Counterculture And Hippie Culture

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.

In this essay I will be discussing the ‘hippie’ culture and style, their impact on the 60s and their continued impact in modern life. In today 's world, hippies are known because of the distinct way in which they behave, dress and their overall lifestyles. There are also some who have come to believe that hippies are synonymous with drugs or that they have radical political views on environmentalism, capitalism, religion e.t.c. The dictionary defines a hippie as "one who doesn’t conform to society’s standards and advocates a liberal attitude and lifestyle". What I am interested in is whether this definition is true. Polhemus (2007) says "who is real? Who is a replicant? Who cares? Life is a fancy-dress party, Enjoy”. I will be discussing this quote in more depth, relating it to the hippie culture as well as explaining how the hippie culture developed and what it means to be a hippie today.

The information that has been provided about the subcultures of Hip Hop and Punk shows there are many differences between Hip Hop and Punk and several contributing factors that shape these subcultures but ultimately each one’s existence serves a similar purpose: a form of escape and expression. Prior to research, I was an outsider looking in on the two subcultures. Assumed no similarity at all, but I learned, when you take a deeper look and explore the pages they are different books carrying the same message.

“Hippies were called Flower Children because they gave flowers to communicate gentleness and love” (Salge). The Hippie Movement was a popular counter culture during the 60’s-70’s. Hippies are best known for their practice of psychedelic drug use, interesting political views, where they took up living quarters, and their unique fashion sense.

During the sixties, American people saw the rise of the counterculture. Counterculture was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation, mainly embraced by the decade’s young adults. Because many Americans were members of the different movements in the counterculture, the counterculture influenced American society as a whole. As a result of the achievements the counterculture movements had made, the United States in the 1960s became a more open, more tolerant, and a more freer country. In 1969, close to half a million self-described hippies,peace makers, and Aquarians made an expedition from mainly San Francisco to Woodstock in upstate New York. The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival was called an Aquarian Exposition and hailed as three days of peace and music, over 400,000 people attended; it was peaceful. However, life outside of the woodstock festival was not. America seemed to be dividing as a country. The war in Vietnam went on for roughly another 15 years. American boys were still being sent to Southeast Asia by the newly elected President, Nixon. The increasingly unpopular war intensified a campus protest movement. Burning draft cards and peace marches became daily fare on the evening news. And not all of the demonstrations were peaceful. The summer after Martin Luther King was assassinated, riots broke out in 125 cities including, Chicago, Baltimore, NYC, Kansas City, and Cincinnati. Meanwhile, at the Democratic convention in Chicago, the anti-war movement tore the Democratic Party in two. Both critics and fans agree that Woodstock has become part of the mythology of the 1960s, even if the actual event didn't necessarily represent the musical or political taste of most of the young Americans adults at this time. Some say it symbolized the freedom and idealism of the 1960s. Some argue that Woodstock represented much of everything that was wrong with the sixties: a glorification of drugs, a loosening of sexual morality and a socially corrosive disrespect for authority.

The origins of this movement are what inspired the artists of this time, also the reason for its development. During the era of the flower child, there was impatience and strong feelings among youth. They were looking for freedom from societies expectations. The “hippie culture” took the world by storm with their community living and attraction for spirituality, religion, and sexual freedom. Haight-Ashbury was home to over 100,000 hippies, making it the universal center of the hippie movement. The music accomplished there, became the soundtrack of a lifetime. Haight-Ashbury was the center for psychedelic music because of it use of LSD.

The 1960s meant a transition into adulthood for the baby boomers of the 1940s. Most Americans who lived in postwar America lived a prosperous life with a steady and wealthy income reaching middle-class status. The parents of baby boomers tried to lay the foundation for their children with a hard-work ethic, morality, and patriotism.   But the baby boomers sought their own destiny by defying their parents’ wishes.

Throughout American history, the countercultures have greatly influenced the societies of their respective eras. The Quakers, the Harlem Renaissance participants, and the Hippies have had an immense impact on American culture. This impact is especially apparent in the political actions and art一audio and visual一of the countercultures’ respective times.

In that way our democratic agenda facilitated for factions between Americans, those that question the virtues of such political rhetoric and those wholly Americans who support our country no matter what, and onto of that we have allowed the formation of U.S. adversaries internationally. Our supposed uniting agenda has perpetuated modern domestic incoherence by polarizing opinions, between those that support America no matter the harm we do and others who denounce the end to our means of international intervention. However, nuanced understandings of American politics and geopolitics allow individuals to be ignorant to the truth; thus, individual Americans become pawns of confusion that are doomed to perpetuate the very confusion that plagues

War raged on in Vietnam as the American youth formed a counterculture that would forever shape the generation and the ones to follow. The youth in the 1960s was endlessly frustrated with the federal government, civil rights struggles, and the war. The counterculture “emphasized living in the present, immediate gratification, authenticity of feelings, and reaching a higher consciousness through mind altering drugs like marijuana and LSD” (Hewitt, 2012 ). The college students at the time made up a the counterculture and they fought for what they believed in by organizing strikes and demonstrations. However it was the power of music that brought the youth together.

At the turn of the 1960’s, John F Kennedy famously challenged the American citizenry in his inaugural address to “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” While some enlisted to join the fight in Vietnam, others joined the Peace Corps. Others involved themselves in local politics and their counterparts, often referred to as nonconformists, formed their own organizations. With vastly different ideals of America’s path to future success, dissenting groups clashed and the tumultuous counterculture of rainbows, guns, and peace signs that defined the late 1960s was born.

Following the post-war period in America, the youth of the baby-boom generations began to exercise a growing influence onto the political process and culture of the time, paving the way for the emergence of a "counterculture", that challenged traditional American values and beliefs, as well as a vision that encompassed ideas of social justice and the "liberation" of oppressed groups from limitations imposed on them by American society. This movement not only sought to do away with social injustices but with societal norms and the American middle-class lifestyle. The counter-culture expressed its disdain for social conformity to traditional values through flamboyant clothing, and widespread use of drugs such as Marijuana, an example of how

During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed

The emergence of alternative cultures and movements during the 1960s were remarkably distinctive in which it contributed to the overall characteristics of the 1960s America. In particular, the hippie counter-culture was developed and it was popular amongst the younger Americans because they believed in peace. They wanted to live differently and wanted to be free from the mainstream society. In the film Easy Rider, it portrayed the hippie culture and at the same time, it portrayed the rejection of the culture by the Americans in the 1960s. Hippie culture and other movements alike were the reactions to the changes in society and political atmosphere in the 1960s.The film was an excellent film work that captured the characteristics of the

Looking at the big picture, subcultures and countercultures are both cultures that have their own values and norms. They are both capable of being a culture within a culture. A subculture is a smaller culture that exists within a larger culture but fit within the dominant culture, where as a counterculture is an opposition to the norms of society and contradict the dominant culture and norms. Both cultures dress and behave in different ways than average citizens of a society and are usually identifiable by their different appearances. A subculture can have its own beliefs, norms and values, but they are usually able to exist