Humanities Domain

Year 10 Pop Culture Excursion – Revolutions: Records and Rebels!

On Tuesday 10/09, our small Year 10 Pop Culture class was fortunate enough to be able to view the Revolutions: Records and Rebels exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.

This exhibition looks at the late 1960s as a moment when youth culture drove optimistic idealism, motivating people to come together and question the establishment across every area of society. Before we entered, we were instructed to put headphones on and a volume box around our necks. As we moved through the exhibition the music coming through our headphones would change from era to era. The students found listening to music relevant to the displays on show as very interesting and exciting.

Eszter – “I learnt that between the 1950’s and onwards is when the rebel and hippy culture rose to popularity, and gained extensive media attention, garnering huge crowds of supporters. The “counterculture generation”. I learnt that people used nudity as a way to demonstrate their political freedom, and “stand up to the man”. The most interesting part of the exhibit was the movie that played in a dark room showing exactly what Woodstock was like, and songs performed at Woodstock.”

Charlee – “46% of Australians were under the age of 25 in 1966”

William – “The use of music throughout the exhibition evokes feelings I didn’t know I had. It was especially smart of them to link specific sounds such as TV static as you were looking at the TV in the exhibit. It was an exquisite experience”

Emma – “The most interesting part of the exhibit was when we watched the “Woodstock” movie and hearing the music they listened to back then”

Wayne – “We saw pictures about events like the Vietnam War, Anti-Vietnam war protests, Chinese cultural revolutions, politics about the US government and second-wave feminism, arts involving the hippy subculture, women feminists and famous people like the Beatles singer ‘John Lennon’. I learnt that there were songs made that were opposed to the Vietnam War and a lot of people looked like hippies”

Raquel - “I learnt that the hippy fashion was very popular back in the 1960’s. I think the most interesting part of the excursion was the music because the tone, lyrics and beat have changed so much over the years”

Leora – “I learnt that the rebellion and hippy culture rose around the 1950’s and onwards. I now understand more about the women’s movement and saw things we normally wouldn’t see in a classroom. I enjoyed seeing all the different rooms and listening to music from that time. I also enjoyed watch the ‘Woodstock’ movie on the big screen”

Ruvandi – “I mostly enjoyed looking at the different clothes they wore throughout the generations. Here is a quote by Jim Haynes - I am a world citizen. All human history is mine. My roots cover the earth. I believe we should know each other. After all, our lives are all connected”.

Paulianna – “The music that was played reflected on the things we saw which I found really interested. As we were walking, I came across many interesting things that happened in my grandparents’ generation. I learnt about the referendum in 1967 – vote yes for Aborigine rights, propaganda posters, politics and protests, alternative lifestyles, fashion and much more. Overall, this excursion helped me gain a bit more knowledge about the world back in the day and was an interesting and good experience for me”.

Charlee – “When it was time for the exhibition the whole class got given a device and a set of headphones- no, it wasn’t Bluetooth ones, they never had Bluetooth headphones in the 60’s. Every section had a song that would relate to what that section is about. One thing that caught my attention was that in 1966, 46% of Australia’s population was under 25, this was because when men came back from the war they returned to their loved ones and started their families. Another thing I enjoyed was the last section with the ‘Woodstock’ movie, especially with the song that was played which was imagine by John Lennon."

Remini – “The parts I found most interesting were the outfits. It was nice to see how the outfits changed over the years. I learnt that a bar of snickers at the Museum is $3.00… It was $3.00 Miss!!!  It was nice to bond with classmates both there and on the train.”

From the whole class – “An exciting part of the excursion was getting to buy lunch at Melbourne Central. Special mention to the corndogs!”