Hippies- known for their love of drugs and sex, they often misguided the common folk of their intentions. In their minds, what they were doing was guilelessly standing up for themselves and what they considered was theirs; what they believed in. They believed in their rights, and they wanted to do what they pleased; not to conform to the requirements of living in the average society of the time. They wanted to create a culture where spiritual awareness was highly regarded (sometimes through psychedelic drugs), where everything was given freely, where everyone (even strangers) were thought of as one's brother, where everyone valued peace, and where rights were given freely to everyone. (Express Thyself. (n.d.)) These rights would include anything from free love to laws against racial discrimination. The hippies thought that these wants (or needs) should be a given in society and that America was not a free land without this form of a culture. However, when society refused to change, instead of giving up, the hippies stayed true to their beliefs and rose up, creating their own counterculture. The purpose of the counterculture was to create a community where there was a commonality of ideas and convictions. The American hippie movement of the 1960s was strengthened by the drastic increase of the youth population because of the the baby boomers, a longer adolescent period due to the improved economy, and the use of media and communications, such as TVs and radical college newspapers.
There were two reactions to the hippie movement: the first, an angry uproar across the fifty states from the elder upper classes, and second, an inspiration for a few to try the hippie ways themselves. “A few” people soon turned into an abounding co...
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"Hippies From A to Z by Skip Stone." Hip Planet: Your Portal to the Hip Universe - Hip Planet. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. .
Hippies..... The Philosophy Of A Subculture... Time Magazine . . (n.d.). The Farm. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from http://www.thefarm.org/museum/timehippie.html
"1967 Hippie Temptation." The Hippie Temptation. CBS. Haight-Ashbury District, CA, 1967. 1969 Magazine. David Webster, 18 Oct. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. .
This Day in History 1967: 100,000 people march on the Pentagon. (n.d.). The History Channel - Home Page. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=1434
(1994). American Decades: 1960-1969 (American Decades). Chicago: Thomson Gale.
In this paper, I want to share the history of Haight Ashbury, and its transition from a small town with nice Victorian homes, to its deterioration in the 1960’s. The importance of a farm in Woodstock, to the Cultural Revolution and how it all spread from there including the role of radio and television in spreading the news of the hippie movement and how an attempt to free culture from its moral ideals and standards only led it with no standards or moral compass, and all they were left with was thought to be an idea of the Summer of Love.
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.
The 1960s and 1970s helped shape the conservative movement to grow in popularity and allowed conservatives to enjoy modern benefits such as economic prosperity and consumerism without conforming to liberal ideologies. The period of strong conservative support, the 1960s, usually refers to the time frame between 1964 through 1974. The grass roots mobilization started strong with the help of Orange County's middle-class men and women volunteers. The effort and hard work of these people along with economic support from businesses such as the National Review helped to spread conservative philosophy. Other contributions to the effort include community meetings, film showing, handing out pamphlets, and Fred Schwarz's school of anti-communism to inform Southern Californians of communist threat. Among anti-communism, conservatives also believe in the importance of religion, a restrictive government role, upholding traditional American values, and private business prosperity. The ethos upheld by long-time residents along with a heavy migration of people who would later join right-wing conservatism made Orange County the ideal location to enrich and expand the movement.
Libaw, Oliver. "Hippie Culture Just Keeps Truckin' On." ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 May 2014. Web. 26 May 2014.
The 1970s was a tumultuous time in the United States. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and other marginalized people continued to fight for their freedom, while many other Americans joined in the demonstration against the ongoing war in Vietnam. Due to these movements, the 1970s saw changes in its national identity, including modifications in social values. These social changes showed up in the fashion industry as well, delivering new outlooks in the arenas of both men’s and women’s clothing.
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.
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.
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...
“Research shows that consumeristic hipsters use food as a mechanism for resistance through a series of insider strategies to preserve their identity. There is additional evidence to show that food is an inconspicuous yet intimate, authentic and social aspect of hipsters’ indie lifestyle.” ...
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.
...atic control, specifically found in educational and work settings, which repressed one’s individual and cultural freedoms. Counterculture also embraced new religious and spiritual “…creativity and experimentation” (Foner 993), in an effort for one to find their personal authenticity. Some even gained interest in eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, and chose to meditate or partake in yoga, which eventually found popularity in mainstream America as well. Overall, counterculture aimed to create a new American lifestyle, which embraced all cultural freedoms with the aim of revamping the norm of values and behaviors in the United States. The movement had a focus on freedoms pertaining to personal choices in lifestyle such as sexual behavior, clothing choices, and religion, with a specific emphasis on freedom from bureaucracy and wealth-obsessed organizations.
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?
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.
In every generation there are countercultures, some more prominent and influential than others that go against social norms. Jack Kerouac brought to light the counterculture known as The Beat Generation from under the veil of the conservative surface in the 1950’s, in his book On the Road. This generation was so influential that they were the driving force behind the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 60’s and 70’s. Having strong ideas and values about freedom and personal fulfillment, that they perused relentlessly, they created big changes and even inspired generations after them who feel dissatisfied with the pressures to conform to instead push against the norms of society.
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).