopped by to see what had happened. The reason this event had such an influence on her life was the effect it had on her mother. After this, her mother was crushed and never took an interest in any political events thereafter. "No matter how many times people called her to be involved in politics again, she politely declined. In fact, she had very little to do with anyone after that."
Another event that had an impact on Cathy's life was the assassination of Martin Luther King. At this point in Cathy's life, she was at university and on her way back to her dorm with Laurie. She describes the event as if it were happening in "slow motion". She was notified of what had happened when "the man who owned the photography studio near the corner came out and stood on the stoop of his establishment." She asked what was wrong and was informed, "Martin Luther King was assassinated". This was a particularly dramatic event for Cathy because at this point she was in a relationship with "Laurie", a black man. The killing caused Cathy to become increasingly involved in the civil rights movement. She and Laurie became active members of the "Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee."
During the summer before the Chicago Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party was in disarray and needed to choose a candidate to oppose Richard Nixon in the November election. The University of Chicago was the site of significant protests when Cathy and Laurie went to visit Leora. Laurie and Cathy "went to hear Bobby Seale speak at Lincoln Park." It was surrounded by rows of cops and the National Guard. After this, they decided "to go down to Grant Park and see what was happening with the mules and the Poor People's March." Rennie Davis, the SDS spokesman, was scheduled to speak there. This had an influence on Cathy's life and her opinion of the culture because on their way to Grant Park, they "saw protesters stampeding toward them, screaming that police had charged and Davis had been beaten unconscious." People were beaten by the police and left in the street. At the time, Cathy did not realize that the "silent majority" did not agree with the students or with the liberal press. This event caused Cathy to take an active role in the November election, "On weekends Laurie and I traveled all around in his little VW Bug, registering blacks in West Virginia, preparing them for the November election." In conclusion, one can see how popular culture, specifically fashion, music and political events had a great influence on Cathy's life and the lives of those around her.
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