Beatlemania (Ehrenreich et al) Review by Sharmeen Mahmood
In "Beatlemania, Ehrenreich, Hess and Jacobs argue that young teenage girls of the 60's used the Beatles as an outlet of expression; "boys had sports and girls had Beatlemania" (Ehrenreich et al, 1992). According to the article, Beatlemania was viewed by adults as an "epidemic"; an affliction that affected all ten to fifteen year olds in America. But what was the cause of this epidemic? The authors argue, rightfully, that Beatlemania was in part a protest of everything that was traditional by young girls. As the authors say, the girls of the generation were "charactized as sleepwalking", they were doing what they were told to do, as everyone else was, but they didn't feel "alive" in doing it. The 1960's was a time when young girls were taught that their ultimate goal is marriage and motherhood (Ehrenrich et al, 1992). Young girls quickly learned throughout high school that sexuality was simply an instrument in getting to that eventual goal. They were taught not to be too puritanical, as dating was an important step toward marriage, and yet not be too cheap either, as that would jeopardize the respect that young males had for them. Rock music, although falsely targeted as a cause of moral decay in society, was a means by which young girls could defy everything that was traditional. Beatlemania can therefore be seen as a means of defiance by young teenage girls of parental authority as well as a desire to express their sexuality. In fact, Beatlemania was such that Life magazine reported, before the eve of the Beatles first arrival to the United States, that "a Beatle who ventures out unguarded into the streets runs the very real peril of being dismembered or crushed to death by his fans" (Ehrenrich et al, 1992). In our study of Rock and Roll music and its impact on American culture, it is especially important to note the time period and context in which this music was first widely available. Attributing all of the Bealtes success (and Elvis's for that matter) on solely musical talent would be ignorant in light of everything else going on in America. I think it's only fair to say that out of Elvis and the Beatles came even the feminist movement. People have shown the tendency in history to wait for the proper outlet before protesting when there's something to riot about. Perhaps, as implied by "Beatlemania", Elvis and the Beatles were simply the right outlet.