The document summarizes key events and trends of the 1970s. It describes how the 1960s spirit of social progress continued into the decade. Novelist Tom Wolfe coined the term "Me Decade" to capture the era's focus on individualism over community. Major events included the breakup of the Beatles, the opening of Disney World, Nixon's resignation over Watergate, and the rise of punk rock. Broader trends encompassed women's changing roles, the gay rights movement gaining popularity, and the Cambodian genocide. Innovations included the first pocket calculators and the Concorde supersonic airliner, while films like The Godfather and Star Wars became hugely popular.

1. THE SEVENTIES
A pivot of change in world history

2. INTRODUCTION
• In the Western world, social progressive values that began
in the 60s, such as increasing political awareness and
economic liberty of women, continued to grow.
• Novelist Tom Wolfe coined the term “‘Me’ decade” in an
essay “The ‘Me’ Decade and the Third Great Awakening”,
published by New York Magazine in August 1976.
• The term describes a general new attitude of people
towards atomized individualism and away from
communitarianism in clear contrast with the 1960s.

3. • People were deeply influenced by the rapid pace of societal
change and the aspiration for a more egalitarian society in
cultures that were long colonized and have an even longer
history of hierarchical social structure.
• Other common global ethos in the 70s included increasingly
flexible and varied gender roles for women in industrialized
societies.
• The global experience of the cultural transition of the 70s
and the experience of a global zeitgeist* revealed the
interdependence of economies since World War II, in a
world increasingly polarized between the US and the Soviet
Union.
• *Zeitgeist is the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and
beliefs of the time.

4. THE SEVENTIES MAY HAVE BEEN MANY
THINGS, BUT BORING SURE WASN’T ONE OF
THEM…
Let’s have a look at the following timeline

5. THE KING AND THE PRESIDENT
Pop culture and politics collided on
December 21, 1970, when Elvis
Presley visited Richard Nixon in the
White House Oval Office.

6. THE BEATLES CALL IT QUITS
The Fab Four released their final
album, “let it be”, on may 8, 1970. The
album came one month after Paul
McCartney announced the breakup.

7. GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT GAINS POPULARITY
Gay rights activists Foster
Gunnison and Craig Rodwell
lead a gay rights march in
New York on June 28, 1970,
then known as Gay
Liberation Day.
By 1971 gay rights groups
had formed in almost all of
the major cities in the US.

8. HEY! HO! LET’S GO!
The 70s ushered in a new
musical movement that put
a premium on speed,
simplicity and raw power.
Bands like The Ramones
and the Sex Pistols replaced
the 60s music with short,
fast songs filled with
attitude and angst punk!

9. DISNEY WORLD OPENS
A crowd in Orlando waits for Walt
Disney World’s Main Street to
open in October 1971. The park
cost around $400 million.

10. BLOODY SUNDAY
On January 30, 1972, British
soldiers opened fire against
protesters in Londonderry,
Northern Ireland, who were
marching against British rule.
Thirteen people were killed on the
scene, and more than a dozen
were injured. Three decades
known as The Troubles followed,
and almost 3000 people died.

11. “I’LL MAKE HIM AN OFFER HE CAN’T
REFUSE”
The Godfather, directed by Francis
Ford Coppola, won several Academy
Awards in March 1973. The film was
based on the best-selling novel by
Mario Puzo.

12. BRUCE LEE DIES
Martial arts actor, Bruce Lee, dies in
July 1973 at the age of 32, just days
before the release of Enter the
Dragon.

13. THE TWIN TOWERS
From the time of their completion
in 1973 until their destruction in
2001, the World Trade Center’s
twin towers stood as an iconic part
of the New York skyline.

14. THE POCKET CALCULATOR
By 1973, Clive Sinclair had introduced
a series of pocket calculators that
changed the industry, making
calculators small and light enough to
fit in your pocket.

15. NIXON RESIGNS
U. S. president, Richard Nixon,
leaves the White House in 1974,
after the Watergate scandal. This
marked one of the biggest
political scandals in U. S. history,
which began in 1972 after a break-
in at the Democratic National
Committee’s headquarters at the
Watergate complex. Five men
were arrested for the burglary.
Washington Post journalists, Bob
Woodward and Carl Bernstein,
were able to trace them back to
Nixon and the White House.

16. POWER OF THE PRESS
Reporters Bernstein and Woodward
sit in the newsroom at the
Washington Post. Their work on the
Watergate scandal earned them a
Pulitzer Prize.

17. MUHAMMAD ALI
Muhammad Ali watches George
Foreman fall on the canvas during
their title bout in Kinshasa, Zaire,
October 1974.

18. CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE
From 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot, seen here
at far left, led the Khmer Rouge (Red
Army) communist movement in
Cambodia. During his reign, at least
1.7 million people died from
execution, starvation, disease and
overwork.

19. DAZZLING ELTON
English singer, Elton John, one of the
biggest artists of the 70s, performed
two sold-out shows at Los Angeles
Dodger Stadium in 1975, performing
for more than three hours each night.

20. CONCORDE TAKES OFF
It broke the sound barrier and cut
flight times in half. On January 26,
1976, the first commercial Concorde
flight took place from London to
Paris, cruising at speeds of 1350 mph.
The Concorde’s flights would be short
lived, however, as fewer than 20 ever
saw commercial use. The last
commercial Concorde flight took
place on October 24, 2003.

21. 200TH BIRTHDAY
Fireworks at the Statue of Liberty
light up the New York harbour on
July 4, 1976, as the country
celebrates the bicentennial
anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence.

22. IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…
May 25, 1977, was a historic day for
sci-fi fans and moviegoers
everywhere. George Lucas’ Star Wars
opened in theatres, introducing the
world to characters such as Luke
Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO,
and of course Darth Vader.

23. APPLE PLANTS THE SEED FOR THE
DIGITAL REVOLUTION
In 1977, Apple Computers introduced
the Apple II, which became one of the
first successful home computers. Co-
founders, Steve Jobs and Steve
Wozniak formed Apple Computer
Company in 1976.
Along with Bill Gates’ Microsoft, which
was founded in 1975, Apple helped
ignite the digital age we live in today.

24. DISCO
Disco ruled the charts in the late 70’s
but found some unlikely superstars in
the form of the Village People. Their
name was inspired by New York’s
Greenwich Village, which had a large
gay population at the time. The group
became known for their onstage
costumes and suggestive lyrics. In
1978, the songs “Macho Man” and
“YMCA” became worldwide hits.