The 1960’s Youth Movement and Pop Culture

The Youth Movement Generation gap—difference in years, culture, attitudes, and beliefs between generations 1964—baby boom generation entered college Many protests took place on college campuses—protesting wars, right to free speech, civil rights Young people rejected materialism and their parents work ethic

Hippies Young people left their jobs, school, and traditional home life Studied eastern religions and astrology Wore casual and colorful clothes, jeans, dashikis Public displays of nudity Wore their hair longer, long beards, afros Sometimes called flower children Lived together in communes—shared houses and grew their own food Height of the hippie movement—1967 “The Summer of Love” 100,000 people gathered in San Francisco—practiced “free love”

Problems Associated with the Hippie Movement LSD (acid)—mind altering drug promoted by Timothy Leary Leary tested LSD on his Harvard students—he was fired and encouraged young Americans to drop out of school, quit their jobs, and follow him Drug addiction increased Sexually transmitted diseases increased Homelessness increased

The Arts Pop Art—artists took their inspiration from popular culture Andy Warhol—led the pop art movement—used a process called silk screen—his art was mass produced New rating system for movies—from G to X—popularity of adult movies grew To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sound of Music, Planet of the Apes, Psycho, Night of the Living Dead

Music of the 1960’s: Rock The British Invasion—introduction of British music to an American audience The Beatles—very popular with American teenagers after their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show Other artists—The Rolling Stones, The Who Folk Music—acoustic music with a political message—Bob Dylan Electric guitar—introduced new loud and innovative sounds to audiences Jimi Hendrix was the master of the electric guitar in the 1960’s

Music of the 1960’s: Soul Motown Records—record company in Detroit founded by Berry Gordy Jr.—popularized African-American artists Styles of music made popular by Motown—rhythm and blues and soul James Brown— “Godfather of Soul”—known for his energetic live shows Aretha Franklin– “Queen of Soul”—several #1 albums—Rolling Stone magazine called her the #1 greatest singer of all time

Woodstock (August 15-17, 1969) Woodstock Music and Art Fair—3 day festival in upstate New York 400,000 people attended—people parked as far as 20 miles away People paid $18 for a 3-day pass, on Sat. the gates were opened for people without tickets Non-stop music: Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Janis Joplin, Santana

Woodstock: Problems Rain and mud Food and medical supply shortages Widespread drug use—bad acid trips Traffic jams Crowd control No place to go—to sleep, bathe, eat The Rolling Stones held a similar festival 4 months later in Altamont, California Hell’s Angels were hired as security and killed an African-American man in plain view near the stage