What Is The Counter Culture Of The 1960s

After a decade of success, the United States in the 1960s could be characterized by several tragedies: the Vietnam War, the strife for equality through the civil rights movement, and most importantly the clear divide among generations. In response to the turmoil of the decade, the youth began to formulate their own ideas that contrasted those of society, beginning a new era for humankind. As the generational divide within the United States started to grow, so did the desire for societal change–this desire ultimately culminated in the movement known as counter culture. While this counter culture extended across several mediums, the most important to the movement was the use of music. Songs such as Fortunate Son and The Unknown Soldier exemplified

The separation of listeners from society allowed for listeners to gain a needed sense of depersonalization, which psychedelic rock sought to achieve: “The Psychedelic genre was famous for its musical replication of the experience of mind-altering drugs by invoking the three core effects of LSD: depersonalization, dechronization, and dynamization; all of which detach the user from reality.” By replicating the effects of the prominent drug LSD, psychedelic rock, in a manner similar to the drug, provided an escape from the problems of prior This music was critical in the creation of the new world, as psychedelic media had embodied what counter culture sought to accomplish. In addition to psychedelic music, the new emergence of hard rock and roll had given way for the generation of counter culture to create another defining genre–this time, with significant purpose to anti-war efforts. The era of rock and roll was essential in creating a change-driven society–the outlet that the genre provided allowed listeners to understand, sympathize, and most importantly act with regards to

In turn, Fogerty and fellow Creedence Clearwater Revival bandmates utilized this sentiment to create one of the most powerful anti-war songs. Simultaneously, Fogerty called out the elites of the United States, and how their support of the war in itself was a result of this privilege. Fogerty used the lyrics of "Fortunate Son" to expose the advantages presented to the elites of society: “[he] suggests that the only people who were still patriots during the time of the Vietnam War were the “Fortunate Sons” who didn’t have to fight in it. The rich sons of senators, congressmen, and other people with high social status.” The idea presented by Fogerty, in which he calls out several Vietnam war supporters, is critical in portraying the ideas of counter culture–the only supporters of the war are those who do not have to fight, contrasting the ideas of the younger generation, which in turn strengthened the divide. The power of the song simultaneously allowed for Creedence Clearwater Revival to gain immense popularity at anti-war events while growing the genre of rock and