The Beatles - Voice of the youth rebellion

THE BEATLES - ГОЛОС МОЛОДЕЖНОГО ВОССТАНИЯ

Акперова Сабина Интигамовна

студент, Белгородский государственный национальный исследовательский университет, РФ, г. Белгород

Шемаева Елена Викторовна

научный руководитель, канд. филол. наук, доцент, Белгородский государственный национальный исследовательский университет, РФ, г. Белгород

In this article we will discuss the reflection of social motivations of the 20th century in the work of the legendary British rock-band The Beatles.

Music accompanies people through their whole life. The German writer Berthold Auerbach argued that music is the only world language that does not need translation because it is spoken by the soul. The story of the British Rock Band from Liverpool is clear evidence of the fact that the sum may be much larger than the parts that make it up. All the members of The Beatles came from working areas in Liverpool, from simple families with modest incomes.  The music of the legendary band was a reflection of reality and that is why it was clear to everyone. The creation of The Beatles is a true cultural phenomenon even today. A completely new style of music was closely intertwined with texts that could be danced, dreamed, said and loved. The ability to talk to the masses through creativity gave rise to a mass love and popularity that no one had before or after the Liverpool Quartet.

The popularity of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr can also be explained by the fact that their works covered the problems of British society at the time. Just yesterday, British youth saw protests and outrage on the streets of their hometowns, and already today songs about these events.  The social problems of Britain in the second half of the 20th century became an integral part of The Beatles' work, the Liverpool Quartet became the voice not only of the young but also of the middle class, thus generating a worldwide popular response and subsequent global bitlomania.

As the voice of the youth revolt, the Liverpool Quartet's work sought change, peace and freedom. The post-war musical style was changed: now the texts called for action and spread a clear social position of the performers. For the first time, rock culture has shown the harsh truth about the useless and miserable lives of young people in poor neighbourhoods in Britain. People heard the songs and understood what they were singing about themselves. The lives of British families during the economic crisis of the 20th century were brought to the public eye.

For example, the song "A Hard Day's Night" sings about a mediocre guy who started living with his beloved girlfriend. He has to work physically for a living all day and all he dreams about is a good night's sleep. Every day is similar to the previous one, but even in this grey everyday life the hero tries to please his soulmate. The members of the young family love each other, but the listener realises that there can be no love if there is nothing to eat in the house, if the family members are not working. Yes, this is not romantic, but it is a harsh reality. In the second half of the 20th century, unemployment in England was very high: people lived in unstable conditions of economic crisis, and lack of work was doomed to miserable existence.

The social and economic difficulties of the society led to the destruction of family ideals - this was demonstrated by The Beatles in the song "Ticket to ride". Hard work and constant thoughts about lack of money - these components were common to most English families during the economic crisis. People had no time to think about love, while there was not a cent in their pockets and their bodies were aching from fatigue after a low-skilled job.

But people kept believing in the best: "Can't buy me love!". Even in times of crisis and material instability, there were feelings that were more valuable than any money. The Beatles actively promoted the theme of the reality of pure and sincere feelings under conditions of social change.

The unique song "Taxman" marked the beginning of the fight against unfair taxation. In the second half of the 20th century, the British government introduced forced measures to save the country's budget, and the Liverpool Quartet's work demonstrated, for the first time since the war, people's disagreement with the government. The song encouraged open protest against taxes, which were practically the entire income of most of Britain's population. 

The Beatles advocated respect for individuals regardless of gender. The first serious attempts to fight for women's rights and independence were reflected in the song "Woman Is The Nigger of the World". The struggle for equal rights sparked by the second wave of feminism in Britain is connected to the fact that a woman was perceived as a servant of her husband. Her actions in one way or another were tied to the wishes of the man. But unfortunately, this attitude towards women in England during the period of instability was widespread even outside the family. A woman was belittled openly, even on television. In the song, the Liverpool Four question the role of the father in the birth of the child, because it is the woman who gives birth and then raises the child. In England, in times of crisis, fathers often left their families and in this way The Beatles drew attention to this urgent problem.

The acute political events of 1972 were reflected in the sharply negative, yet most popular track, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish". The Beatles were defending the interests of a political group in the face of the radicalism of the authorities. The media noted that the song undermined public order in such turbulent times. Television banned the broadcast of this song on their channels, but this only encouraged the members of the group - they continued to support the people through their music.

In one of their interviews with The Beatles, they openly declared themselves to be apolitical: they have always been concerned about the problems of society, and they have tried to influence people with their speeches and records. Their aim was to open people's eyes to the obvious problems and to rid them of the mirages around them.  Finally, the theme of humanism dominated the work of the Liverpool Quartet and other music groups of the time. The musicians used their influence to talk about important social problems, awaken interest in them and fight for quality of life, equality, freedom, a happy present and a stable future.