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How Did The Vietnam War Affect Australia In The 1960s

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The years of the 1950s and 60s was a time where many hardships occurred as global tension was high and as a result many wars occurred as well as movements. The historical issues and events of the fifties and sixties was often propelled by popular culture through art and media such as television, paintings and music. The civil rights movement succeeded in bringing equal rights to the African American population within the United States in a peaceful manner thanks to meaningful art forms. The Vietnam War was widely seen as a controversial conflict and opened insight to Australians as to what was actually happening through music and television which in turn swayed the public opinion of Australia’s involvement with the war.
During the mid-fifties to the late sixties America was facing a Civil rights movement in which the goal was to end …show more content…

The war also inspired many to protest through music or broadcasts. A secondary source, “The first ‘television war” is a depiction of the Vietnam War visualized through the perspective of the cameramen. Though initially the television broadcasted only positive information, though, as the war seemed to have no ending in sight and public opinion turned against the war as well as selective conscription of Australians the television started to broadcast horrifying images and stories reflecting off the of the opinion of the people further strengthening criticism against the war. Another type of media known as protest music gained a vast amount of popularity in turn becoming a part of culture itself such as “Smiley” sung by Ronnie Burns which outlined the terrible experiences Australians faced during the war. Soon many songs as well as television broadcasts were mirrored upon the attitudes towards historical issues such as the Vietnam War inspiring many people to

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