I like history. In the last few weeks I've noticed significant attention in the media devoted to four world-changing events that happened thirty, forty, and sixty-five years ago. Such attention seems a bit unusual, but I do agree that they were important events. I'd like to share them with you.
Two events of major importance happened forty years ago. One just came to my attention a few minutes ago, and while it might be the least significant of the four I'll discuss, I think it's a landmark event. On June 1, 1967, The Beatles released an album called "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Given a bit of time to do some reflection and research, I could make a stronger case, but it's not hard to argue that the combination of technical and artistic innovation shown in this album, along with the massive influence it had on later rock and other musical genres make "Sgt. Pepper" a good candidate for the best rock album of all time, and one of the major artistic landmarks of the 20th century. Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Albums of All Times" list agrees with my opinion, ranking it at number 1. There was a great deal of innovation in rock music at the time with artists like The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan and others creating music that not only pleased their audiences, but influenced each other. Recording technology had also progressed rapidly, offering new capabilities. The Beatles came along and took both art and technology far beyond what rock music had previously achieved. Rock music was never the same after "Sgt. Pepper." It changed the world.
Let's jump forward in time to cover the other entertainment milestone, which happened thirty years ago. Before May 25, 1977, we didn't know about the Force, R2-D2, Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Darth Vader. Special effects, when used at all in the movies, were not very impressive by today's standards, and usually were reserved for science fiction and fantasy movies that weren't very popular with most movie goers. Indeed, I remember telling my girlfriend of thirty years ago, who was also a science-fiction fan, that we'd better see "Star Wars" quickly because I didn't expect it to be around long, and we might never get the chance to see it again. I couldn't have been more wrong. "Star Wars" ushered in the era of the blockbuster movie, big budget movies that made huge profits. Even today, these movies drive the industry. Artistic movies, cerebral movies, quiet explorations of life, all are usually shouldered aside by super heroes, space warriors, Disney cartoons and other hyperactive cinematic genres each summer. Most moviegoers wouldn't want it any other way. Beside its massive impact on moviemaking, "Star Wars" had a cultural impact that I think "Sgt. Pepper" didn't have. It was a simple movie that pitted good against evil in a very appealing way. Some laughed at the concept of the Force, but I think "Star Wars" did influence how many people thought about the world. The concept that things not directly measurable could still be very important indeed, and one might order one's life according to principles that didn't involve crass materialistic considerations changed some viewers. The idea of living life simply, according to a code of honor, in harmony with one's environment, has great appeal. It was a powerful fictional concept, and while it had been expressed before (indeed, it is a major theme of literature), perhaps the best, most influential example in the 20th century was "Star Wars."
The next two events are military in nature. Both were very complex - impossible to characterize in a few words. Both were watershed events, leading to a very different world than might have existed if the outcomes were different.
Thirty years ago, on June 5, 1967, around the time of the release of "Sgt. Pepper," fighting began which led to a massive defeat of the armies of several Middle Eastern nations by Israeli forces. This conflict has become known as the Six Day War. Israel, facing massing Arab armies, attacked first and captured the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights, tripling the size of its territorial holdings in just a few days. While most early historians regarded the results of the war as an unambiguous decisive victory for Israel, recent commentary has noted that this victory has been the seed of many of the intractable problems that the region faces today. The effects of the Six Day War have not yet played out. Indeed, depending on future events, this war may be considered the most important of the four events I discuss here. I don't rank it that highly yet.
Perhaps the greatest of the four events I'm discussing happened sixty-five years ago. Six months after suffering a devastating loss at Pearl Harbor, on June 4-7, 1942, the US Navy decisively defeated Japanese naval forces at the Battle of Midway. Without the advantages of having broken a key Japanese Navy code, executing a risky but necessary concentration of the remaining available US ships in the Pacific, engineering a near-miraculous three-day repair of the badly damaged and badly-needed aircraft carrier Yorktown, and a great deal of luck, the Battle of Midway might have gone much differently and so might the course of World War II. These advantages allowed the American forces to know what they were up against and how their opponents were deployed, as well as providing a nasty surprise to the Japanese Navy, who expected to battle two US carriers, when four were actually present at the battle.
In the aftermath of Midway, the US had erased almost all of the disadvantages it had incurred at Pearl Harbor. US manufacturing efficiency assured that the equipment balance would soon favor the American forces. Large numbers of highly trained Japanese pilots were lost and equivalent replacements were never available in the quantities needed to battle the strengthening American forces. The tide had turned in the Pacific.
If you're a history buff, any of these subjects offers fascinating insights into how we got to where we are today. Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org), as usual, is a good start. Each of the four primary articles offers many fascinating branching paths, depending on your interests.
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Catbar - Brain Candy #119 - Watershed Events of the 20th Century / Brian Rock / Tue Nov 20 20:46:10 EST 2007
