Verified Document

Counterculture In The Sixties The Term Paper

The values of middle class society were seen to be the related to and unavoidably supportive of the status quo. This led to the trends and fashions that characterized this movement; such as long hair and the use of rock music as a form of rebellion and assertion of 'liberal ideals'. Similarly, the use of drugs was also seen as part of this expression and a way of rebelling against the established norms of the time. While many of the hippie activities are seen in retrospect as being somewhat naive and even harmful, these actions and trends were important as indications and symbols of a serious issue; namely the rejection of norms and value that were seen to be conducive of hate an evil in all its manifestations. Therefore the spirit of the hippie counterculture was an element that was shared among all the groups and movements in differing degrees. The following quotation is cited at length as it provides an insight into the general nature and spirit of the sixties counterculture.

… the emerging counter culture represented a major backlash against the placid rigidity and regularity of the conformist...

The conformity of the age called for accepted codes of behavior, dress, and belief. Ideal TV families, Walt Disney inspired Bambi icons, and sweetness and light behavior demanded by parents, school authorities, and society at large became oppressive among youngsters coming of age without realizing the sense of freedom they regarded as a prerequisite to a full life. They began to experiment with mind-altering substances…all thrown in with a measure of proclaimed love for all people and hatred of hypocrisy. (Beats and Counter Culture)
It is this search for freedom and individual expression, with the concomitant rejection of blind conformity to convention, which characterizes the fundamental common basis of all the various countercultural movement in the sixties.

Works Cited

Beats and Counter Culture. August 2, 2007.

< http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/beats.php>

Civil Rights Movement. August 2, 2007.

Counterculture of the Sixties. August 2, 2007.

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Beats and Counter Culture. August 2, 2007.

< http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/beats.php>

Civil Rights Movement. August 2, 2007.

<http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/civilRights.php>
Counterculture of the Sixties. August 2, 2007.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

1960s and 1970s Counterculture Movement in the
Words: 2109 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

1960s and 1970s Counterculture Movement In the United States of America, freedom of speech and the ability to challenge accepted truths and to criticize the status quo have been a part of the identity of citizens since the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since then, the country has undergone many changes, particularly in the ways that the social norm views the nation and the population who inhabit

1960's Time Capsule
Words: 1670 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Capsule from the 1960's Peers, colleagues, and supporters: this is one of what will presumably become several reports about this time capsule from the 1960s, nearly four centuries ago. I am honored and deeply intrigued by the items found within this time capsule. Hopefully, those of us who are aware of the time capsule will gain a deeper understanding of where humanity comes from, in which directions it might be

Sixties: A Time of Change
Words: 2263 Length: 8 Document Type: Thesis

The change was not all positive, however. Bailey notes that the social and psychological transformation that followed women working outside the home "mounted to tidal-wave proportions" (1020). While women working outside the home in the urban age were not too terribly different from women working outside the home in the agricultural age, the movement raised questions about women's roles, family, and the workplace. The feminist movement was born from

Music and the Counterculture Music
Words: 4510 Length: 12 Document Type: Thesis

'All you need is love,' sang The Beatles. But they sang against a backdrop of militant demonstrations, the hazing of soldiers, environmental 'monkey-wrenching,' self-destructive drug trips, and a knifing death at the Altamont Rock Festival in 1969. Apart from the Weatherman faction of Students for a Democratic Society, which took Charles Manson as its hero, most people who identified with the 1960s counterculture deplored violence as much as they

Progress or Decline in America From 1960 to 1970
Words: 1479 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

America During the 1960's The 1960's began well for America. President Kennedy appeared to have the social and economic aspects of the country under good control. After his assassination, President Lyndon Baines Johnson took over and attempted to continue Kennedy's ideals. Policies such as the war on poverty as well as other implementations such as civil rights for all were to form part of Johnson's "Great Society." This appeared to improve things

American Hippie Counterculture the Decade
Words: 2221 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

S. A withdrawal from that conflict and the demise of the Johnson administration. Several events in particular galvanized the Hippie generation against governmental authority in the 1960s, including the response of various Southern state governments to the growing Civil Rights movement, especially after the disappearance and murder of Civil Rights activists from the Northeast and the use of state troops to resist Supreme Court decisions on the matter of school desegregation. However,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now