The Impact of the Hippie Counterculture of the 1960s
The “hippies” of the 1960s had many effects on the American society. The visual appearance and lifestyle of the hippies were in sharp contrast to the conservative nature of the older generation, which defined them as a counterculture. The hippie lifestyle was based on free love, rock music, shared property, and drug experimentation. They introduced a new perspective on drugs, freedom of expression, appearance, music, attitudes toward work, and held a much more liberal political view than mainstream society. One of the main effects that the hippies made is the appearance of the American society. The hippies wore bell bottom jeans and bright colored shirts usually tie-dyed.
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These concert goers enjoyed no rules, drug use, sex, and loud rock music. Some of the best known artists from this concert were; Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Sly & the Family Stone, and Jefferson Airplane.
Another one of the main parts of the hippie counterculture lifestyle was drug use. LSD and marijuana were the drugs most frequently used by the hippies in the 1960s. These drugs drew thousands to the hippie lifestyle and to their beliefs. Drugs were used to escape the traditional values of American society, and to see deeper into ones self. Timothy Leary, a psychologist at Harvard, is known for his experimentations with LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs. Leary would encourage his students and fellow faculty members to go on these psychedelic trips while he recorded their responses to the drugs. In 1966 LSD was made illegal in California then later in 1967 the Federal Government banned it in the United States. Even thought the drug was illegal it didn’t stop the hippies from using it. Many of these drug users died of overdosing, two of the most well known were musical artists Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
The counterculture rejected American values and lifestyles such as materialism and work. Many stopped working their jobs and joined communes where they shared property and attempted to share the work. Some who joined these communes were only “weekend
It is readily apparent that a willingness to enter into relationships with other people characterizes the respondents. Intellectual concerns, politics, drugs, and sexual permissiveness received much less support. Hippie counterculture, while affirming, albeit implicitly, the benefits of an industrial society, has no place either in its normative structure or in its social structure for their production. The hippie movement is countercultural rather than political. (Westhues) This movement wasn’t just in opposition to the war. It was a lifestyle that the Hippies started. It was a culture and a way to live kind of like a community. The drastic social change led by the Hippies provided for a very interesting time during the 1960s.
The whole hippie culture all together was totally against social norms, what society wanted to see, how everyone else lived, and what they believed in. The hippie culture’s main moto was “make love, not war”. They were strongly against war and the Vietnam War, which was going on during the same time the hippie culture was popular. They thought that everyone should have acceptance of the universe. They wanted to see change in the world, global
These events were the root of the beginning of the hippie era. The hippies were against violence and normalcy in society. Most hippies were middle class white young adults, few were adults, and some were immigrants. Some people thought the hippies were just the new generations’ typical phase of teenage rebellion,
The Hippie Counter Culture began in 1960. The hippie era was influenced more by personal happiness in which books, music, and fashion followed as result of their personification of a blissful society. Hippies did not care what others thought of them and their motto was “if it feels good, do it”. Hippies were seeking a utopian society. They participated in street theater and listened to psychedelic rock. As part of their culture they embraced more open sexual encounters amongst each other in their community and believed in use of psychedelic drugs which consisted of marijuana and LSD. The fashion choice that hippies dressed in was due to set them apart from the mainstream society. They choose to buy their clothing from thrift shops and flea markets (Haddock, 2011). Clothing choices are described as “brightly colored, ragged clothes, tie-dyed t-shirts, beads, sandals (or barefoot), and jewelry” (Haddock, 2011, para 7). Hippies also referred
The hippie movements of the sixties were driven by a plethora of factors. There were many new technologies that were being introduced in this period, a war against Communism around the globe, internal struggles against several types of injustices, a growing drug culture, and several other important developments. To say the least, it was a volatile period in American history and many sub-cultures were actively seeking to carve out new paths that were starkly different than the traditional norms. These generations who rejected traditional culture helped carve out a new trajectory for the United States and the movements influences can still be felt to this day.
But many of the upper and middle class did not like this outlook on life. In a world where the upper classes were on top, and they had everything they wanted, they saw no reason for change in society. The movement started with a few small groups of rebellious citizens, and it then grew into something much bigger which led to a counterculture movement across the entire country.
The Hippie Movement changed the politics and the culture in America in the 1960s. When the nineteen fifties turned into the nineteen sixties, not much had changed, people were still extremely patriotic, the society of America seemed to work together, and the youth of America did not have much to worry about, except for how fast their car went or what kind of outfit they should wear to the Prom. After 1963, things started to slowly change in how America viewed its politics, culture, and social beliefs, and the group that was in charge of this change seemed to be the youth of America. The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’s death, new music, the birth control pill, the growing illegal drug market, and
The history of American Hippie started in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s, hippie was one of countercultural movement, which affected American life. The movement originated on college campuses in the United States, and it spread to other countries, including Canada and Britain (“ The Hippies And American Values”). The hippie also spelled hippy or hipster (45). 1955 to 1975 was known as their movement which against the Vietnam War. Although hippies arose in part as opposed the war, they were not directly engaged in politics. Not only is it important to know the history of the hippie, but also the culture they developed by the way they lived or worked together, the clothes they wore, the music they played, the values and sentiments they
Although hippies began rebelling and opposing the perfect society in the 1960s to the 1970s, their ideas have mostly influenced today’s society. Therefore, the society followed the way of life as naturally. They turned to take the basic clothes in the daily life. When the thought of freedom spread out of the community, people changed to use the drugs for expressing their feeling of happiness. Additionally, today’s society also accepts sexuality, religion and culture. This significantly leads to the equal society, and the combination of fashion, sexuality and drug use in American society. Anyway, belief, culture, and language are transferred from one generation to other generation. It is similar to the chain that closely relates to humans in several parts around the world. Every person knows well that the history really affects today’s society, both in positive and negative ways. Occasionally, it relies on people whether they will choose to follow correctly or
“Don't let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.¨ - Dalai Lama. Hippies represent the counterculture of the 1960ś. Their lifestyle includes rock music, long flowy hair clothing, and hallucinogenic drugs. To most people they were seen as a disgrace and dirty to society, but to many they are a reminder of peace. Some questions that people wonder are who,what ,and why?
The Hippie fashions had a huge effect on their culture and their morals and values, arts and media had a huge impact on the hippie culture and influenced the movement. Many aspects of the hippie movement have been combined by the society; this took place during the wide spread of the Hippie movement in the 1960s. The hippies widespread approval was gained through their religious and cultural diversity throughout the years, the spiritual conceptions as well as eastern philosophy have captured a wide audience. The hippie culture and movement can be seen in contemporary culture in countless forms from healthy food, to music festivals, to contemporary sexual mores, and the cyberspace revolution. (Hippie subculture,
One of the basic foundations of the Hippie movement was the excessive use of illegal drugs. The Hippies used many drugs, but
Because of their nonjudgmental lifestyle, freedom of speech, conduct, and dress were common. The use of psychedelic drugs such as marijuana and LSD was supported because it gave people a “free” feeling. Hippies went against the norm with their clothing choices, often wearing brightly colored, loose fitting items.4 Tie-dyed t-shirts, bell bottoms, beads, and sandals were most commonly seen and both men and women typically had long hair.5 Men also grew out their beards and women wore little to no makeup.6
For the first time in American history, a large population of people of all ages, classes, and races came together to challenge the traditional institutions, traditional values in society, and "the establishment" in general. Youth, women, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, migrant workers and others caused the emergence of the counter culture. This cultural movement from 1960 to 1973 was caused by many factors. This era was one that was filled with many important events that shaped the way that Americans viewed life. Those who were unhappy with what was going on around them and took part in this social phenomenon reflected and demonstrated their attitudes, values, and ideals in many ways. Various things from
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement beginning in the United States around the early 1960s and consisted of a group of people who opposed political and social orthodoxy, choosing an ideology that favored peace, love, and personal freedom. The hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, were usually eco-friendly and vegetarians, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs. They created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs to explore alternative states of consciousness. They strived to liberate themselves from societal restrictions, choose their own way, and find new meaning in life.