When looking at the top 10 songs and top 10 movies in 1970, there is a general feel good theme to them. Songs such as, I want you back, by The Jackson 5, and the number one movie in 1970, Love Story, are basically movies and songs that can bring a smile to your face and maybe make you shed a happy tear or two. When comparing the songs to the movies in 1970 you have to look at their genre/type, the evident differences and similarities in the songs and films, and the disperate events that each of them portrayed or publicized.
The number one song in 1970 was B.J. Thomas, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head, the corresponding number one film of 1970 was Love Story, starring Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal. When you look at the theme of the song and the movie they both have the basic theme of overcoming difficulty. In the song, B.J. Thomas expresses how the rain (hard times) keeps falling on his head, but he is still going to be ok and he is still making it. The tagline from the film Love Story was Love means never having to say you're sorry [1]. The movie is what the title says it is, it's a love story. It is a story about a couple who overcomes trouble with the help of love. You can really classify mostly all of the songs as feel good songs. Songs like Let it be, by the Beatles, ABC, by the Jackson 5, and Every thing is Beautiful, by Ray Stevens, all give share an overall happy theme. The actual list of top 10 songs is as follows: Raindrops keep fallin' on my head - B. J. Thomas (Scepter), I'll be there
- Jackson 5 (Motown), Bridge over troubled water - Simon & Garfunkel (Columbia), I think I love you - Partridge Family (Bell), (They Long To Be) Close to you - Carpenters (A & M), I want you back - Jackson 5 (Motown), The tears of a clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla), We've only just begun - Carpenters (A & M), Let it be - Beatles (Apple), and War - Edwin Starr (Gordy). [5] For the most part this is also true with the movies. Looking at the total U.S. gross the films brought in, the
top 10 movies of 1970 starting with the number one were: Love Story, Airport, MASH, Patton, The Aristocats, Woodstock, Little Big Man, Ryan's Daughter, Tora Tora Tora, and at number 10- Catch 22 [2].
For the most part the themes of the top 10 songs and movies in 1970 are very similar. When you watch these movies or listen to the songs, you don't go away with a sad, depressed, violent, or angry mood. These movies and songs were made not to upset people but to give them a feeling of everything is going to be good. Even the movie Woodstock had a tagline that read �3 days of peace, music...and love [3]. Catch 22 is a comedy/war movie that makes you laugh but also provides a serious anti-war message that was to go along with the time period, with Vietnam going on and all.
You can really account for the themes of the songs and movies being as they were because of what was going on at that time. A lot of protesting and anti-war groups were pushing towards peace and love. That's why there is peace and love innuendos present in the songs and films in 1970. One major event that happened in 1970 that could have caused the peace and love theme to be more evident in the songs and films was the Kent State Incident [4]. In 1970 the National Guard open fired on a group of anti-war protesters at Kent State University in Ohio. Four students were killed and 8 students were injured. When President Nixon described the incident by saying, when dissent turns to violence, it invites tragedy [4]. The students had actually started the incident when they began to throw rocks and empty tear gas containers at the guardsmen, but that in no way excuses what happened after that.
After the Kent State incident, America's films and songs really focused on a safer, more peaceful society. With the issues at hand involving U.S. presence in other countries, it was hard to achieve the peaceful and loving society that some pictured in their minds. And even today the peaceful society that most want is very difficult to have. But thanks to some of the artist and filmmakers of 70's, it gave people hope that maybe one day they could experience the happiness that the songs and films depicted.
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066011/
[2] http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/index1970.html
[3] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066580/
[4] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html#b
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