Mass Consumerism and Culture

During the 1960s, there was a massive cultural revolution pretty much throughout the US as well as Europe. This cultural revolution was rooted in the unified "masses"--the mass consumption and mass culture. Music, material goods and artwork were no longer exclusively accessible to the upper class, but instead, all classes were given access to such staples of culture. As a consequence, social divides deteriorated. Whereas shows had previously been exclusive to the upper class, through the invention of films, shows were now accessible to the majority. Since the exclusivity factor had been so definitive and important for the upper class, I was wondering if there was any sort of opposition to the initiation of mass consumerism and culture? Exclusivity had been central to the existence of the upper class--the upper class could afford the cultural and material advances whereas the lower class could only afford to "get by". However, with the modernization of the 1960s, it became easier to produce for the masses. I guess that I'm answering my own question right now in that the wealthy were still controlling the factories and the material goods, and, as a consequence, when more were produced and purchased, the wealthy became wealthier. So there was a symbiotic relationship between the upper and lower classes in terms of consumerism because both gained. But I would imagine that on the cultural front there would be some form of opposition to the accessibility to the masses because in this case, the upper class would be losing their factor of exclusivity and the lower class would gain access to what was previously exclusive.

What made me think of this was John Lennon's statement that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", which resulted in outrage from many Christians and showed a great loss of religious power during the 1960s (1021). What had previously been definitive of culture--exclusivity as well as religion--lost their power and cultural influence during the 1960s, and I think that it is pretty clear that the accessibility of goods and cultural ideas to the masses is the cause of this. If the Beatles hadn't had such international popularity, would John Lennon's statement that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" have been taken as seriously as it was (1021)?