The social and economic climate of Britian in the 1960s went through a dramatic change. The so-called 'baby-boomers' of the population 'bulge' (born soon after World War II) began to question class and gender stereotypes. While this new generation had unprecedented buying power, representing opportunities for marketing new gadgets, fashions and styles, they also resisted doing things in the same old ways. The 1950s had been a time of austerity with rationing, low employment and little money for luxury items (like cars, fridges, washing machines and TVs). But all that had changed and Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, started the decade by announcing that Britains had "never had it so good."
British pop music in particular was gaining international attention - especially the Liverpool sensation called The Beatles. The only film musicals with such music were those made with Elvis Presley but A Hard Day's Night broke new ground by using grainy black and white film stock and following a narrative that was similar to the real lives of the 'fab four' as they rushed from stage venue to TV studio. The film presented moments of surreal silliness mixed with screaming fans who were not simply acting up for the cameras. It is difficult now to see its radical nature: the mood of the film ushered in a new way of presenting pop music on film that looked forward to the era of the pop video and MTV. It would change everything.
Darling turned the attack on to the media by showing how the ambitions of an ordinary girl like Diana Scott could be crushed by the twisted values of the new decade. Both this film and Alfie dealt openly with subjects that would have been taboo only a few years earlier: divorce, extra-marrital sex and abortion were all open to the scrutiny of the new British film-goer. But while Alfie became the stereotypical 60s opportunist male, he was ironically a 1950s creation.
