During the turbulent era of the 1960s, youth excelled boundaries and expectations to adequately improve the world. Throughout this time, many individuals were trying to juggle the conflicts between racism, sexism, and the turning point in the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive. This battle occurred in 1968, and was a watershed moment in the Vietnam War that ultimately turned many Americans against bloodshed. “The total casualties – dead, wounded, and missing in action – had grown from 2,500 in 1965 and would top 80,000 by the end of 1967” (Willbanks 6). Destruction from the poignant fighting convinced rising numbers of Americans that the expense of United States’ commitment was too immense. The Anti-War movement gained momentum as student protesters and countercultural hippies condemned this kind of violence. As a result, many American citizens attended a three-day concert, Woodstock, because they desperately needed a place to be rescued from the brutality and turmoil. A young member of “The Beatles,” John Lennon, created music that was essential for the success of antiwar uprisings, as well as Woodstock attendees who justify the purpose of attending. Woodstock abruptly became a compelling icon; a turn of events where even all of the world’s calamities could not conquer the notions of peace, harmony, and cultural expression driven by young Americans to assert their voices as a generation, by genuine music and proclaims made by Woodstock celebrators.
Initially, Woodstock was simply going to be a concert for people to attend and enjoy, free of repression and the outside war zones. Unexpectedly, an estimated 500,000 people were at the gates waiting two days before the concert even started (Evans 65). Woodstock was not anticipa...
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...ted that the world did have the potential for different cultures to come together peacefully and celebrate diversity. Woodstock turned into an overpowering symbol displaying the capability for individuals to overthrow the world’s tragedies to live with peace, tranquility, and differences enforced by American youth.
Works Cited
Corry, John. "TV: 13-Part History of Vietnam War on PBS." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Oct 04 1983. ProQuest. Web. 21 July 2014.
Evans, Mike, and Paul Kingsbury. Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World. New York: Sterling, 2009. Print.
Lennon, John, John Lennon, and Yōko Ono. Give Peace a Chance. John Lennon. Rec. 30 May 1969. Dave Edmunds, 1969. Audio.
"Revolutionary Music." PBS. Ed. PBS Organization. PBS, 2005. Web. 24 July 2014.
Willbanks, James H. The Tet Offensive: A Concise History. New York: Columbia UP, 2006. Print.
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
Many times, people have very different ideas about what makes an icon. Our icons may be singers, dancers, athletes, actors or politicians. We may not even know what the criteria would be for an icon, but we know one when we see it. One of the greatest American icons in history is the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. To say that Woodstock isn’t an icon would be like saying that the music wasn’t a dynamic character in the movie “Star Wars” or “The Phantom of the Opera”. An Icon must encompass a distinct ideology, and nothing ushered in our generation’s journey to the end of the innocence like Woodstock.
Woodstock became a symbol for a whole generation by the coming together of the political environment, the pop culture, and the current events of the time. The ‘baby boomers’ were searching for ways to separate themselves from their parents’ generation and see themselves as a more loving, compassionate, tolerant group of people. Woodstock came at a time of the youths desperation for authority and gave them beliefs they could live with. They wanted to revolt against the political chaos that they had been enduring during this memorable decade, and Woodstock was a symbol of this for the youth.
The late sixties was a time of turmoil in the United States. It was a transition period between the psychedelic sixties and the revolutionary seventies. The youth of the United States was becoming increasingly aware of the politics of war, the draft and other general misuses of governmental power. With the Democratic National Convention being held in Chicago during 1968, political tensions were running high throughout the city. Numerous protests were held during the time surrounding the convention in protest of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies on the Vietnam War. Most notably, the group of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dillinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale...
Powers, Thomas. "THE BOMB : Hiroshima: Changing the Way We Think About War." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Aug. 1995. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
Many large concerts occurred throughout America in the summer of 1969, but none were as well known and symbolic as Woodstock. Its message was clear; three days of Peace and Music. Its impact on America’s culture and society as well as its youth will not be forgotten for many years to come.
Throughout all the anti-war protests and marches during the Vietnam War, it is interesting to note the changes in the music of that time. From the beginning of the war, where support and loyalty from Americans was present in songs, to the end of the war, where anger and distrust was evident in musical lyrics, American’s opinion changed about the war. This change in opinion was easily recognized by the altering of musical lyrics about the war when Americans grew tired of the constant sending of U.S. troops to Vietnam. The growing dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War led to increasing levels of anger and hostility in the popular music of the time.
The Woodstock Music & Art Festival took place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, August 15th, 16th, and 17th, 1969. As you can imagine, a concert like Woodstock would have had to be planned very carefully. It didn’t just happen.
In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet Offensive, race relations, and the counterculture's music of the period undeniably affirm 1968 as a turning point in American history.
The 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time that eternally changed the culture and humanity of America. It was a time widely known for peace and love when in reality; many minorities were struggling to gain a modicum of equality and freedom. It was a time, in which a younger generation rebelled against the conventional norms, questioning power and government, and insisting on more freedoms for minorities. In addition, an enormous movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War. It was a time of brutal altercations, with the civil rights movement and the youth culture demanding equality and the war in Vietnam put public loyalty to the test. Countless African-Americans, Native-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women, and college students became frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the turmoil around them.
In 1969 a rock festival emerged in the sea of concerts that went by the name of Woodstock. Posters advertised that the festival would be “three days of peace and music” on August 15-17. From the very beginning people said it was like The Woodstock Festival was cursed. The planners couldn’t find a venue, because no one wanted thousands of young people on their property unsupervised. Finally they found a six-hundred-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York that allowed them to have the festival on their property. As the planners began to set up the event they estimated no more than 200,000 young people would show and only about 186,000 advance tickets were sold by the time the event came around. Around half a million people showed up for the festival
The 1960s was the era of rebellion. It was a time when views of many people started to change dramatically as unexpected things were happening from the Cold War to the assassinations of nation’s leaders. So within this disturbed era, many citizens started to rebel and question the authorities saying that they were ruining the country. The younger generation, especially, stood firmly in front to lead the action to change the ideas of the older generation. One of the main methods they used to speak their opinions was through music and we can see the power it had on the people through one of the main protest anthems called “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. The song speaks out to the elite controlled America and becomes one of many instances of the younger generation questioning and rebelling against the authority in the late 1960s. They send people a message that the citizens of United States do not live in a fair world and the authorities are not doing their jobs. By creating images through the comparative and descriptive lyrics such as who “waves the flag” , and “some folks are born with silver spoons in hand”, its repetition of the chorus “it ain’t me” and the instrumentation of the song which sounds like the cry of the working class to signify that the Vietnam War is a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, this song by the Creedence Clearwater Revival shouts to the world that the elite-controlled America is unfair as it can get; and becomes a big part of the counterculture movement. However, contrary to the message of the song, challenges to authority and privilege did not come exclusively from the working class. Rather, members of the upper class were also involved in opposition movements, for instance vi...
Wirtz, James J. The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1991. Print.
In the 1960s, the anti-war movement grew rapidly in America. The party reached the summit in 1968 by collecting members of various age ranges throughout the country 6. The song "Revolution," produced by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, expresses the irony of the political group. Although the party is against...