The hippie counterculture and its impact on the American society

Résumé du document

Throughout the history, the evolution of the United States of America has been marked by numerous social and cultural movements that have influenced the course of important events and have helped shape what we know today as one of the most powerful, influential and complex countries in the world. One of these movements is The Hippie Movement of the 1960s.

The American society of the 1950s was characterized by a postwar prosperity and the confidence in America's universal mission to "share with other countries its conception of liberty, equality and democracy". Triumphant in World War II, dominating the global scene, America also "experienced phenomenal economic growth and consolidated its position as the world's richest country". The development of industry to meet peacetime needs, the expansion of the corporations and the birth of large shopping centers went hand in hand with baby boom and housing boom as well, while more and more people saw themselves as members of the middle class, switching from blue-collar to white-collar jobs. Not a privilege anymore, education turned into an affordable consumer necessity, whilst the development of television, marketing and advertising had a great impact on people's way of thinking and living.

At the same time, the essential participation of the US in the Cold War created a politically conservative climate and caused the growth of government authority. The desire of a better and better lifestyle, leading to that of having more and better goods everyday and the facilities that allowed people to immediately have what they wanted resulted in a very high level of consumerism.

Extraits

[...] They painted their world in vibrant, bright colours, applying them to their clothes, thier homes, vehicles or other possessions, while flowers and peace signs were ever-present. Probably the first idea that comes to one's mind when it comes to hippies is that of their appearance and clothing. Indeed, hippie fashion is considered to be the most spectacular shift in modern fashion. As a protest against capitalism and mass market, these clothes were either purchased from second-hand shops and flea markets, or self-made. [...]

[...] http://www.kulturhaus.ro/hippie 9. http://www.psychedelicjunction.com/2010/08/hippie-movement- history-culture-and.html 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie 1 ”Outline of U.S. History” (2005). Washington, D.C.: Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, p Ibid., p Ibid., p ”Istoria ilustrata a lumii” (2009). Bucuresti: Litera International, p (translated from Romanian: ”Prin haine, tunsori nonconformiste si muzica, tinerii respingeau ordinea traditionala. Miscarea pacifista hippy se revolta impotriva guvernului paternal, afacerilor corporatiste, moravurilor sociale traditionale si zeflemisea valorile reprezentantilor clasei de mijloc.”) 5 Gitlin, Todd (1987) Sixties Years of Hope, Days of Rage”. [...]

[...] THE VIETNAM WAR The political and social realities of the 1950s and 1960s, including President Kennedy's assassination, which caused deep greef among the people, the threat of a nuclear war, the still existing racism and the high consumerism and materialism much encouraged by governmental measures were important reasons why the hippies did not trust the government. Furthermore, they believed that it exerced undue power over people, manipulating them and killing their souls. They became involved in numerous pacifist actions which shared their ideals. [...]

[...] By getting involved in non-violent demonstrations, they helped achieve important goals as far as the war or the civil rights were concerned. Typical to them were their rebellious lifestyle, their way of living, loving, dressing and travelling, while the music that accompanied the whole movement has remained of great relevance ever since. It is also true that there was a negative, controversial side to all this rebellion, but history has taught us that an extreme always gives birth to another extreme, directly opposite from it. [...]

[...] However, they often also combined elements of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, different sorts of mysticism and various pagan beliefs. To these beliefs was related the hippies' use of marijuana and hallucinogens such as LSD, since counterculture of the young tried to combine two impulses at once the libertarian and the spiritual”6. These substances were supposed to help them connect with each other at a spiritual level, seek enlightenment, find inner peace and explore their own consciousness. As a matter of fact, by the mid-sixties, marijuana and LSD had overtaken America overnight. [...]