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Culture of Mexico

Mexico's culture emerged from the culture of the Spanish Empire and the preexisting indigenous cultures of Mexico. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both western and native American civilizations. Other minor influences include those from other regions of Europe, Africa and also Asia.

First inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, the cultures that developed in Mexico became one of the cradles of civilization. During the 300-year rule by the Spanish, Mexico was a crossroads for the people and cultures of Europe and America, with minor influences from West Africa and parts of Asia. Starting in the late 19th century, the government of independent Mexico has actively promoted cultural fusion (mestizaje) and shared cultural traits in order to create a national identity. Despite this base layer of shared Mexican identity and wider Latin American culture, the big and varied geography of Mexico and the many different indigenous cultures create more of a cultural mosaic, comparable to the heterogeneity of countries like India or China.

From the pyramids of Teotihuacan to the intricate murals of Diego Rivera and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Cuisine delights with its fusion of indigenous ingredients like maize and chili peppers, showcased in beloved dishes such as tacos and mole. Festivals like Dia de los Muertos celebrate indigenous traditions alongside Catholic rituals, while music genres like mariachi, popular music and regional dances like ballet folklórico express cultural diversity and pride. Luminaries like Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes contributing to a global literary canon. Sports, particularly soccer, unify the nation in fervent support, alongside the enduring influence of telenovelas and iconic figures like Thalía and a deep-rooted sense of community and family.

The culture of an individual Mexican is influenced by familial ties, gender, religion, location, and social class, among other factors. Contemporary life in the cities of Mexico has become similar to that in the neighboring United States and in Europe, with provincial people conserving traditions more than city dwellers.

Religion

The Spanish arrival and colonization brought Roman Catholicism to the country, which became the main religion of Mexico. Mexico is a secular state, and the Constitution of 1917 and anti-clerical law imposed limitations on the church and sometimes codified state intrusion into church matters. The government does not provide any financial contributions to the church, and the church does not participate in public education.

In 2010, 95.6% of the population were Christian. Roman Catholics are 89% of the total, 47% percent of whom attend church services weekly. In absolute terms, Mexico has the world's second largest number of Catholics after Brazil. According to the Government's 2000 census, approximately 87 percent of respondents identified themselves as at least nominally Roman Catholic. Christmas is a national holiday and every year during Easter and Christmas all schools in Mexico, public and private, send their students on vacation.

Other religious groups for which the 2000 census provided estimates included evangelicals, with 1.71 percent of the population; other Protestant evangelical groups, 2.79 percent; members of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1.25 percent; "Historical" Protestants, 0.71 percent; Seventh-day Adventists, 0.58 percent; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 0.25 percent; Jews, 0.05 percent; and other religions, 0.31 percent. Approximately 3.52 percent of respondents indicated no religion, and 0.86 percent did not specify a religion.

Arts

Mexico is known for its folk art traditions, mostly derived from the indigenous and Spanish crafts. Pre-Columbian art thrived over a wide timescale, from 1800 BC to AD 1500. Certain artistic characteristics were repeated throughout the region, namely a preference for angular, linear patterns, and three-dimensional ceramics.

Notable handicrafts include clay pottery from the valley of Oaxaca and the village of Tonala. Colorfully embroidered cotton garments, cotton or wool shawls and outer garments, and colorful baskets and rugs are seen everywhere. Mexico is also known for its pre-Columbian architecture, especially for public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures.

Following the conquest, the first artistic efforts were directed at evangelization and the related task of building churches. The Spanish initially co-opted many indigenous stonemasons and sculptors to build churches, monuments and other religious art, such as altars. The prevailing style during this era was Baroque. In the period from independence to the early 20th century, Mexican fine arts continued to be largely influenced by European traditions.

After the Mexican Revolution, a new generation of Mexican artists led a vibrant national movement that incorporated political, historic and folk themes in their work. The painters Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Siqueiros were the main propagators of Mexican muralism. Their grand murals often displayed on public buildings, promoted social ideals. Rufino Tamayo and Frida Kahlo produced more personal works with abstract elements. Mexican art photography was largely fostered by the work of Manuel Álvarez Bravo.

Literature
Mexican literature has its antecedents in the literature of the indigenous settlements of Mesoamerica and European literature. The most well known pre-Hispanic poet is Netzahualcoyotl. Modern Mexican literature is influenced by the concepts of the Spanish colonialization of Mesoamerica. Outstanding colonial writers and poets include Juan Ruiz de Alarcón and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

Other notable writers include Alfonso Reyes, José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Maruxa Vilalta, Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz (Nobel Laureate), Renato Leduc, Mariano Azuela ("Los de abajo"), Juan Rulfo ("Pedro Páramo"), Juan José Arreola, and Bruno Traven.

Contemporary Mexican literature not only captures the essence of Mexican culture but also resonates with universal themes, making it a significant contribution to world literature. Authors like Elena Poniatowska, Juan Villoro, Valeria Luiselli, Yuri Herrera, and Fernanda Melchor delve into themes such as migration, inequality, historical memory, and the complexities of Mexican society.

Language

Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Although the overwhelming majority of Mexicans today speak Spanish, there is no de jure official language at the federal level. The government recognizes 62 indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages.

Some Spanish vocabulary in Mexico has roots in the country's indigenous languages, which are spoken by approximately 6% of the population. Some indigenous Mexican words have become common in other languages, such as the English language. For instance, the words tomato, chocolate, coyote, and avocado are Nahuatl in origin.

Architecture

With thirty-four sites, Mexico has more sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list than any other country in the Americas; most of the sites pertain to Mexico's architectural history. Mesoamerican architecture in Mexico is best known for its public, ceremonial, and urban monumental buildings and structures, several of which are the largest monuments in the world. Mesoamerican architecture is divided into three eras, Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is reputed to have declared the Puuc-style architecture of the Maya as the best in the Western Hemisphere.

The New Spanish Baroque dominated in early colonial Mexico. During the late 17th century to 1750, one of Mexico's most popular architectural styles was Mexican Churrigueresque, which combined Amerindian and Moorish decorative influences.

The Academy of San Carlos, founded in 1788, was the first major art academy in the Americas. The academy promoted Neoclassicism, focusing on Greek and Roman art and architecture. Notable Neoclassical works include the Hospicio Cabañas, a world heritage site, and the Palacio de Minería, both by Spanish Mexican architect Manuel Tolsá.

From 1864 to 1867, during the Second Mexican Empire, Maximilian I was installed as emperor of Mexico. His architectural legacy lies in the redesigning of the Castillo de Chapultepec and creating the Paseo de la Reforma. This intervention, financed largely by France, was brief, but it began a period of French influence in architecture and culture. The style was emphasized during the presidency of Porfirio Diaz, who was a pronounced francophile. Notable works from the Porfiriato include the Palacio de Correos and a large network of railways.

After the Mexican Revolution in 1917, idealization of the indigenous and the traditional symbolized attempts to reach into the past and retrieve what had been lost in the race toward modernization.

Functionalism, expressionism, and other schools left their imprint on a large number of works in which Mexican stylistic elements have been combined with European and American techniques, most notably the work of Pritzker Prize winner Luis Barragán. His personal home, the Luis Barragán House and Studio, is a World Heritage Site.

Enrique Norten, the founder of TEN Arquitectos, has been awarded several honors for his work in modern architecture. His work expresses a modernity that reinforces the government's desire to present a new image of Mexico as an industrialized country with a global presence.

Other notable and emerging contemporary architects include Mario Schjetnan, Michel Rojkind, Isaac Broid Zajman, Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta, and Alberto Kalach.

Cinema
The history of Mexican cinema dates to the beginning of the 20th century when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution. Mexican cinema began in the late 19th century with the introduction of film technology. The first Mexican film is considered to be "Don Juan Tenorio" (1898) by Salvador Toscano Barragán. The Golden Age of Mexican cinema is the name given to the period between 1935 and 1959, where the quality and economic success of the cinema of Mexico reached its peak. Directors like Emilio Fernández ("Maria Candelaria"), Fernando de Fuentes ("Vámonos con Pancho Villa"), and Julio Bracho ("Distinto Amanecer") were prominent figures. An era when renowned actors such as Cantinflas and Pedro Infante appeared on the silver screen. Actresses such as Dolores del Río and María Félix became icons of Mexican cinema during this era.

The emergence of the "Nuevo Cine Mexicano" in the late 20th century introduced new talents like Arturo Ripstein ("El Castillo de la Pureza") and Felipe Cazals ("Canoa"). In the renaissance and New Wave of the 1960s-1970s. Present-day film makers from 1980s-Present, include directors like Alfonso Cuarón ("Y Tu Mamá También"), Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth"), and Alejandro González Iñárritu ("Amores Perros) gained international acclaim, contributing to a resurgence in Mexican cinema's global influence. Other influential individuals include Carlos Reygadas (Stellet Licht), screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and directors of photography such as Guillermo Navarro and Emmanuel Lubezki. Mexican cinema today spans various genres, including comedy (e.g., films by Eugenio Derbez), horror (e.g., "Tigers Are Not Afraid" by Issa López), and drama.

National holidays

Mexicans celebrate their Independence from Spain on September 16, and other holidays are celebrated with festivals known as "Fiestas". Many Mexican cities, towns, and villages hold a yearly festival to commemorate their local patron saints. During these festivities, the people pray and burn candles to honor their saints in churches decorated with flowers and colorful utensils. They also hold large parades, fireworks, dance competitions, and beauty pageant contests, all the while partying and buying refreshments in the marketplaces and public squares. In the smaller towns and villages, soccer, and boxing are also celebrated during the festivities.

Other festivities include Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ("Our Lady of Guadalupe Day"), Las Posadas ("The Shelters", celebrated on December 16 to December 24), Noche Buena ("Holy Night", celebrated on December 24), Navidad ("Christmas", celebrated on December 25) and Año Nuevo ("New Year's Day", celebrated on December 31 to January 1).

"Guadalupe Day" is regarded by many Mexicans as the most important religious holiday of their country. It honors the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, and it is celebrated on December 12. In the last decade, all the celebrations happening from mid-December to the beginning of January have been linked together in what has been called the Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon.

Epiphany on the evening of January 5 marks the Twelfth Night of Christmas and is when the figurines of the three wise men are added to the nativity scene. Traditionally in Mexico, as with many other Latin American countries, Santa Claus does not hold the significance that he does in the United States. Rather, it is the three wise men who are the bearers of gifts, who leave presents in or near the shoes of small children. Mexican families also commemorate the date by eating Rosca de reyes.

The Day of the Dead incorporates pre-Columbian beliefs with Christian elements. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. An idea behind this day suggests the living must attend to the dead so that the dead will protect the living. The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. The gifts presented turn the graveyard from a dull and sorrowful place to an intimate and hospitable environment to celebrate the dead.

In modern Mexico, particularly in the larger cities and in the North, local traditions are now being observed and intertwined with the greater North American Santa Claus tradition, as well as with other holidays such as Halloween, due to Americanization via film and television, creating an economy of gifting tradition that spans from Christmas Day until January 6.

A piñata is made from papier-mache. It is created to look like popular people, animals, or fictional characters. Once made it is painted with bright colors and filled with candy or small toys. It is then hung from the ceiling. The children are blindfolded and take turns hitting the piñata until it breaks open and the candy and small toys fall out. The children then gather the candy and small toys.

Cuisine

Mexican cuisine is known for its blending of Indigenous and European cultures. The cuisine was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Traditionally, the main Mexican ingredients consisted of maize, beans, both red and white meats, potatoes, tomatoes, seafood, chili peppers, squash, nuts, avocados and various herbs native to Mexico.

Popular dishes include tacos, enchiladas, mole sauce, atole, tamales, and pozole. Popular beverages include water flavored with a variety of fruit juices, and cinnamon-flavored hot chocolate prepared with milk or water and blended until it becomes frothed using a traditional wooden tool called a molinillo. Alcoholic beverages native to Mexico include mescal, pulque, and tequila. Mexican beer is also popular in Mexico and are exported. There are international award-winning Mexican wineries that produce and export wine.

The most important and frequently used spices in Mexican cuisine are chili powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, epazote, cinnamon, and cocoa. Chipotle, a smoked-dried jalapeño pepper, is also common in Mexican cuisine. Many Mexican dishes also contain onions and garlic, which are also some of Mexico's staple foods.

Next to corn, rice is the most common grain in Mexican cuisine. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice to Spain from North Africa in the 14th century led to the Spanish introduction of rice to Mexico at the port of Veracruz in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world's greatest Fusion cuisines.

In southeastern Mexico, especially in the Yucatán Peninsula, spicy vegetable and meat dishes are common. The cuisine of Southeastern Mexico has quite a bit of Caribbean influence, given its geographical location. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, the latter having a famous reputation for its fish dishes, à la veracruzana.

Chocolate originated in Mexico and was prized by the Aztecs. It remains an important ingredient in Mexican cookery.

Vanilla originated in Mexico. It was first cultivated by the Totonacs of Mexico’s east coast. Vanilla is used in Mexico to flavor horchata and Mexican desserts such as churros.

Mexican tea culture is known for its traditional herbal teas such as chamomile, linden, orange blossom, spearmint and lemongrass.

Music and dance

The foundation of Mexican music comes from its indigenous sounds and heritage. The original inhabitants of the land used drums (such as the teponaztli), flutes, rattles, conches as trumpets and their voices to make music and dances. These were common during celebrations like Netotiliztli. This ancient music is still played in some parts of Mexico; however, much of the traditional contemporary music of Mexico was written during and after the Spanish colonial period, using many old world influenced instruments. Many traditional instruments, such as the Mexican vihuela used in Mariachi music, were adapted from their old world predecessors and are now considered very Mexican.

Mexican society enjoys a vast array of music genres, showing the diversity of Mexican culture. Traditional music includes Mariachi, Banda, Norteño, Ranchera, Cumbia, and Corridos. Traditional Mexican music enjoys some popularity outside Mexico, and is particularly popular in Chile. Some iconic traditional Mexican songs Cielito Lindo, La Adelita, El Rey, Jarabe Tapatío, (Mexican Hat Dance) La Llorona, La Bamba, and Las Mañanitas.

Mexicans also listen to contemporary music such as pop and Mexican rock. Mexico has the largest media industry in Latin America, producing Mexican artists who are famous in the Americas and parts of Europe.

Folk songs called corridos have been popular in Mexico since the early nineteen hundreds. It may tell the story of the Mexican Revolution, pride, Mestizaje, romance, poverty, politics, or crime. Notable Afro-Mexican contributions to the country's music are the Son Jarocho and the marimba.

Mariachis perform along streets, festivals and restaurants. A common Mariachi group can include singers, violins, a guitarrón, a guitarra de golpe, vihuela, guitars, and trumpets. The most prominent Mariachi group is Vargas de Tecalitlán, which was originally formed in 1897.

Other styles of traditional regional music in México: Huapango or Son Huasteco (Huasteca, northeastern regions, violin and two guitars known as quinta huapanguera and jarana), Tambora (Sinaloa, mainly brass instruments) Duranguense, Jarana (most of the Yucatán peninsula) and Norteña (North style, redoba and accordion).

Folk dances are a feature of Mexican culture. Significant in dance tradition is the "Jarabe Tapatío", known as "Mexican hat dance". Traditional dancers perform a sequence of hopping steps, heel, and toe-tapping movements.

Among the most known "classical" composers: Manuel M. Ponce ("Estrellita"), Revueltas, Jordá (Elodia), Ricardo Castro, Juventino Rosas ("Sobre las olas"), Carrillo (Sonido 13), Ibarra, Pablo Moncayo (Huapango) and Carlos Chávez.

Popular composers includes: Agustín Lara, Consuelo Velázquez ("Bésame Mucho"), José Alfredo Jiménez, Armando Manzanero, Álvaro Carrillo, Joaquín Pardavé and Alfonso Ortiz Tirado.

Traditional Mexican music has influenced the evolution of the Mexican pop and Mexican rock genre. Some well-known Mexican pop singers are Luis Miguel and Alejandro Fernández. Latin rock musicians such as Carlos Santana, Café Tacuba, and Caifanes have incorporated Mexican folk tunes into their music. Traditional Mexican music is still alive in the voices of artists such as Lila Downs.

Sport

The traditional national sport of Mexico is Charreria, which consists of a series of equestrian events. The national horse of Mexico, used in Charreria, is the Azteca. Bullfighting, a tradition brought from Spain, is also popular. Mexico has the largest venue for bullfighting in the world - the Plaza México in Mexico City which seats 48,000 people.

Football is the most popular team sport in Mexico. Most states have their own representative football teams. Among the country's significant teams include Chivas de Guadalajara, Club América, Cruz Azul, and Pumas de la UNAM. Notable players include Hugo Sánchez, Claudio Suárez, Luis Hernández, Francisco Palencia, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Memo Ochoa, Jared Borgetti, Rafael Márquez, Pável Pardo, and Javier Hernández.

The country hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1968 and the FIFA World Cup in 1970, 1986, and the upcoming 2026 and will be first country to host the FIFA World Cup three times.

title: Culture of Mexico


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Secret identity

A secret identity is a person's cryptonym, incognito, cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalent in the American comic book genre, and is a trope of the masquerade.

In American comic books, a character typically has dual identities, one overt and one covert. The false or public identity being known to the general public as the "superhero persona" and the other being the secret identity. The private or secret identity is typically the superhero's legal name, true identity, and/or "civilian persona" when they are not actively assuming the superhero persona. It is kept hidden from their enemies and the general public to protect themselves from legal ramifications, pressure, or public scrutiny, as well as to protect their friends and loved ones from harm secondary to their actions as superheroes.

Example

 * Bruce Wayne's "playboy billionaire" is portrayed in all media as his "mask", or false identity, while his Batman persona is his "face", or true identify.
 * Clark maintains three separate identities: the reporter Clark Kent and the superhero Superman identities each allows different means of helping people. These identities are kept separate from his Smallville farmer identity, in order to protect his family's privacy.
 * Danny Fenton maintains two separate identities: the teenage boy Danny Fenton and the superhero Danny Phantom identities allows different means of fighting crime and helping people; these identities are similar to Spider-Man.
 * Kit Taylor maintains his human identity and the superhero Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight identities each allows different means of helping people. These identities are kept separate in Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight.

Occasionally, this trope is inverted. Examples of this are:
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man (2008), where the film ends with the lead character declaring to the world “I am Iron Man”
 * Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), where it ends with Peter Parker's civilian persona being permanently erased from the memory of the entire world, as a result of a spell by Doctor Strange.

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Assault weapon

In the United States, assault weapon is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms. There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud. Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons. When the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use." The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time.

The origin of the term has been attributed to legislators, the firearms industry, gun control groups,  and the media. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term assault rifle, which refers to selective fire rifles that use intermediate cartridges. This use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term. After the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, many news organizations ran stories about assault weapons, explaining their varying definitions and presenting varying opinions about whether they should be banned again at the federal level.

Definitions and usage
Drawing from federal and state law definitions, the term assault weapon refers primarily to semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns that are able to accept detachable magazines and possess one or more other features. Some jurisdictions define revolving-cylinder shotguns as assault weapons. Legislative definitions do not include fully automatic weapons, which are regulated separately as Title II weapons under federal law. A key defining law was the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. At that time, the United States Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."

Common attributes used in legislative definitions of assault weapons include:

 * Semi-automatic firearm capable of accepting a detachable magazine;
 * Folding or telescoping (collapsible) stock, which reduces the overall length of the firearm;
 * A pistol grip that protrudes beneath the action of the weapon;
 * Bayonet lug, which allows the mounting of a bayonet;
 * Threaded barrel, which can accept muzzle devices such as a flash hider, suppressor, compensator or muzzle brake;
 * Grenade launcher;
 * Barrel shroud.

Dictionary definitions vary from legal definitions. Dictionary.com defines "assault weapon" as "any of various automatic and semiautomatic military firearms utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge, designed for individual use". The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary's definition is "any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially: assault rifle".

History of terminology
The origin of the term is not clearly known and is the subject of much debate. In the past, the names of certain military weapons used the phrase, such as the Rifleman's Assault Weapon, a grenade launcher developed in 1977 for use with the M16 assault rifle, or the Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, a rocket launcher introduced in 1984.

One of the earliest uses of the term, or a similar term, in its current meaning was as part of an advertisement in The Hutchinson News (Kansas) in 1978 for the Valmets-7.62×39, the Colt AR-15, and the Wilkinson Terry carbine. Another was in a bill introduced by Art Agnos in the California State Assembly in April 1985 to ban semi-automatic "assault firearms" capable of using detachable magazines of 20 rounds or more. Speaking to the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Agnos said, "The only use for assault weapons is to shoot people." The measure did not pass when it came up for a vote.

In 2013, The Washington Post, looking into the history of the term, wrote of the term: "Many attribute its popularization to a 1988 paper written by gun-control activist and Violence Policy Center founder Josh Sugarmann and the later reaction to the Cleveland School massacre in Stockton, California, in January 1989." Sugarmann had written:

"Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons."

Other researchers have found evidence to suggest that the firearms industry itself may have introduced the term "assault weapon" to build interest in new product lines. Phillip Peterson, the author of Gun Digest Buyer’s Guide to Assault Weapons (2008) wrote:

"The popularly held idea that the term 'assault weapon' originated with anti-gun activists is wrong. The term was first adopted by manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and dealers in the American firearms industry to stimulate sales of certain firearms that did not have an appearance that was familiar to many firearms owners. The manufacturers and gun writers of the day needed a catchy name to identify this new type of gun."

Meanwhile, many gun rights activists have put forward that the term was popularized by the media or gun control activists. Conservative writer Rich Lowry said that assault weapon is a "manufactured term". Joseph P. Tartaro of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) wrote in 1994: "One of the key elements of the anti-gun strategy to gull the public into supporting bans on the so-called 'assault weapons' is to foster confusion. As stated previously, the public does not know the difference between a full automatic and a semi-automatic firearm." Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said "the term 'assault weapon,' as used by the media, is a media invention." Gun control supporters use the term while gun rights supporters generally do not use the term.

Differing state law definitions
Seven states have assault weapon bans with different definitions and characteristics.

 * California defines assault weapons by name, by "series" (AK-47 or AR-15), and by characteristic. A shotgun with a revolving cylinder is also defined as an assault weapon.
 * Connecticut defines assault weapons as selective-fire firearms (including assault rifles capable of fully automatic or burst fire); semi-automatic firearms specified by name; and semi-automatic firearms with specific characteristics.
 * Hawaii defines and bans assault pistols.
 * Maryland defines and bans assault pistols. It regulates 45 other assault weapons listed by make or model including copies, regardless of manufacturer.
 * Massachusetts defines assault weapons as semi-automatic firearms with the same definition provisions from the expired federal ban of 1994.
 * New York had an assault weapons ban prior to 2013, but on January 16 of that year it passed the SAFE Act, which created a stricter definition of assault weapons and banned them immediately.  The NY SAFE Act defines assault weapons as semi-automatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and one military-style feature, and semi-automatic shotguns with one military-style feature.

In Illinois, proposed legislation in 2013 would have defined the term "semi-automatic assault weapon" as any semi-automatic firearm able to accept a detachable magazine, but it was never brought to a vote. The Illinois State Rifle Association said most of the state's firearms owners owned one or more guns that would have been banned under the proposal. The NRA said the proposal would have restricted about 75 percent of handguns and 50 percent of long guns in circulation. As municipalities, Chicago and Cook County bans certain firearms defined as assault weapons and have no provision for legal possession of firearms owned before their laws were passed. Minnesota also defines certain firearms as assault weapons and regulates their sales. The State of Washington defines any semi-automatic rifle (except antiques), regardless of features, caliber, or magazine type, as a "semiautomatic assault rifle".

Distinction from assault rifles
The term "assault rifle" is frequently used interchangeably with the term "assault weapon" but this use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term. The AP Stylebook suggests that newsrooms avoid the terms "assault weapon" and "assault rifle" instead using the term "semi-automatic rifle". Part of the definition of "assault rifle", according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, is that it is selective-fire, which means that it is capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. Civilian ownership of machine guns, including selective-fire rifles, has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National Firearms Act and since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act.

Cosmetic features
Gun control advocates and gun rights advocates have referred to at least some of the features outlined in assault weapons bans as "cosmetic". The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the Violence Policy Center both used the term in 2004 when the federal ban expired. In May 2012, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, "the inclusion in the list of features that were purely cosmetic in nature created a loophole that allowed manufacturers to successfully circumvent the law by making minor modifications to the weapons they already produced." Some reporters used the term in stories after the 2012 shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut.

Assault weapons, also sometimes called "black guns" or "black rifles", are no more powerful than many other semi-automatic rifles legally used for hunting throughout the United States; they do not shoot faster or have greater range.

Two scholars have written: "One problem inherent in the study of [assault weapons (AW)] is that the classifications of AW are based on cosmetic features of firearms... For instance, the Colt AR-15 series of semi-automatic rifles—the civilian version of the fully automatic M-16 rifle issued to U.S. soldiers—was subject to the 1994 AW restrictions, but the Ruger Mini-14 rifle was not banned. Yet, the Mini-14 is the same caliber, has a similar barrel length, the same semi-automatic action, and can use magazines that hold 30 rounds of ammunition. The only real meaningful difference between the two firearms is cosmetic: The AR-15 rifle looks more dangerous."

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group, states that the term assault weapon has been misapplied to many semi-automatic firearms because of their appearance and not their use in crime.

Political and legislative issues

As of 2021, there are an estimated 16–44 million rifles from just the AR-15 family of rifles in civilian use in the United States.

Defunct U.S. Federal Assault Weapons Ban
The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994, more commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, expired in 2004. It banned the manufacture or importation of certain semi-automatic firearms that it defined as "semiautomatic assault weapons", commonly known as assault weapons. Any firearms so defined that were already possessed at the time the law took effect were grandfathered in, and could be legally owned or transferred. Another aspect of the law banned the manufacture or importation of magazines that could hold more than ten rounds of ammunition, with existing magazines grandfathered in as legal.

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 defined certain firearms as assault weapons based on the features they possessed. This included semi-automatic rifles with a detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel, a bayonet mount, or a muzzle-mounted grenade launcher. It included semi-automatic pistols with a detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, or an unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more. Additionally defined as assault weapons were semi-automatic shotguns with a rotating cylinder, or with at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a detachable magazine, or a fixed magazine that can hold more than five rounds.

The ban also prohibited 19 specifically named models of firearms, as well as copies of those guns. These included the AK-47, Uzi, Galil, AR-15, FN FAL, MAC-10, Steyr AUG, TEC-9, and Armsel Striker.

Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 bill
On December 16, 2012, two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would introduce a new assault weapons ban on the first day of Congress. Five days later, on December 21, Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association, held a news conference repeating the NRA's opposition to additional gun laws. Feinstein and Senator Richard Blumenthal held a separate news conference in response. There, Feinstein said that it seemed to her "prudent" to register grandfathered assault weapons under the National Firearms Act (NFA). A two-page bill summary on the senator's web site also mentioned registering grandfathered assault weapons under the NFA, but the text of the bill introduced to the Senate did not include that provision.

On January 24, 2013, Feinstein introduced S. 150, the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2013". The bill was similar to the 1994 ban, but differed in that it used a one-feature test for a firearm to qualify as an assault weapon rather than the two-feature test of the 1994 ban. On April 17, 2013, it failed on a Senate vote of 60 to 40.

title: Assault weapon


text:
Talk:Assault weapon

The page is linked to from pages about Canada
So clearly just describing how ONE political party in ONE country used the word is inadequate. 2604:3D09:D78:1000:377E:61DF:3EAC:2898 (talk) 15:08, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Good point. But as a starting point, this is an article about a fluid American political term, not a type of firearm. North8000 (talk) 15:12, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Is there any reason the scope of the article can't include analogous legislation in other countries? VQuakr (talk) 16:12, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Keeping in mind that "this is an article about a fluid American political term, not a type of firearm." The issue is "analogous in what way?" North8000 (talk) 18:32, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * In the way that the term and concept is also used in Canadian firearms legislation/politics. . VQuakr (talk) 18:51, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I missed your post at the time.  Not sure what to say; they threw around all kinds of terms in what was covered in that article including 2 different ones with "assault" in them (including conflating with the "assault rifle", the full auto firearms which only the military gets to have) but didn't use the term "assault weapon" and this article is really about a term. But it might be good to include what you linked beacuse it shows use os similar sounding terms in  political context. North8000 (talk) 17:05, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the ping. I do not really agree this article is about a term. It is about the vaguely defined grouping of firearms that the various definitions of the term classify. It is therefore about a political concept. But the specific phrase "assault weapon" was indeed used in connection with the Canadian program, . VQuakr (talk) 17:29, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Note on Hawaii ban on assault pistols
I think that the recently added note is out of place and that it is WP:SYNTH placing a text about the difficulty of defining the term just after the text "Hawaii defines and bans assault pistols." This gives me the impression that it is intended to tell the reader that the Hawaii ban is poorly defined.

Also, I am not at all sure that the text in the book refers to the Hawaii ban. I found the snippet of text on page 192 (which is not part of the Google Books preview), not page 351 as the citation says. , did you read the page in question to verify that the text is about Hawaii?

The note could fit somewhere, just not there, as another supporting ref for the fact that definitions of these weapons are often unclear and disputed, but maybe not where it is now. Sjö (talk) 16:14, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Sjö, I corrected the page numbers--thank you. I was able to read all those pages. The text does not refer to Hawaii, at least not on those pages, but the fact that "pistol" is already italicized in our text makes it clear that there is something about the word, something that is clarified in the note. I placed the note behind the first occurrence of the term "assault pistol". If you wish to see it elsewhere, I don't disagree necessarily, but the best thing to do is to add it as text, and that could go maybe in the first section of "Definitions and usage"--sure. Let me just state also that this brief note came from an article Assault pistol, which was blanked and redirected without much fanfare in 2020. Thank you, Drmies (talk) 16:33, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Sjö, if you feel like writing, I'm seeing a lot of news hits because whatever an assault pistol really is, it was used in the 2023 Monterey Park shooting, where eleven people were killed. Some of that coverage specifically addresses the term, and it may be illegal in California, which I suppose should also be itemized in that list with state law definitions. There's more to say on the topic and all its vagueries; the Trace article can do that, and there's this as well. I'm not sure this should be cited. This might be helpful though. Drmies (talk) 16:42, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Assault weapon


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John Burgoyne

General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, most notably during the Portugal campaign of 1762.

Burgoyne is best known for his role in the American Revolutionary War. He designed an invasion scheme and was appointed to command a force moving south from Canada to split away New England and end the rebellion. Burgoyne advanced from Canada but his slow movement allowed the Americans to concentrate their forces. Instead of coming to his aid according to the overall plan, the British Army in New York City moved south to capture Philadelphia. Burgoyne fought two small battles near Saratoga but was surrounded by American forces and, with no relief in sight, surrendered his entire army of 6,200 men on 17 October 1777. His surrender, according to the historian Edmund Morgan, "was a great turning point of the war, because it won for Americans the foreign assistance which was the last element needed for victory". France had been supplying the North American colonists since the spring of 1776. Burgoyne and his officers returned to England; the enlisted men became prisoners of war. He came under sharp criticism when he returned to London.

The rise of the politically friendly Shelburne ministry in 1782 saw a brief revival of his military career. He was appointed commander-in-chief of crown forces in Ireland and appointed colonel of the 4th Regiment of Foot. However the return to power of the Tories in 1784 marked the end of Burgoyne's active service.

Burgoyne was also an accomplished playwright, known for his works such as The Maid of the Oaks and The Heiress, but his plays never reached the fame of his military career. He served as a member of the House of Commons for many years, sitting for the seats of Midhurst and Preston.

Family and education
John Burgoyne was born in Sutton, Bedfordshire on 24 February 1722, son of Army officer Captain John Burgoyne (died 1768; son of Sir John Burgoyne, 3rd Baronet), of Sherbourne, Warwickshire, and Anna Maria, daughter of Charles Burneston, a wealthy Hackney merchant. There were rumours that Burgoyne was in fact the illegitimate son of Lord Bingley, who was his godfather. When Bingley died in 1731, his will specified that Burgoyne was to inherit his estate if his daughters had no male issue.

From the age of 10, Burgoyne attended the prestigious Westminster School, as did many British army officers of the time such as Thomas Gage, with whom Burgoyne would later serve. Burgoyne was athletic and outgoing and enjoyed life at the school where he made numerous important friends, in particular Lord James Strange. In August 1737, Burgoyne purchased a commission in the Horse Guards, a fashionable cavalry regiment. They were stationed in London and his duties were light, allowing him to cut a figure in high society. He soon acquired the nickname "Gentleman Johnny" and became well known for his stylish uniforms and general high living which saw him run up large debts. In 1741 Burgoyne sold his commission, possibly to settle gambling debts.

The outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession led to an expansion in the size of the British Army. In April 1745, Burgoyne joined the newly raised 1st Royal Dragoons as a cornet, a commission he did not have to pay for as it was newly created. In April 1745, he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1747, Burgoyne managed to scrape the money together to purchase a captaincy. The end of the war in 1748 cut off any prospect of further active service.

Elopement
Through his friendship with Lord Strange, Burgoyne came to know Strange's sister, Lady Charlotte Stanley, the daughter of Lord Derby, one of Britain's leading politicians. After Derby refused permission for Burgoyne to marry Charlotte, they eloped together and married without his permission in April 1751. An outraged Derby cut his daughter off without a penny. Unable to support his wife otherwise, Burgoyne again sold his commission, raising £2,600, which they lived off for the next few years.

In October 1751, Burgoyne and his new wife went to live in continental Europe travelling through France and Italy. While in France, Burgoyne met and befriended the Duc de Choiseul who would later become the Foreign Minister and directed French policy during the Seven Years War. While in Rome, Burgoyne had his portrait painted by the British artist Allan Ramsay. In late 1754, Burgoyne's wife gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth, who was to prove to be the couple's only child. In the hope that a granddaughter would soften Derby's opposition to their marriage, the Burgoynes returned to Britain in 1755. Lord Strange interceded on their behalf with Derby, who soon changed his mind and accepted them back into the family. Burgoyne soon became a favourite of Derby, who used his influence to boost Burgoyne's prospects.

Seven Years War
A month after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Burgoyne bought a commission in the 11th Dragoons. In 1758, he became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Coldstream Guards.

Raids on French coast
In 1758, he participated in several expeditions against the French coast. During this period he was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the British Army. The two regiments then formed were commanded by George Augustus Eliott (afterwards Lord Heathfield) and Burgoyne. This was a revolutionary step, and Burgoyne was a pioneer in the early development of British light cavalry. Burgoyne admired independent thought amongst common soldiers, and encouraged his men to use their own initiative, in stark contrast to the established system employed at the time by the British army.

Portuguese campaign
In 1761, he sat in parliament for Midhurst, and in the following year he served as a brigadier-general in Portugal which had just entered the war. Burgoyne won particular distinction by leading his cavalry in the capture of Valencia de Alcántara and of Vila Velha de Ródão following the Battle of Valencia de Alcántara, compensating for the Portuguese loss of Almeida. This played a major part in repulsing a large Spanish force bent on invading Portugal. Burgoyne's conduct during the invasion greatly impressed his superior; the Field Marshal Count La Lippe. La Lippe commissioned the 1766 portrait of Burgoyne by Joshua Reynolds and the painting was held by Lippe's descendants until 1943.

Politics
In 1768, he was elected to the House of Commons for Preston as a Whig. For the next few years he occupied himself chiefly with his parliamentary duties, in which he was remarkable for his general outspokenness and, in particular, for his attacks on Lord Clive, who was at the time considered the nation's leading soldier. He achieved prominence in 1772 by demanding an investigation of the East India Company alleging widespread corruption by its officials and much later in life Burgoyne would take an active part in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. During the interwar years Burgoyne devoted much attention to art and drama (his first play, The Maid of the Oaks, was produced by David Garrick in 1775).

Early campaigns

In the army, he had been promoted to major-general and made Governor of Fort William (commander of the major British Army garrison in Scotland). At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he was appointed to command British reinforcements, and arrived in Boston in May 1775, a few weeks after the first shots of the war had been fired. He participated as part of the garrison during the Siege of Boston, although he did not see action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, in which the British forces were led by William Howe and Henry Clinton. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities, he returned to England long before the rest of the garrison, which evacuated the city in March 1776.

In 1776, he was at the head of the British reinforcements that sailed up the Saint Lawrence River and relieved Quebec City, which was under siege by the Continental Army. He led forces under General Guy Carleton in the drive that chased the Continental Army from the province of Quebec. Carleton then led the British forces onto Lake Champlain, but was, in Burgoyne's opinion, insufficiently bold when he failed to attempt the capture of Fort Ticonderoga after winning the naval Battle of Valcour Island in October.

Saratoga campaign
The following year, having convinced King George III and his government of Carleton's faults, Burgoyne was given command of the British forces charged with gaining control of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River valley. The plan, largely of his own creation, was for Burgoyne and his force to cross Lake Champlain from Quebec and capture Ticonderoga before advancing on Albany, New York, where they would rendezvous with another British army under General Howe coming north from New York City, and a smaller force that would come down the Mohawk River valley under Barry St. Leger. This would divide New England from the southern colonies, and, it was believed, make it easier to end the rebellion.

From the beginning, Burgoyne was vastly overconfident. Leading what he believed was an overwhelming force, he saw the campaign largely as a stroll that would make him a national hero who had saved the rebel colonies for the crown. Before leaving London, he had wagered Charles James Fox 10 pounds that he would return victorious within a year. He refused to heed more cautious voices, both British and American, that suggested a successful campaign using the route he proposed was impossible, as the failed attempt the previous year had shown.

Underlining the plan was the belief that Burgoyne's aggressive thrust from Quebec would be aided by the movements of two other large British forces under Generals Howe and Clinton, who would support the advance. However, Lord Germain's orders dispatched from London were not clear on this point, with the effect that Howe took no action to support Burgoyne, and Clinton moved from New York too late and in too little strength to be any great help to Burgoyne. As a result of this miscommunication, Burgoyne ended up conducting the campaign single-handedly. He was not yet aware that he would not be gaining additional support, and was still reasonably confident of success. Having amassed an army of over 7,000 troops in Quebec, Burgoyne was also led to believe by reports that he could rely on the support of large numbers of Native Americans and American Loyalists who would rally to the flag once the British came south. Even if the countryside was not as pro-British as expected, much of the area between Lake Champlain and Albany was underpopulated anyway, and Burgoyne was skeptical any major enemy force could gather there.

The campaign was initially successful. Burgoyne gained possession of the vital outposts of Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Edward, but, pushing on, decided to break his communications with Quebec. The news of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga was hailed in Britain as a great victory, which even King George III is said to have celebrated and Burgoyne was subsequently promoted to lieutenant-general. Burgoyne's force however was eventually hemmed in by a superior force led by American Major General Horatio Gates. Several attempts to break through the enemy lines were repulsed at Saratoga in September and October 1777. Benedict Arnold played a significant role in those battles. Burgoyne's aide-de-camp Sir Francis Clerke was killed on 15 October. On 17 October 1777, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army, numbering 5,800. This was the greatest victory the American forces had up to that point in the Revolutionary War, and it proved to be the turning point in the war, as France entered into an alliance with the American Patriots. Burgoyne's journey through the wilderness of New York was hampered by his insistence of bringing 30 carriages of fine clothes and champagne.

Convention Army
Rather than an outright unconditional surrender, Burgoyne had agreed to a convention that involved his men surrendering their weapons, and returning to Europe with a pledge not to return to North America. Burgoyne had been most insistent on this point, even suggesting he would try to fight his way back to Quebec if it was not agreed. Soon afterwards the Continental Congress repudiated the treaty and imprisoned the remnants of the army in Massachusetts and Virginia, where they were sometimes maltreated. This was widely seen as revenge for the poor treatment that prisoners-of-war of the Continental Army had received while imprisoned.

Following Saratoga, the indignation in Britain against Burgoyne was great. He returned at once, with the leave of the American general, to defend his conduct and demanded but never obtained a inquiry. He was deprived of his regiment and the governorship of Fort William in Scotland, which he had held since 1769. The government demanded that Burgoyne at once return to America to re-join the Convention Army and continue negotiations for its return. When Burgoyne refused he was gazetted out of the army with loss of rank; a rare public rebuke of a high ranking officer for which Burgoyne received widespread ridicule in Britain. He was not formally re-instated to the army until 1782 when the Whigs returned to power. Following the defeat, France recognised the United States and formally entered the war on 6 February 1778, transforming it into a global conflict.

Although Burgoyne at the time was widely held to blame for the defeat, historians have over the years shifted responsibility for the disaster at Saratoga to Lord Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Germain had overseen the overall strategy for the campaign and had significantly neglected to order General Howe to support Burgoyne's invasion, instead leaving him to believe that he was free to launch his own attack on Philadelphia.

Later life

Although elected as a Whig Burgoyne had been a supporter of the North government. Following his return from Saratoga he began to associate with the Rockingham Whigs. In 1782 when his political friends came into office, Burgoyne was restored to his rank, given the colonelcy of the King's Own Royal Regiment, made commander-in-chief in Ireland and appointed a privy councillor. After the fall of the Rockingham government in 1783, Burgoyne withdrew more and more into private life. His last public service was his participation in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. He died quite unexpectedly on 4 August 1792 at his home in Mayfair, after having been seen the previous night at the theatre in apparent good health. Burgoyne is buried in Westminster Abbey, in the North Walk of the Cloisters.

After the death of his wife in 1776, Burgoyne had four children by his mistress Susan Caulfield; one was Field Marshal John Fox Burgoyne, father of Hugh Talbot Burgoyne, VC. A grandchild of Burgoyne, Admiral Geoffrey Hornby was notable in helping to avert a war between the United States and Great Britain in the 19th century.

Dramatist
In his time Burgoyne was a notable playwright, writing a number of popular plays. The most notable were The Maid of the Oaks (1774) and The Heiress (1786). He assisted Richard Brinsley Sheridan in his production of The Camp, which he may have co-authored. He also wrote the libretto for William Jackson's only successful opera, The Lord of the Manor (1780). He also wrote a translated semi-opera version of Michel-Jean Sedaine's work Richard Coeur de lion with music by Thomas Linley the elder for the Drury Lane Theatre where it was very successful in 1788. Had it not been for his role in the American War of Independence, Burgoyne would most likely be foremost remembered today as a dramatist.

Works

 * The Dramatic and Poetical Works of the Late Lieut. Gen. J. Burgoyne, London 1808. Facsimile ed., 2 vols. in 1, 1977, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, ISBN 978-0-8201-1285-5.
 * The Maid of the Oaks (1774), staged by David Garrick with music by François Barthélemon
 * The Blockade of Boston (1776), a satire on the conduct of the war, written during the Siege of Boston
 * The Camp (1778) possible collaboration with Sheridan
 * The Lord of the Manor (1780)
 * The Heiress (1786)
 * Richard Coeur de Lion (1786)
 * Credited with writing the lyrics to Dashing White Sergeant

Legacy
Burgoyne has often been portrayed by historians and commentators as a classic example of the marginally-competent aristocratic British general who acquired his rank by political connections, rather than ability. However, accounts of those that served under him, particularly that of Corporal Roger Lamb, noted that Burgoyne "shunned no danger; his presence and conduct animated the troops (for they greatly loved their general)." Accounts of the lavish lifestyle that he maintained on the Saratoga campaign, combined with a gentlemanly bearing and his career as a playwright led less-than-friendly contemporaries to caricature him, as the historian George Billias wrote, "a buffoon in uniform who bungled his assignments badly." Much of the historical record, Billias noted, is based upon those characterisations. Billias considered Burgoyne to be a ruthless and risk-taking general with a keen perception of his opponents and also a perceptive social and political commentator.

Burgoyne has made appearances as a character in historical and alternative history fiction. He appears as a character in George Bernard Shaw's play The Devil's Disciple and its 1959 and 1987 film adaptions, portrayed by Laurence Olivier and Ian Richardson respectively. Historical novels by Chris Humphreys that are set during the Saratoga campaign also feature him, and alternate or mystical history versions of his campaign are featured in For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel and the 1975 CBS Radio Mystery Theater play Windandingo.

title: John Burgoyne


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Southern rock

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.

1950s and 1960s: origins
Rock music's origins lie mostly in the music of the American South, and many stars from the first wave of 1950s rock and roll such as Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis hailed from the Deep South. However, the British Invasion and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the middle 1960s shifted the focus of new rock music away from the rural south and to large cities like Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.

In the 1960s, rock musician Lonnie Mack blended black and white roots-music genres within the framework of rock, beginning with the hit song "Memphis" in 1963. Music historian Dick Shurman considers Mack's recordings from that era "a prototype of what later could be called Southern rock".

The Allman Brothers Band, from Jacksonville, Florida, made their national debut in 1969 and soon gained a loyal following. Duane Allman's playing on the two Hour Glass albums and an Hour Glass session in early 1968 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama had caught the ear of Rick Hall, owner of FAME.

In November 1968, Hall hired Allman to play on an album with Wilson Pickett. Allman's work on that album, Hey Jude (1968), got him hired as a full-time session musician at Muscle Shoals and brought him to the attention of a number of other musicians, such as Eric Clapton, who later related how he heard Pickett's version of "Hey Jude" on his car radio and called Atlantic Records to find out who the guitarist was: "To this day," Clapton said, "I've never heard better rock guitar playing on an R&B record. It's the best." Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971.

Their blues rock sound incorporated long jams informed by jazz and also drew from native elements of country and folk. They were also contemporary in their electric guitar and keyboard delivery. Gregg Allman commented that "Southern rock" was a redundant term, like "rock rock."

From late 1960s to early 1970s, popular musicians in the southern area included Creedence Clearwater Revival (from California), Dale Hawkins, Delaney & Bonnie, Janis Joplin, Leon Russell, and Tony Joe White.

1970s: peak of popularity
Charlie Daniels' self-titled debut album, released in 1970, was a pivotal recording in the development of the Southern rock genre, "because it points the way to how the genre could and would sound, and how country music could retain its hillbilly spirit and rock like a mother," according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Erlewine described Daniels as "a redneck rebel, not fitting into either the country or the rock & roll [...] but, in retrospect, he sounds like a visionary, pointing the way to the future when southern rockers saw no dividing lines between rock, country, and blues, and only saw it all as sons of the south."

Daniels later formed the Charlie Daniels Band, a group which fused rock, country, blues, and jazz. Erlewine described the band's sound as "a distinctly Southern blend" which emphasized improvisation in their instrumentation. After the success of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", a single which Erlewine described as a "roaring country-disco fusion", Daniels shifted his sound from rock to country music and "helped shape the sound of country-rock".

The Marshall Tucker Band, from Spartanburg, South Carolina, opened many of The Allman Brothers Band concerts using elements of blues, country rock and blues rock in their music. They also collaborated with Charlie Daniels.

Their self-titled album, released in 1973, included the hit "Can't You See". Perhaps known best for the single "Fire on the Mountain," the Marshall Tucker Band hit "Heard it in a Love Song" charted in 1977.

Lynyrd Skynyrd of Jacksonville, Florida, is known for "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Saturday Night Special", and "What's Your Name". They played British hard rock influenced music until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash. After this tragic plane crash, members Allen Collins and Gary Rossington started the Rossington Collins Band.

In the early 1970s other Southern rock groups emerged, influenced by the British rock and hard rock guitar sound exemplified by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff, and Richie Blackmore, for example.

The harder rocking Southern groups' music emphasized boogie rhythms and fast guitar leads with lyrics extolling love affair, dream, desire, hard work, of Southern working-class young adults, like the outlaw country movement.

Late 1970s Southern rock bands such as The Atlanta Rhythm Section (former Classics IV) and the Amazing Rhythm Aces achieved success with bluesy vocals.

The Allman Brothers Band's offshoot Sea Level explored crossover and jazz fusion.

Other popular Southern rock musicians in the 1970s included:

 * Barefoot Jerry
 * Black Oak Arkansas
 * Blackfoot
 * Edgar Winter Group
 * Grinderswitch
 * Molly Hatchet
 * Wet Willie
 * Johnny Winter
 * ZZ Top

Loosely associated with the country music style of Southern rock were acts like Barefoot Jerry from North Carolina.
 * The Outlaws from Tampa, Florida, brought bluegrass licks into their music
 * Louisiana's Le Roux ranged from Cajun-flavored sound early years, on to a more AC, hard rock, arena rock sound later on.

1980s and 1990s: continuing influence
By the beginning of the 1980s, the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd had disbanded, and Capricorn Records had gone bankrupt. Leading acts of the genre (in particular, 38 Special) had become enmeshed in arena rock. With the rise of MTV, new wave, funk, urban contemporary, and heavy metal, most surviving Southern rock groups were relegated to secondary or regional venues. Rock musicians such as Molly Hatchet, Outlaws, Georgia Satellites, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan, Point Blank, Tom Petty, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Earle, Widespread Panic, and Kentucky Headhunters, emerged as popular Southern bands across the southeastern United States during the 1980s and 1990s.

During the 1990s, the Allman Brothers reunited and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music.

Georgia's alternative rock band R.E.M. released the album Fables of the Reconstruction which explicitly invokes the Reconstruction Era in the title and is considered a Southern Gothic album.

The 1990s also saw the Black Crowes rise to mainstream popularity with the releases of Shake Your Money Maker (3× platinum), the Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and certified 2× platinum), and Amorica (certified Gold).

Metal/Punk
From 1990s to 2000s, heavy metal and punk were popular in the South. Hard rock groups with Southern rock touches such as Jackyl renewed some interest in Southern rock. Several bands from the Southern United States (particularly New Orleans with its metal scene), such as Eyehategod,  Acid Bath, Soilent Green, Corrosion of Conformity and Down,  influenced by the Melvins, mixed Black Sabbath-style metal, hardcore punk and Southern rock to give shape to what would be known as sludge metal. Most notable sludge metal bands hail from the Southeastern United States. Most bands who have tried this style have slipped out of mainstream popularity, but there are still a few who belong to the genre, such as Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and occasionally Hellyeah. Post-grunge bands such as Shinedown, Saving Abel, Saliva, 3 Doors Down, 12 Stones, and Black Stone Cherry have included a Southern rock feel to their songs and have recorded cover versions of Southern rock classics like "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone". Blues rock/stoner rock bands have a Southern rock influence.

Southern rock influence can also be seen in the metal and hardcore punk genres. This is showcased by such bands as Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, He Is Legend, Nashville Pussy, the Showdown, Alabama Thunderpussy, Memphis May Fire, Acid Bath, and Down.

2000 to present
New musicians such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band (the Derek Trucks Band), Warren Haynes, Gov't Mule, Chris Duarte Group, Dixie Witch, The Marcus King Band, Whiskey Myers, Widespread Panic, the Black Crowes, Blackberry Smoke, Kid Rock, JJ Grey & Mofro, and the Allman Betts Band are continuing the Southern rock art form.

In 2005, singer Bo Bice took an explicitly Southern rock sensibility and appearance to a runner-up finish on the normally pop-oriented American Idol television program, with a performance of the Allmans' "Whipping Post" and later performing Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and, with Skynyrd on stage with him, "Sweet Home Alabama".

Southern rock currently plays on the radio in the United States, but mostly on oldies stations and classic rock stations. Although this class of music gets minor radio play, there is still a following for older bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers play in venues with sizable crowds.

Additionally, alternative rock groups such as Drive-By Truckers, the Bottle Rockets (Missouri), My Morning Jacket (Kentucky), Kings of Leon, and Rurally Bankrupt combine Southern rock with rawer genres, such as garage rock, alt-country, and blues rock.

Several of the original early 1970s Southern rock groups are still performing in 2020. This list includes Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS), the Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Black Oak Arkansas, .38 Special and Dickey Betts.

A number of books in the 2000s have chronicled Southern rock's history, including Randy Poe's Skydog: The Duane Allman Story and Rolling Stone writer Mark Kemp's Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race & New Beginnings in a New South. Turn It Up was released by Ron Eckerman, Lynyrd Skynyrd's former manager and plane crash survivor. Sociologist Jason T. Eastman analyzes contemporary Southern rock to illustrate changes in today's southern identity in his book The Southern Rock Revival: The Old South in a New World.

South rock musicians like Little Big Town, Billy Currington and Ryan Adams combine the Southern rock sound with country, bluegrass and blues. This has been propelled by record labels like Capitol Records Nashville, Mercury Nashville and Lost Highway Records.

title: Southern rock


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Arena rock

Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, pomp rock, stadium rock, corporate rock or dad rock ) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences.

As hard rock and pop rock became increasingly popular, groups began creating material inherently designed for performance to crowds and major concerts. Arena rock also developed from their use of more commercially oriented sounds that were intended for radio play. The highly produced music, including both upbeat, dramatic songs and slower power ballads, features strong emphasis on melody and frequently employs anthemic choruses. Other major characteristics include prominent guitar effects and the use of keyboard instruments. Typical themes of arena rock lyrics include love, heartbreak, angst, and sentimentality.

Many of the above labels are used pejoratively, and discussions over music criticism often delve into the question of whether musicians' focus on rock spectacle and mass appeal results in compromised artistic merit, particularly in terms of the difference between the interests of the "middlebrow" populace versus other listeners. Interest in arena rock is stereotypically associated with working-class to middle-class men living in either Canada or the United States (including so-called "yuppies"), which has been cited as the basis for condescending prejudice over social status in some criticisms. However, the style of music has been highly successful worldwide, particularly in terms of touring.

Characteristics

Historian Gary A. Donaldson has summed up arena rock as "big hair, big voices, and really big guitars". In contrast to other types of music with a more raw, time-worn approach, arena rock musicians emphasize dramatic production. With bands deliberately designing their material for large audiences, the songs focus on melody, often featuring strident choruses. Guitar effects and the use of keyboard instruments are significant elements of the genre. Fireworks displays, use of smoke, and methods of sophisticated lighting, have become part of the visual aesthetics of what is known as arena rock.

1960s–1970s
Despite the differences in terms of genre, Beatlemania and the gigantic, screaming crowds that greeted the Beatles as they performed in the U.S. proved influential on arena rock, particularly with artists' complex views of the connection between themselves as musicians and the primal needs of their mass audiences. The rise of the rock style largely signified the end of the hippie-type of idealistic 1960s culture, particularly after the disillusionment that followed the infamous Altamont Free Concert of 1969, and represented a newer form of musical expression that was still confident and strident while also being more commercial. With hundreds of people injured and one dying, said concert has been described as "the spiritual death of the decade".

In the period from the end of the 1960s to the middle of the 1970s, advances in technology allowed for the increased power of amplification and sound systems without losing sound quality, thus giving hard rock bands the opportunity to use larger and larger venues. Attributing the birth of arena rock to the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, The Guardian ranked the tour number 19 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history. Prior to the tour the loudest sound at big-capacity shows was often the crowd, so the Stones ensured they had lighting and sound systems that would allow them to be seen and heard in the biggest arenas, with The Guardian stating their "combination of front-of-house excellence and behind the scenes savvy took the business of touring to an entirely new level."

The Flint, Michigan-born Grand Funk Railroad, which advertised itself as a "people's band" on the release of their 1969 debut album given their nationwide touring, played to about 125,000 in Georgia and 180,000 in Texas within a short period of time. Although hard rock influenced heavy metal music and the arena rock style, they shared an emphasis on loudness and heavy sound that had dominated the rock mainstream from late 70s to early 80s.

Bands such as Styx, Toto, Journey, REO Speedwagon and Boston were popular arena rock acts of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Arena rock's popularity, being described as "a dominant force" musically from the 1970s onward, resulted in a number of musical reactions. The British pub rock movement arose in large part due to its emphasis on small-scale events, aimed at promoting a friendly, intimate connection between performers and audiences. The explosion of punk rock and punk subcultures in general in the 1970s directly challenged the perceived excesses of mainstream rock at the time.

1980s–1990s
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states that the following decade, particularly the late 1980s, is "considered a golden era of hard rock in terms of commercial airplay".

The music of the 1970s often reflected changing philosophical interests compared to previous decades, with personal growth, private revelation, and self-improvement gaining more emphasis compared to past interests in collectivist social activism. The period coming to be known dismissively as the "Me Decade", rock releases frequently celebrated a hedonistic, self-indulgent abandonment. Multiple artists also pursued an arena rock sound based on individual inspiration and achievement, particularly in anthemic songs about independence. In terms of the changing trends into the 1980s and onward, the style essentially replaced disco in terms of mass pop culture appeal.

During that period, arena rock evolved in a way that was still melodic and performance-driven yet far more aggressive and confrontational. Mainstream rock became dominated by these hair metal (also known as "glam metal" and "pop metal") bands, with a large emphasis still being put on both on music and visuals. Flashy clothing with elements such as heavy makeup and dramatic hairstyles became common. Prominent examples of this genre include Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Poison. Their popularity crashed after the success of alternative rock and grunge bands who began to break through into popular consciousness with an even more abrasive sound, particularly artists influenced by the success of Nirvana in the early 1990s.

The website AllMusic has opined that "[o]ld-fashioned hard rock became a scarce commodity in the post-alternative rock era; after grunge, many guitar bands not only adopted a self-consciously serious attitude, but also resisted the urge to write fist-pumping, arena-ready choruses." Multiple artists have continued to play on to cult followings. Bands Bon Jovi and Van Halen in particular achieved significant commercial success into the 1990s. Later in the 90s and 2000s, post-grunge acts such as Creed and Nickelback released their own successful arena rock anthems.

Critical perspectives
Ethnomusicologist Chris McDonald of Cape Breton University has argued that the label of a musical artist as "arena rock" and "old wave", done by music critics dismissively, originates from a background of classism influenced by modernism. Thus, mass popularity is put forth as an argument against perceived artistic merit, through the eyes of critics focused on high culture while disdaining market forces, particularly given the white, working class to middle class makeup of the fans. Focusing on the Canadian trio Rush, McDonald stated that the panning of the group as "dazzling yet empty" due to the musicians' focus on rock spectacle is a consequence of critics' psychological distance from the "middlebrow" populace that listens to them.

The use of commercial sponsorship for the large-scale tours and concerts of the 1970s, a practice that continues, has caused the music to pick up the pejorative label of being "corporate rock". Writer Chris Smith argued that the style dehumanized listeners, setting them up as passive recipients rather than allowing them to truly engage with musicians, and additionally put different bands in a position akin to homogenized products. It has also been regarded as essentially malign capitalist propaganda. The distance between taste-makers' judgment of certain groups as "uncool" and their mass audience appeal had existed since the style's origins after the ending of the 1960s, and a wide variety of other dismissive terms have been used such as "dad rock". Deliberately playing against criticism and claiming to represent the people against the elite has been used in musical marketing. The association of arena rock with the so-called "yuppies" and their conspicuous consumption additionally has tied the style with a group often maligned in the media, subject to mocking caricatures and other kinds of ridicule. However, as pointed out by historian Gary A. Donaldson, the music eclipsed the waning genre of disco and related bands successfully toured across the world.

title: Arena rock