SoL pg. 32, #2 & #3
The images in the portfolio from Signs of Life represent American culture in a very distinct way. They represent an American need for the next new and provocative form of entertainment. The first two images, the screen shots from The Wizard of OZ and Casablanca, show two of the most well known and respected films to date, let alone when they were created. They represent a change for what was the classical view on film, and set the foundation for a new age of not only film, but film making.
This same way of thinking can be applied to the next two images. The first of Elvis Presley, dressed in a prison type outfit, dancing was seen as extremely controversial when put in front of America's eyes. Following this new form of music that Elvis brought to the American public, the Beatles were idolized by most when they hit the scene, but scrutinized by the rest. What started off as an interest in the forbidden, soon turned into an addiction to the provocative, opening doors for films like Saturday Night Fever. Once these trends in pop culture lost their shock value, the next step was for even more sexuality in entertainment. This ushered in a new wave of Madonnas and Brittney Spears to stimulate America's senses to a new level.
It is from all of this that a conclusion can be drawn to one simple statement: as time goes on in American culture, shock value must constantly be increasing, and with it, more socially unacceptable sights and sounds must be challenged. It is when a person or thing comes along and disrupts American pop culture norms to a new extent that that image becomes embedded in American pop culture's history. It is the images that stay with those who weren't alive to see their debut in America's eyes, that have truly become cornerstones for the foundation of American pop culture.
