I spent much of yesterday researching something that I had an inkling about and , as usual, uncovered more than I can fit into one article. My original premise was on the effect of the media (MSM) on society using music as a barometer to test that effect. I'll use the Beatles to illustrate.
By 1963 President Kennedy was dead. The Kennedy presidency, hailed by the MSM as "Camelot" was largely a creation of the media itself. The debate between Kennedy and Nixon was the first to be televised and Kennedy came off as clean-cut and largely presentable. Nixon eschewed makeup and came across as seedy and untrustworthy. However, had the media been doing it's job, it's unlikely that Kennedy would have made it past the primaries. Joe Kennedy, the patron of the Kennedy clan was the Whitey Bulger of Prohibition. He made his fortune through an association with the FBI whereby they would seize liquor (usually after Kennedy himself had tipped them off as to where the shipments would be coming), and give it to Joe to sell to Frank Costello in New York.
Joe Kennedy used his fortune to buy respectability. The election was one of the closest in history and JFK needed Illinois to win. The elder Kennedy used his influence with Mafia boss Sam Giancana of Chicago to turn the tide. Somehow, the MSM missed all of this and Kennedy won. He was indeed a creation of the Media. When he died, with it died the influence of the media on society- for a short time. Enter the Beatles.
What fueled the meteoric rise of the Beatles? It certainly wasn't talent. They were a second rate British band kicking around German nightclubs to very little fanfare. If you listen to this song objectively, it's terrible.
When they came to the U.S. their management handed out $20 bills to young women in the crowd to scream and carry on. Beatlemania was born. But, before they hit the scene, some other musical events set the stage. In the late 50's Chuck Berry broke the color barrier. His music transcended race and it had a very powerful effect, both on the young and the MSM. The media saw the effect that music had on young people. It wasn't the first time, it had been going on since the advent of mass broadcasting. People like Rudee Vallee, Frank Sinatra and Elvis had set young souls ablaze. The great experiment was to fathom whether or not the media possessed the power to take a largely untalented group and convince young people that they "loved" them.
The Tavistock Institute of Public Relations, a branch of MI-6, British Secret Service was instrumental in bringing the Beatles to America. Using the methods developed by Theodor Adorno and others the Beatles and their particular brand of atonal music was foisted on an unsuspecting public, still reeling from the death of their beloved president and looking for something to fill the void. Young people, already susceptible because of the pervasive media barrage were the primary targets. This video explains how it worked.
Following the success of the Beatles America was barraged with a succession of British bands, the so called British Invasion. It was an invasion, but not quite like the MSM portrayed it. In concert with the CIA, Tavistock and its bevy of ancillary groups began the systematic battle to control the American populace.
Next: The Inner Workings of Tavistock