Diversity, race, class, and gender: an analytical framework

¶ … Diversity: Race, Class & Gender

Rock and Roll music revolutionized the world at the time when it appeared, considering that it style, attitudes, and general character were very different from mainstream music styles that society enjoyed up until the 1950s. This type of music made it possible for the masses to understand that the world had experienced reform when concerning music and the influences that it had on people. Rock and Roll was more than music, as it presented society with a whole new culture that had the power to affect people's thinking. This music style changed the way that people acted by introducing innovative concepts meant to have them adopt avant-garde positions in regard to society as a whole.

Even though it was unlike anything society had ever experienced, Rock and Roll music was basically a combination of various music styles that dominated culture during the first half of the twentieth century. Elvis Presley, for example, brought together elements from rhythm and blues and western music with the purpose of producing music that was similar to both, but that put across innovative concepts. It was as if he considered that these two types of music had become obsolete and decided to refresh them through combining them in making a whole new type of music.

In comparison to earlier music genres, rock and roll expressed more forceful feelings and it focused on inducing states of frenzy into individuals. To a certain degree, this form of music can be considered to be characteristic to the U.S., given that the country constantly experiences reform and actually encourages it citizens to get actively involved in rejuvenating society.

Through employing theoretical perspectives in analyzing the impact that Rock and Roll had on society, one can gain a better understanding of the concepts that people associated this type of music with and of what influenced them in adopting particular attitudes as a result of their relationship with the trend. The Conflict Perspective and the Interactionist Perspective are essential in providing more information regarding Rock and Roll in the 1950s. The former addresses the fact that Rock and Roll largely depended on race divisions and the latter relates to how reform and young people in general are two of the main concepts that influenced the subculture.

The Conflict Perspective makes it possible for people to gain a better understanding of Rock and Roll in the 1950s. This culture did not just regard music, as it addressed a series of controversial factors that society had dealt with until the time. Considering that this type of music was dominated by white people, it is only safe to assume that it originated from social class conflicts, with African-Americans being generally associated with different music genres. While other music styles like Jazz and rhythm and blues focused on assisting black people in experiencing emancipation, Rock and Roll did not relate to their problems and practically encouraged the masses in ignoring them, eventually serving the interests of dominant communities.