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1960s Counterculture Research Paper

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world, indeed it’s the only thing that ever has” hippie, Margaret Meade said. During the 1950s, many people started to rebel against conformity and the actions and mentality of the societal norms, called the beatniks. The beatniks later evolved to the hippie counterculture through the promotion of neon colored clothing, long hair, and participation in political customs and the new genre of music, rock ‘n’ roll. These brilliant people became known as the counterculture in the 1960s completing the transformation. Woodstock, the greatest music festival to ever take place, constitutes the pinnacle of the 1960s counterculture revolution, through anti-war, anti-establishment, …show more content…

Anti-establishment is the opposition to conventional standards which, is essentially what the counterculture stood for. Paranoia and fear of the government began to stem from youths after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The conspiracies about his death caused an epidemic of distrust in the government. The focus of the counterculture anti-establishment movement went hand-in-hand with the anti-war movement. The extreme amount of young men being drafted against their will caused an escalation in youths being wary in trusting the soundness of government decisions, and whether they were making the correct decisions for the good of the American people. For hippies in the 1960s, it was really easy for them to see everyone as equal, including the blacks. This caused more frustration with the government, because while the law did nothing to help the African Americans during the during the Civil Rights Movement it hurt them instead. This sparking many hippies to join the protest against discrimination by the government and other white citizens of the United States. That weekend in August gave a naturally soothing place for the people of the counterculture to relax with good music and good people. The music at the concert was not just a form of entertainment to many attendees, but also a solid place to search themselves and find their inner

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Which was the main message of Woodstock. Jefferson Airplane’s song “White Rabbit” refers to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the song was one of the first to get away with drug references over the radio, most of the countercultural movement was doing drugs. This song led “hippies” to try different drugs as a way to socialize with one another. Santana was another artist who influenced people of the

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The culture in Northern America during the 1960’s and 1970’s was very controversial. There were several that were happy with it but several that were extremely unhappy with it. There were several causes for the protests that took place in the United States during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Allen Ginsberg was a prominent figure during the time of counterculture. Ginsberg lived from 1926-1997 and he was a very key individual in all these protests.

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Oppositional stance against policies or institutions is prominent just as it was with youth counterculture

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The 1920’s was a time of new music and new artists. It was during this era that many new artists entered the musical world, and many of them were jazz musicians who brought attention to the genre. Louis Armstrong was one of these impactful musicians. Louis, born in 1901, was raised in a southern family where he was exposed to music at an early age (Brown 14). Friends of his formed a quartet at a young age, and his relationship with the musical world was born.

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The 1960’s was one of the most tempestuous decades in American history, remembered for its nationwide protests against the vietnam war and strive for political change. During this decade, a group of people called hippies, emerged and created their own liberal counterculture by refusing to participate in mainstream society. Hippies were white, well-educated, middle class adolescents who were products of the “baby boom” generation. As Hippies entered their early twenties in the late 1960’s, they began to advocate for individual freedom and highly promoted people to “do their own thing”. At the same time, they rejected any ideas of conformity and materialism that their parents had constructed and abided by the decade before them.

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1689 Words | 7 Pages

The sixties was a decade unlike any other. Baby boomers came of age and entered colleges in huge numbers. The Civil Rights movement was gaining speed and many became involved in political activism. By the mid 1960s, some of American youth took a turn in a “far out” direction. It would be the most influential youth movement of any decade - a decade striking a dramatic gap between the youth and the generation before them.

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Others just “dropped out” and separated themselves from the mainstream culture through their appearance and lifestyle. Women began to protest about the traditional roles of housewife roles that society had put on them and viewpoints toward sexuality appeared to loosen as they protested. Members of the counterculture were usually known as hippies, shared some beliefs about materialism, technology, and war with the New Left Movement. Hippies would protest against wars such as the Vietnamese War, or they would choose to protest against society by completely leaving it. Many would drop out of school or college to create their idealistic community of peace, love, and harmony.

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1524 Words | 7 Pages

There was rock, folk music, and many more. But, in the late sixties Rock n Roll, commonly reckoned as the golden age of rock and roll when it attained a maturity unimaginable for the delinquent rebellion of the fifties, there are numerous references to the Vietnam War. The criticism of the war is submerged in or displaced by the politics of sexuality, lifestyle, and drugs. Rock music of that time period celebrated anti-materialism, spiritual awakening and social disengagement (James pg 133). Like the social movement it made possible, hippie music was ideologically and economically assimilable.

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Woodstock created a culture focused on unity and understanding of self and others. This was a stark contrast to the temperament of the preceding years. The attitude of the years prior was jaded. This was due largely in part to current events.

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The 1960’s Hippie counterculture movement involved a different variety of social beliefs and concerns. The Hippies’ central belief was that life was about being carefree, and not about what others people thought about them. Their “if it feels good, do it” perspective included little planning nor concern for the effects of their actions. Hippies rejected established institutions. describe them as “The Establishment”, “The Man”, and “Big Brother” Hippies believed the superior mainstream culture was corrupt and flawed and sought to replace it with a Utopian Society.

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1923 Words | 8 Pages

The hippie counterculture movement all began through revolutionary hipsters known as the Beat Generation. The “Beats” were a group of writers in the 1940’s and 1950’s that had a different way of thinking than of those in their own society. Their work was often inspired by their simplistic way of living and their Buddhist beliefs. “The beats were liminal figures who expressed their cultural marginality by living spontaneously, dressing like bums, sharing their property, celebrating nakedness and sexuality, seeking mystical awareness through drugs and meditation…” (Stephen Prothero, 210).

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The movement the babies of the baby boom, or “baby boomers” became one of the most prominent examples of counterculture in American history. The counterculture of the 1960s was characterized by peace, love, and happiness. As more and more people joined, the label hippies came forward and was used to describe the members of the counterculture. Hippies became the people who rejected the mainstream, and usually white from middle and upper classes. They believed in the ideas of peace and love, personal freedom, and free love.

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Cultural Impact of Rock and Roll Amidst the 1960’s Jimi Hendrix formerly stated, “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.” A generation which was earnestly devoted to peace, protest, and revolution, the counterculture amongst the 1960’s yearned for change. Rock and roll was far beyond just a genre of music; it influenced lifestyles, protests, and attitudes, thus, kindling an awakening in the youth of American culture. The distinction between parental and youth culture was a persistent root of concern, considering that teens throughout the world found a sense of belonging in this style of music.

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The Music Revolution The Sixties were an exciting period with the beginning of a social, economic and Cultural Revolution, influenced by the music industry that was deeply involved into causes. This propensity took place in a turbulent period where some folks called it the "decade of discontent" because of the race riots and the demonstrations against the Vietnam War. However, other individuals called it the decade of "peace, love, and harmony", because of the peace movements and the emergence of Hippies, called “flower children.” This decade was about assassinations, unforgettable fashion, new styles of music, civil rights, gay and women 's liberation, Vietnam, peace marches, sexual freedom, drug usage, Summer of Love and Woodstock Festival. All of these factors caused a revolutionary transformation in the world of well-liked music, establishing melodies as a form of raise voices and express feelings.

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673 Words | 3 Pages

The Counterculture Movement of the 1960s urged a nation filled with millions of youthful baby-boomers, that were eager to find their own voices, to retaliate against cultural assimilation put in place by previous generations. As Lisa Law stated, “It was an attempt to rebel against the values our parents had pushed on us. We were trying to get back to touching and relating and living” ( “A Visual Journey..”) This time period encapsulated protests against several issues such as the conflict in Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage, Nonconformity, and the Sexual Revolution; this contributed to the unity of several causes who could relate to one other through their passion for change. One of the most interesting aspects, in my opinion,

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