preview

The 1960s Countercultural Sensation

explanatory Essay
1079 words
1079 words
bookmark

The 1960s counterculture was a cultural sensation which first began to take shape in the United States and from there on it spread throughout the rest of the west. It spread sometime in the early sixties to early seventies. The counterculture sensation began to catch on quickly and it eventually went on to become groundbreaking. Several components contributed in making the counterculture of the 1960s a unique era from the other opposition movements of the previous eras. The post-war baby boom created an unexceptional amount of youngsters who were an integral part of making the counterculture movement. As the 1960s continued worldwide tensions began to develop in societies in which people followed the same strategies as their elders used to regarding the war in Vietnam, race relations, human sexuality, women's rights, traditional modes of authority, experimentation with psychoactive drugs, and differing interpretations of the American Dream. Several new cultural forms arose which included the Beatles and parallel to it was the growth of the hippie culture. This led to the fast development of the youth culture in which change and experimentation were mainly highlighted. Many songwriters, singers and musical groups from the US and around the world made a major impact on the counterculture movement which included the likes of the Beatles. Basically, the 1960s counterculture grew from a convergence of events and issues which served as the main substances for the remarkable speedy change during the decade.
One of the major parts of the counterculture was the Hippies movement which began as early as January 14, 1967 during Human Be-In in San Francisco. Later on in 1967 Scott McKenzie made his own version of the song San Francisco. This e...

... middle of paper ...

...rant which depicted the current generation as hopeless. The music of the sixties was shown during films like the 1970s Woodstock which was a documentary on the music festivals that were usually attended by youngsters.
While all this was taking place on the other hand in France a new movement was surging of blanket term devised by critics for some of the French filmmakers of the late fifties and sixties who were impacted by the Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood films. It initially was never a movement which was officially planned, but the up surging filmmakers were being connected to it because of their self-conscious dismissal of classical filmmaking methods and their spirit of young iconoclasm which was a sample of the European art movies. Many filmmakers were involved with their work as they tried to involve the social and political turmoil’s of the era.

In this essay, the author

  • Explains that the 1960s counterculture grew from a convergence of events and issues which served as the main substances for the remarkable rapid change during the decade.
  • Explains that the hippies movement began as early as january 14, 1967 during human be-in in san francisco. scott mckenzie made his own version of the song "san francisco".
  • Explains that san francisco's flower children were referred to as hippies by locals as they began to wear a new style of clothes, tested with psychedelic drugs, lived mutually and developed an energetic music sense. hippies developed group homes to live away from the system of the society.
  • Explains that the hippie movement grew older and changed their lives and views after the vietnam war. the counterculture left an eternal impact on philosophy, morality, music, art, health, diet, lifestyle, and fashion.
  • Explains how the use of lsd grew in the 1960s as it became a part of the culture. famous personalities like dr. timothy leary, jimi hendrix, the doors, country joe and the fish engrossed the public.
  • Explains that experimenting with psychedelic drugs like peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, mda, and marijuana influenced philosophy, art, music and clothing senses.
  • Explains that the sexual revolution was a component of the 1960s counterculture movement which started in the mid-sixties in san francisco.
  • Explains how the counterculture media had many alternative ways in which they could tell the public what they wanted to. underground newspapers served as a way in defining how in the anti-establishment phenomenon people communicated through underground newspapers.
  • Analyzes how films like the bonnie and clyde connected with the youngsters which made it an instant hit.
  • Explains that the french filmmakers of the late fifties and sixties were impacted by the italian neorealism and classical hollywood films. they were connected to it because of their self-conscious dismissal of classical filmmaking methods.
Get Access