Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Communications Honours

School

School of Arts and Humanities

First Supervisor

Debbie Rodan

Abstract

Post-war Australia was a time of celebration, of prosperity, abundance and consumerism. The booming economic and technological forces within Australia propelled the rise of popular culture and led to a transformation of traditions and identities. Most notable of these transformations was that of youth culture. The rise of the teenager, as a category of person and a consumer of culture, had an impact on the social interactions of many communities. At the same time, new technologies combined with newfound prosperity meant that popular culture, such as music, was available to all and radio became a prominent feature of everyday life. In addition, changing musical styles of the era (in this instance, I examine rock ‘n’ roll) were marketed towards teenagers, and this led to an expansion of self-expression and selfawareness amongst young people. This case study refers to the work of De Certeau (1984), specifically, his concept of ‘strategies’ and tactics’, and investigates the role that radio played in the emergence and development of a distinctive youth culture in Perth. A key focus of this study is to explore how radio addressed the new social categories of the post-war period, and the consequent impact of this on the everyday lives, practices and pasttimes of WA teenagers. Through semi-structured interviews and a content analysis of archival newspaper articles, this case study will measure the difference between those who experienced the social and cultural changes (teenagers), and those who reported on them (print media).

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Communication Commons

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Thesis Location

 
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