American society and culture experienced an awakening during the 1960s as a result of the diverse civil rights, economic, and political issues it was faced with. At the center of this revolution was the American hippie, the most peculiar and highly influential figure of the time period. Hippies were vital to the American counterculture, fueling a movement to expand awareness and stretch accepted values. The hippies’ solutions to the problems of institutionalized American society were to either participate in mass protests with their alternative lifestyles and radical beliefs or drop out of society completely.
The government and the older generations could not understand their way of life. Hippies were often portrayed as criminals, subversive to the morals and best interest of the public. Although misunderstood, the hippie had a great impact throughout the country, still surviving today in American culture. The term “hippie” itself became a universal term in the late sixties. It originated in a 1967 article in Ramparts, entitled “The Social History of the Hippies.” Afterward, the name was captured by the mass media as a label for the people of the new movement. (Yablonsky 28) Even before this, the word “hip” described someone who was “in” and “down”, wise to what was going on around him. By the 1960s, some of America’s youth created a gap between themselves and their parents. They grew their hair long because it was natural and therefore considered beautiful.
At first, the idea of men with long hair was absurd and society considered it a sign of homosexuality. When it became clear that the establishment felt so strongly about hair, the attitudes of young rebels changed. One young man responded after being questioned about his unkempt appearance: Growing hair does not mean that I am or am not a homosexual. It does mean that I am willing to stand up for my rights as a human being and that includes my right to be harmless to all people. It also indicates my unwillingness to get on the treadmill of killing for a vast machine-like government. If I am scorned and called dirty because I allow hair to grow on my face and my head, then so much the better, for by this I indicate the seriousness of my belief. I scorn the society that has created this monstrous robot-like conformity that feeds the war machine as Hitler found robots to feed his war machine.
In the book Voices of Freedom by Eric Foner, an essay written by Henry Steele Commager argued that the anticommunist movement was the new meaning of loyalty. In the article “Who is Loyal to America” by Henry Steele, he conveyed how the Lavender Scare was a problematic issue to the government since the Lavender Scare was aimed at homosexuals working for the government. Discriminating the homosexuals was very similar to the civil rights reforms because the situation was very similar to the Red Scare at the time. Thus caused the change through feminist movement which stressed equality for everyone. This all intertwines with polices due to the fear of communism. Being “different” from the others raised a great suspicion of being a part of being
The 1960’s was a happening decade. It was a time when many people came together for a common good and stood against injustice. The 60’s is often recalled as the era of the peace sign, one ridden with hippies, marijuana and pacifism. While true of much of the era, some of the movements calling for immense social change began as non-violent harbingers of change and later became radicals. The reason for this turn to radicalism, as seen in the case of the Students for a Democratic Society, and as suggested by the change between this organizations earlier Port Huron statement and the later Weatherman Manifesto, is due to the gradual escalation of the Vietnam war.
Hippies used music to express themselves spiritually, emotionally, and politically. The hippie movement came around about the same time as the Vietnam War. It was a celebration of youth, love, peace, and individuality. So naturally, hippies would disagree with the Vietnam War. They adopted the slogan “make love not war,” which summed up their beliefs on peace. During the hippy movement, draft cards and American flags were burned as a presentation of their discontent with the American government and its ideals. They also showed their rebellion to the war by protesting and singing anti-war songs at the rallies.
What was known as the ‘Summer of Love’ occurred in 1967 in San Francisco. Considered to be the climax of the hippie movement occurring all over the world in the sixties, it was a time of rebellion against conformity, a desire for peace, and a soaring sense of individualism. However the media were responsible for the negative portrayal of the Summer of Love and still to this day, the media plays an important role in forming the attitudes of outsiders towards the ‘Hippie’ movement, commenting on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. In the end this came to have a negative impact on how others viewed the movement, creating an incorrect portrayal of 1967.
The documentary “Sixties: Years that Shaped a Generation” illustrates a period in United States history defined by cultural movement. Several citizen led campaigns were developed to challenge long established American institutions and traditions. This age of defiance, cultivated a counter culture which stood against social injustice, racial inequalities, and the war in Vietnam.
Zeinab Atwa Senior English/ Pd. 3 Ms. Ruiz Dec. 5/ 2017. History of the hippie movement The movement that began during the counterculture era in the 1960s, also known as the youth movement, rebelled against the conformity of American life. The main goal the hippie movement was trying to accomplish was being able to change views and ideas politically, socially, and culturally. However, they mainly aimed at changing cultural and everyday values.
More than any other countercultural group, hippies reflected a deep discontent with technocracy- society’s reliance on scientific experts who ruled coldly and dispassionately and who wielded enormous power. Hippies said good-bye to that and hello to the mystical spirit, oneness with the universe- life as passion, passion as life, harmony, and understanding. The...
The article “From counterculture to Sixties Culture” clearly demonstrates that the hippie movement was not just founded on pure rebellion from what their parents had prescribed. The article reveals that the 60s culture was a product of many factors including the youths reaction to the Vietnam War, the outpouring of self expression on college campuses around the continent, the constantly dynamic civil rights, and especially the rejection of the counterculture by the mainstream society.
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).
The term hipster was coined during the jazz age (1940s), when the term hip emerged as an adjective to describe enthusiasts of the growing music scene. The modern hipster is a composite of individuals with a certain bohemian, new-thinking lifestyle, as he or she rejects mainstream norms, and embraces and contributes to unconventional culture. Hipsters are a subculture of people that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and music, creativity, and intelligence. There are two sects of hipster: the authentic, indifferent hipster and the consumeristic hipster. One of the most prevalent ways of analyzing hipster, bohemian, and artistic identities is through consumeristic habits and ideologies.
During the sixties Americans saw the rise of the counterculture. The counterculture, which was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation, was embraced by the decade’s young Americans. Because many Americans were members of the different movements in the counterculture, the counterculture influenced American society. As a result of the achievements the counterculture movements made, the United States in the 1960s became a more open, more tolerant, and freer country.
Unlike the society before this movement, the hippie did not try to change America through violence, the hippie tried to change things through peace and love. The Hippie Movement was a moment during the mid 1960s through the early 1070s where sex, drugs and Rock-n-Roll, was at the forefront of mainstream society. No one really knows the true definition of a Hippie, but a formal definition describes the hippie as one who does not conform to social standards, advocating a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Phoebe Thompson wrote, “Being a hippie is a choice of philosophy. Hippies are generally antithetical to structured hierarchies, such as church, government, and social castes. The ultimate goal of the hippie movement is peace, attainable only through love and toleration of the earth and each other. Finally, a hippie needs freedom, both physical freedom to experience life and mental freeness to remain open-minded” (Thompson12-13). Many questions are asked when trying to figure out how this movement reached so many of America’s youth, and what qualities defined a hippie as a hippie?
In the mid 1960’s the United States involvement in Vietnam stirred controversy amongst the Americans and politicians. Across the U.S., the American public became increasingly more opposed to the war. Throughout the duration of the war, protesters strived to influence policy makers to withdraw troops from Vietnam by protesting. Demonstrators marched with signs that displayed phrases such as the famous “Make Love, Not War.” Antiwar demonstrations swept the nation from the beginning of the war to definite end in 1975. From this time period, “hippies” became notable figures of period. Long hair, peace signs and grungy hygiene was the face of the era of protests known as the Vietnam Anti-war Movement.
When people hear the term hippie, they think of men and woman in loose clothing with flowers weaved in their hair. Although these men and women did in fact wear these things, they left a significant impact on society. Hippies were a part of the Counterculture movement, which basic ideals were to reject the ideas of mainstream society. The movement itself began with the protesting of the Vietnam War. Eventually, the movement was more than just protesting the war. Hippies promoted the use of recreational drugs, religious tolerance; they also changed society’s views and attitudes about lifestyle and social behavior. The Counterculture movement was the most influential era in the 20th century because the people of this time changed society’s outlook, and broached the topics of drugs, fashion, and sexual freedom.
The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).