A big part of what we have been studying in the 1960's in the past week is the rise of the counterculture. In the 1950's, the counterculture was made up of the "Beatniks." The "Beat Generation" occurred during the Post-WWII era. The postwar era was a time of rethinking values and challenging the way things were. People were still frustrated and bitter from times of war and wanted lives of peace, happiness, and freedom. The Beat movement was a cultural movement in poetry that continued to evolve throughout the sixties as well. Beat culture was rejection of norms, personal/sexual freedom, experimentation, and also the use of drugs. The Beat culture strongly influenced the development of the counter culture of the 1960's. The "Beatniks" were mostly in the 1950's, but they became the "hippies" in the 1960's. Both the Beatniks and the hippies had the same ideology and beliefs, but there were some subtle differences that gradually evolved. For example, the Beatniks tended to be more subtle, not involved, and rather quiet and grave, while the hippies were more politically involved, especially int he civil rights movement, and they were more outspoken and wore brighter colors.
Despite the stereotype of the 1960's, the majority of people were not hippies, only a small percentage of the American population were. However, it was still a very significant movement of this time period. This facet of the counterculture of the 1960's shows the decade's rise in political involvement and an even higher demand for change and freedom.
I like the connection you draw; it's really interesting that a movement based around rethinking poetry evolved into rethinking civil rights.
ReplyDeleteI think a great example of how hippies and supporters of the nationwide counterculture "[showed] the decade's rise in political involvement" as you mentioned was through the anti-war movement throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hippies were definitely one of the most active groups denouncing and arguing against the Vietnam War which they made very clear through their protests and sit-in demonstrations, allowing them to have a significant media coverage and a surprising effect on national politics based on how relatively small the group was at the time. When they tried to infiltrate the DNC in 1968 for example, they ended up being brutally beaten and dispersed by police officers whilst they were arguing against the democratic candidate who planned on continuing the war, Hubert Humphrey. Thankfully for them, these attacks were broadcasted all over the country through the media's TV outlets which ended up hurting Humphrey's campaign to a significant degree as individuals throughout the country were influenced by the actions of this group. What other examples do you guys know of that show how influential the hippies and counterculture were towards national politics?
ReplyDeleteI think another example of the political expression of the counterculture is the amount of music during the time that was dedicated to politics and protesting. Bob Dylan was a popular artist of the time who wrote many protest songs that gained significant popularity. Nowadays, you don't really see protest songs becoming very popular. This shows the significance of the political involvement of the counterculture.
DeleteI think its really interesting how throughout modern U.S history there have been many groups with similar ideals. Like your comparison with beatniks and hippies, I think one could also make a comparison between the hippies and modern groups fighting for individuals rights like the LGBT. Both of these groups non violently fight for what they believe in.
ReplyDeleteWhy were there not really very many "hippie" groups emphasized before this age? I understand that these groups arose during the postwar era, but could there have been a previous period of time where such groups could have been created? I wonder if there is a more specific connection between the "hippie" groups of each generation, besides having a high demand for change and freedom and expressing this demand through nonviolence.
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