YOUTH CULTURE OF THE 1960’S

THE BABY BOOMERS--BACKGROUND

• By 1960, over half the U.S. population was under 18

• Large numbers of Americans reached their 20’s during the 60’s and 70’s

• They were influenced by:

• Post-war prosperity

• New methods of child care and birth control

• Exposure to television

• Many objected to impersonal lifestyles of corporate America and challenged the “Establishment”

BEAT GENERATION TRANSFORMED—BACKGROUND

• Rebelled against conformity in the 1950s

• Started with a small group of writers that moved from NY to San Fran

• Often reckless, care-free, fresh approach to literature

• Sometimes work seized for obscenity

• Lifeless materialism

• Expressed freedom and spirituality

• Experimented with sex and drugs

• “beat” –> “beatnik”

• Men= Wore beards, berets, sandals

• Women=leotards

REPRESENTED AN EARLY FORM OF WHAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS THE COUNTER-CULTURE MOVEMENT

COUNTER CULTURE MOVEMENT

NEW LIFESTYLES--HIPPIE

• Political activism

• Sexual freedom

• Experimental drug use

• Psychedelic

• LSD

• New religious practices

• New fashion

• Communal Living

• Self-sufficient communities removed from society

COUNTER-CULTURE FADS AND FASHION!

Sixties Styles were rebelling against former ideas and morals! • Mini-Skirts

• Hippie- Bell-bottoms, flowers, tie-dye, headbands

• Rockers- leather jackets, biker image

• Mods-classic image, suit thin tie, turtleneck (Beatles)

• Pixie, flip , longer/untamed hair

Fads

• Lava lamps, neon lights, peace signs, tie-dye, mood rings, microwaves!

NEW MUSIC

• Popular music went through important changes

• Early 1960’s

• Motown sound emerged with African-American artists like the Temptations, Otis Redding, and the Supremes sweeping the nation.

• Artist and songwriter Bob Dylan brought the influence of folk music to rock and roll.

• In 1964, the Beatles launched the British invasion and were followed by the Rolling Stones and the Who.

MUSIC OF THE LATE 1960S AND 1970S• Icons of the counterculture and anti-war movement

emerged such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and CreedenceClearwater Revival emerged.

•Many of their songs protested the War in Vietnam or celebrated the psychedelic experience.

WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL

WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL

• August 15, 16, and 17, 1969

• Bethel, NY

• Over 300,000 people attended

• One of the largest concerts in American history

• Musical performers included Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Santana just to name a few

NEW ART

• Abstract Expressionism• Jackson Pollock

• Mark Rothko

• Pop Art• Using symbols from mass-produced,

mass-marketed consumer culture

• Andy Warhol

• Jasper Johns

• Roy Lichtenstein

NEW LITERATURE

• Two late WWII novels challenged mainstream thinking by exposing the absurdity of armed conflict

• Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 (1961)

• Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)

• Others criticized Vietnam

• Why Are We in Vietnam?

• Armies of the Night

NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF COUNTERCULTURE

• Increasing drug overdoses

• Even celebrities – Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison

• Increase of STD’s

• AIDS outbreak

• Cult-like Communes

POSITIVE!!!!!..... POLITICAL ACTIVISM