WHY I HATE THE SIXTIES
Tuesday 9 August 2005 1.55am-2.55am (Mon night)
The myth of the 60s was created before the decade was out. But what we have lived with ever since is a mirage, a mass hallucination, a fantasy.
Why I Hate the Sixties examines the truth behind the myth. It suggests that we were living on borrowed time - we partied as Britain lost an empire and slid into unchecked industrial decline.
Archive footage and contributors of all political stripes build the case against the decade where dreams turned to nightmares…
The Charges
Architecture:
An obsession with modernity meant out with old and in with the damp-stained concrete, huge tower blocks and anonymous estates of rotting flats.
Transport:
Think the trains are bad now? Two thirds of the railway system was dismantled in the 1960s alone.
Women's Liberation:
Why did feminism grow in strength during the 1970s? Because women were turned into sex objects during the 60s. And the pill? It was not just to make women more available for men but that was its immediate effect.
Multi-culturalism:
Instead of embracing a new wave of immigration, we blew it. If you were black, the 60s were not the decade of peace and love, they were the decade of racism and Powellism.
Music:
The Beatles? The Rolling Stones? Forget about it. The best-selling single of the 60s was a slice of pungent cheese, Release Me by Englebert Humperdinck.
Sport:
England's World Cup victory is still celebrated as the pinnacle of the country's sporting success. But was it deserved? You'll have to watch the programme to find out...
