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I have two questions about following sentence found in a paragraph from the American Cinemas of 1970s. The downloadable document is here.

This culture of corporate conservatism was met by a tide of revolt, resistance, and soulful rhythm. Revolt came on 24 April in the form of 200,000 antiwar protestors marching in Washington, D.C. (and other cities) to rally support for ending U.S. military presence in Southeast Asia.

1-Does "corporate conservatism" mean conservative people related to big companies or all people who are conservative together?

2- what does "soulful rhythm" mean? is it a metaphor? or what?

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  • Where did you find this sentence? In a news article? In a fortune cookie? Please share (and edit your question to include a link).
    – J.R. ♦
    Jun 24, 2014 at 9:48
  • @J.R. a paragraph added.
    – Maulik V
    Jun 24, 2014 at 9:56
  • I think "Corporate conservatism" is a phrase for describing a common behavior amongst corporations which tends to preserve things as they are.
    – user3214
    Jun 24, 2014 at 11:01
  • Soulful means soulful :) I think "rhythm" as "tide" points to the unsteady series of activities at that period.
    – user3214
    Jun 24, 2014 at 11:23

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The preceding paragraph talks about emerging progressive issues like drugs, sexuality, and racy TV comedy. These topics were new in public media at the time, and uncomfortable for corporate executives and government regulators. From that context, "corporate conservatism" refers to the socially conservative attitude of those organizations. They didn't want to change, and they banned the songs/material they didn't like. This upset the public.

"Soulful rhythm" is followed by a mention of antiwar protestors. For me, this conjures an image of multiracial, chanting, marching, drum-beating, passionate people in the streets. The phrase evokes both the emotional fervor and the noise/action of the time period.

I'd also note that "culture of corporate conservatism" and "revolt, resistance, and [soulful] rhythm" use alliteration, or a series of words all starting with the same sound, as a poetic tool that also creates a sense of rhythm.

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