I wrote this essay in 1998, when I was doing Music In Society at school. (Our homework included listening to 'Sgt Pepper'!!! I didn't need encouraging!!) It may be a lil long... but hey, I got an 'A' for it!! :) Hopefully it'll give you some background information anyway. :)
The decade of the sixties was a tumultuous time to grow up. It was a period of change, a shift away from the commercialism of the materialistic Fifties. The youth of the day opted for a completely different existence to that of their parent’s generation, shocking them in the process. There were various issues and influences that shaped the way of life of young people in the sixties.
Young people, especially in North America, felt sympathetic toward the plight of the black people, who faced widespread discrimination, especially in the South. People of both races participated in protests against discriminatory practices.
The entire population of the world was affected as the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified, each fearing the other and the possibility of a nuclear war. The Vietnam War was the struggle of the Vietnamese people to free themselves from French colonialism. The Americans involved themselves as they aimed to stop the spread of communism in South East Asia. They sent many soldiers, mostly Americans who were unable to fight guerilla warfare.
Young people felt hopeless, and didn’t see how they could plan for a future they might never see. Disgust was felt for the leaders who threatened total annihilation, or fought wars on behalf of faraway countries rather than cooperating for the well being of the human race and the future of the planet.
The sixties was the era of the space race, and many rapid technological advances. After the decade was over, the question was not if, but when science would come up with an answer. Some young people may have felt that the millions of dollars poured into space exploration could have been better spent at home.
The Sixties saw the uprising of these two new groups. The New Left was mostly made up of students. A radical movement, it had no specific purpose of its own, except bringing down the established systems of the Old Order – university systems, government, and so on. The New Right consisted mainly consisted of blue-collar workers and lower middle class white people. This group was paranoid about communism, and supported issues such as Bible readings rather than sex education in schools. Young people typically favoured the New Left. There were many separate groups such as the Worker Student Alliance, the Revolutionary Youth Movement, or more militant groups such as the Weathermen and Black Power.
The youth of the sixties was a generation that demanded to be heard. College students, who had previously done what they were told, were a force for the first time. Movements such as the SDS (Student Democratic Society) stood for equal rights for all, and regularly held protests against such things as the drafting of young men for Vietnam.
The youth culture was very much affected by this movement. Protest marches and ‘sit-ins’ became a regular feature of young peoples’ lives during the sixties. For the first time, students felt they had the power to change what was going on around them. By the end of the sixties, they were mildly successful in doing so.
The feminist revolution came about in 1963 when Betty Friedan wrote the book, “The Feminine Mystique”. It dispelled the myth that women were happy being housewives and second rate citizens. When NOW (the National Organisation for Women) was formed, it encouraged women to stand up for their rights while fighting for equal opportunity laws in parliament.
Young women supported this movement, and many of their male counterparts at university realised the sense of this movement and tried to bring equality into their relationships.
When the contraceptive pill was introduced in 1960, it was available at first only to married women, but soon became available to single women. College girls came to think that sex before marriage was the norm, as they could challenge moral values without risking pregnancy.
The Pill allowed women to pursue careers, as they could have lovers without getting pregnant, and married. Eventually abortion laws were abolished and homosexual people began to 'come out'.
Young people were much more relaxed about sex than their parents, and experimented with it freely, without much of the guilt previous generations have felt. Couples lived together openly, and homosexual people were able to lead the lives they wished, no matter what mainstream America thought about it.
The counterculture was affected by the arts. Pop art, Op art, and psychedelic art were very popular, as were offbeat art-house films and science fiction, spy or horror movies. These sorts of movies reflected the worries that American people had, in regard to the Cold War and the Russians.
The underground press was a significant influence on young people. It thumbed its noses at the Old Order, spreading its influence far and wide. It also introduced new innovations such as Pop Art to the masses.
The Beatniks were the foundation of the Sixties’ youth revolution. They were tired of the way society worked, opting to reject all traditional values and social moral codes. Dissatisfied university students followed their lead, and started experimenting with drugs and alternative lifestyles. The hippie revolution ensued.
These young people wore ragged jeans, funky dresses, mini skirts and favoured beards and long hair, which was looked down upon by the elder generation and school authorities.
Drug use was a big part of this culture. Young people experimented freely with drugs, such as dope, LSD, speed, and other illegal substances which all constituted the ‘psychedelic experience’.
Many new religions and cults popped up. Traditional religions were thought to be out of touch, as young people flocked to alternative religions and cults that promised new ways of salvation.
Other countercultures included the Yippies, who rejected hippies and society in general. They were against all authority and found life meaningless. The Hell’s Angels, were a darker side of the sixties’ counterculture, whose motto was “Never trust a man who hasn’t done time.”
In England, the Mod culture was a great influence in the late fifties and early sixties. They wore Italians suits, loved Pop Art, and favoured black music of any kind. By 1965, the Mods had pretty much faded out, but their influence was still felt in the newer countercultures.
Young people generally were against all established society, and the older generations. Anything that met their parents’ disapproval was ‘hip’. Basically they wanted to break free from the mould in which society tried to shape them – they demanded their right to express their individuality.
Copyright 1998!! Please don't plagarise my work. I don't mind if your use it as a resource however. This essay is mainly about the sixties in America or England, and it is pretty factual, I know... Personal recollections would be sooo much more interesting! So if anyone has any other information to share about the decade in any other countries, or any stories of their own, please email me or enter it in the guestbook!! Thanks!! :)
kyles223@hotmail.com
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