Charles Manson Counter Culture Analysis

Counterculture: Defining the Manson Family
One of the most infamous murderers, Charles Manson, flourished in the favorable environment of the counterculture in the United States in the 1960s. An attention-craving and average musician, he hungered for blind following from loyal supporters but did not manage to receive recognition. Despite his failure in the music career, Charles Manson gained notoriety by creating a dangerous cult revolving around the carefree drug-induced lifestyle that he led to manipulate young women to commit murders together him.
In an attempt to understand the phenomenon of the Manson Family, it is important to put the then era under a scrutiny, since background plays a significant role in the shaping of Charles Manson’s image as well as personalities of his followers.

Manson’s childhood and teenage years were troubled in the core, as he developed criminal tendencies at a young age committing some serious offenses. However, it was the counterculture of the 1960s that nurtured his psychopathic side luring distraught young women into the influence of the cult leader. According to Moore, “counter culture or contra culture is a practice or activity, usually of a group or a network of people, in which the values expressed by the participants are inherently critical of or out of line with the dominant or mainstream” (742).
The counterculture of the 1960s is believed to originate from the post-war environment. It is explicated that the research conducted by cultural history professor, Fred Turner from Stanford, indicates that the cultural shift within the framework of the 1940s and 1950s had influenced the appearance of revolutionary individualism of the 1960s counterculture (Winterbottom).

Therefore, the novel, revolutionary moods reigning in the United States with its fervent distribution of drugs including cannabis and LSD created an atmosphere for Charles Manson to profess his unbelievable ideologies to the troubled and weak minds.

For example, he shared with his followers his uncommon religious beliefs about the upcoming racial war that would result in an apocalypse. Manson hoped that murderous actions of his cult Family would hasten the end of the world. Most importantly, Charles Manson instilled two core philosophies in his followers. Firstly, he proclaimed that he was to be obeyed by every cult member. Secondly, the Manson Family was supposed to view themselves as the most special people on earth (Guinn

241).
Unquestionably, such egotistic attitudes supported by constant drug consumption and laid back lifestyle preferred by the indolent members of the cult developed a sense of self-importance in them. Blinded by narcissism and numbed by narcotics, the young women that Charles Manson encountered and molded into a sort of an army of senseless followers agreed to indulge simultaneously in hedonistic existence and commit nightmarish murders. Since they believed in their impeccability and seniority, it was easy for them to justify their actions.
In conclusion, the counterculture of the 1960s in the United States revolutionized the way in which people regarded and honored individualism. However, this shift in cultural development did not pass without fallibilities giving rise to dangerous subcultures as exemplified by the Manson Family. Together with the appearance of grand freedoms, hedonistic lifestyle, and popularity of drugs, the free-thinking atmosphere produced a cult that was easy to manipulate through the mentioned characteristics of the era.