23.3: Culture And Counterculture

A counter culture is defined as a group that rejects the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns (Thomas, 2003). The thinking and behavior of younger people who want to be different from the rest of society developed during the 1960s. It was a different way of living chosen by people who would eventually become known as hippies, or freaks. The name came from “hip,” a term applied to the Beats of the 1950s, such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, who were generally considered to be the pioneers of hippies (Britannica, 2015). The movement originated on college campuses in the United States, and Members of this counterculture held beliefs almost the same as that of the New Left movement in that they wanted to change domestic policy within the United States.

Their dissatisfaction with the consumerism values and goals, with the work ethic, and with the dependence on technology (Edgar and Sedwick, 2008) fuelled their belief to set themselves free from this mainstream culture using drugs such as LSD to open their minds and become spiritual and free. Their fashion consisted of floral headbands and clothing, flared jeans and bare feet. In January of 1967, a Human Be-in in Golden Gate Park San Francisco publicised the culture and this lead to the Summer of Love (The Naked Truth……….., 2014). According to Philippa(Toturhunt.com, 2015), this culture has since moved on and developed, in the sense of beliefs, to become what is now known as the rave culture. Which followed on from the hippie culture of listening to music in fields, with spiritual and honing on values that counter the popular culture whilst using recreational drugs to open the mind and push the beliefs of the hippie culture of their predecessors. Rather than psychedelics this new culture used amphetamines such as MDMA and brought together every different kind of person. Either way, drugs have played part in counterculture for a very long time, and it didn 't end at with the hippies.

The 1960’s presented Hippies with the chance to express their beliefs and attitudes in a number of diverse

The art of this era falls under the category of “psychedelic art.” Psychedelic can be defined as “of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair,”8 and was usually influenced by the use of drugs. This kind of art was characterized by bright colors and unusual contrasts. Op art and pop art fall under this category of psychedelic art. “Op art, short for Optical art, is a style of abstraction that relies on geometric shapes, lines, and color juxtapositions to create optical illusions for the viewer.”9 Often looking at Op art makes one feel dizzy or disillusioned, which is the goal of the artist. Pop art was popular for commercial use, often seen in advertisements or on

The hippie movements of the sixties were driven by a plethora of factors. There were many new technologies that were being introduced in this period, a war against Communism around the globe, internal struggles against several types of injustices, a growing drug culture, and several other important developments. To say the least, it was a volatile period in American history and many sub-cultures were actively seeking to carve out new paths that were starkly different than the traditional norms. These generations who rejected traditional culture helped carve out a new trajectory for the United States and the movements influences can still be felt to this day.

The 1960’s experience multiple social revolutions throughout the decade, whether it be the New Left, Civil Rights Movement, Anti-War Movement and the Hippie Revolution. Many of the movements were focused on many different political issues in society and were solely focused on resolving the issue; however, the Hippie Revolution did not. They were different from the New Left. While in Port Huron Statement (Document B), the term New Left is coined and they pleaded that they would do everything in their power to permeate society and reform the issues needed to be reform. The Hippie Revolution was primarily uninspired youth who were only worried with pleasuring themselves through recreational sex, peace, and love, rather actively participating

From the 1960s to the 1970s, the Hippie Movement was apart of the counterculture era. This was an age of renewal and change amongst society. People known as Hippies focused on pursuing a life different from the one proposed by mainstream culture. Hippies followed transcendentalism, which influenced their idealism of their understanding of nature and society. They often used drugs such as psychedelics, amphetamines, methamphetamine, and marijuana to experience spiritual and artistic awareness as well as self-fulfillment. They created a new culture of teenagers and young adults who dressed and acted differently from those before them. Hippies focused on experimentation and redefining themselves. Hippies helped influenced music, television, film, literature, and the arts and changed the societal norms.

The 1960s Hippie movement was a major point in the American history. In the 1960s a certain class of young people associated their lifestyles with the ideas of freedom, peace, and love. Hippies acted against white upper middle class lifestyle because they thought it was based on the wrong ideology. Hippies were against consumerism and American suburban life of the late 1950s and early 1960s was embodied in itself the idea of consumerism. Hippies, on the other hand, felt better about communal life with equal distribution of social goods. Traditional “bigger share” and consumerist greed as concepts of American society were despised by Hippies.

In 1960, Elvis returned to the music scene from the US Army, joining the other white male vocalists at the top of the charts; Bobby Darin, Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka, Del Shannon and Frankie Avalon. America, however, was ready for a change. The Tamla Motown Record Company came on the scene, specializing in black rhythm and blues, aided in the emergence of female groups such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, and Aretha Franklin, as well as some black men, including Smoky Robinson, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and the Temptations. Bob Dylan helped bring about a folk music revival, along with Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary. The Beach Boys began recording music that appealed to high-schoolers. The Beatles, from England, burst into popularity with innovative rock music that appealed to all ages.

The 60s was full of major movements. One of the most powerful counterculture movements was the civil rights movement. In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to end racial discrimination in employment

The Hippie Counter Culture began in 1960. The hippie era was influenced more by personal happiness in which books, music, and fashion followed as result of their personification of a blissful society. Hippies did not care what others thought of them and their motto was “if it feels good, do it”. Hippies were seeking a utopian society. They participated in street theater and listened to psychedelic rock. As part of their culture they embraced more open sexual encounters amongst each other in their community and believed in use of psychedelic drugs which consisted of marijuana and LSD. The fashion choice that hippies dressed in was due to set them apart from the mainstream society. They choose to buy their clothing from thrift shops and flea markets (Haddock, 2011). Clothing choices are described as “brightly colored, ragged clothes, tie-dyed t-shirts, beads, sandals (or barefoot), and jewelry” (Haddock, 2011, para 7). Hippies also referred

The Hippie Movement changed the politics and the culture in America in the 1960s. When the nineteen fifties turned into the nineteen sixties, not much had changed, people were still extremely patriotic, the society of America seemed to work together, and the youth of America did not have much to worry about, except for how fast their car went or what kind of outfit they should wear to the Prom. After 1963, things started to slowly change in how America viewed its politics, culture, and social beliefs, and the group that was in charge of this change seemed to be the youth of America. The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’s death, new music, the birth control pill, the growing illegal drug market, and

ating of fiberglass. The waters were packed and the terms to listen for were "hang ten" or "hangin’ loose." There were also the Beatniks. In their depressed outfits and sunglasses they recited poetry and brought back more of a philosophical look at things. They went and ran underground music stores in which they could purchase un filtered music. Music that society said rotted their brains. They used their intellect rather than their physical appearance or coordination. These people served as a spring board for the hippies in the mid sixties.

The “hippies” of the 1960s had many effects on the American society. The visual appearance and lifestyle of the hippies were in sharp contrast to the conservative nature of the older generation, which defined them as a counterculture. The hippie lifestyle was based on free love, rock music, shared property, and drug experimentation. They introduced a new perspective on drugs, freedom of expression, appearance, music, attitudes toward work, and held a much more liberal political view than mainstream society.

The American hippie movement of the 1960s was strengthened by the increase of youth population. Many believe the official beginning of this cultural event started with the youth of the 1960's but it really started with their parents. In the late 1930s and early 1940s America was just coming out of a disheartening depression.(About the Great Depression.) America's unfortunate fate led them into another unlucky situation, World War II. Many youthful men and women joined the service, in fact over an estimated sixteen million total were sent into the war.( GI Bill History - U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. ) In the late 1940s soldiers coming back at the end of the war were now onto the next stage of their lives and made families. This is what started the baby boomers. After so many hardships and losses the last thing anyone expected was an approximately seventy-six million babies born between baby boomer era of about ten to fifteen years. (BBHQ: Boomer Statistics. ) Many of these children had strict parents who had become disheartened from losing childhood