1. The Counterculture

2. A glimpse at the past…
Why are these pictures relevant when talking about the counterculture of the 1960s?

3. Foreshadows the future …
What do these photos from much later in American History have to do with the counterculture?
Foreshadows the future …

4. Objectives Describe the rise of the counterculture.
List the major characteristics of the counterculture.
Evaluate the impact of the counterculture on American values and society.

5. What is Counterculture?
counterculture − a movement in which people adopted values that ran counter to mainstream society of the 1960s.
But where did it come from?

6. From the 1950s What do we know or remember about that decade?
The expectation/norm 1) 2)

7. Beatniks What Changes? Against conformity Anti-materialistic
Fiercely Independent
The Beatniks combined with…

8. Rock and Roll
Teenagers begin to split-off into their own cultural sub-group. They have very different views/interest than their parents.

9. Enter the 1960s What events influenced the rise in counterculture?
What was the counterculture, and what impact did it have on American society?
In the 1960s, youths rebelled against long-standing customs in dress, music, and personal behavior.
The counterculture both challenged traditional values and unleashed a movement to reassert basic values.
What events influenced the rise in counterculture?

10. The catalyst: The Kennedy Assassination
The 50s Beatniks/Rock
Civil Rights Movement
The Vietnam War
The catalyst: The Kennedy Assassination

12. Who was part of the counterculture?
The generation gap and the Baby Boomers
The “Hippie Style”

13. People and Places of the Counterculture
Timothy Leary-political activist/proponent of drug use. “Tune in, turn on, drop out”
Haight-Ashbury-part of San Francisco, famous as a popular gathering/cultural location.
Woodstock- Music festival in NY, that “lived” the values of the counterculture

14. Four main elements defined the counterculture.
Rock-and-roll music
-music became a vehicle for social change
The sexual revolution
-changing beliefs on marriage and monogamy
A belief that drugs could free the mind
-Recreational use was acceptable and had benefits
An interest in spirituality
-Finding a new religion/belief/purpose

15. Rock-and-roll music and folk music became forces for social and cultural change.#1 #2 #3

16. The legacy
Many young people rejected materialism and were socially engaged.
Groups such as women and the physically challenged sought equality.
Colleges and universities began to offer multicultural programs of study.
Drug addiction and overdose deaths rose.
Violence at a Rolling Stones concert contradicted the hippies’ message of peace and love.
Many people believed the counterculture had become shallow and self-centered.

17. Still Relevant?
Beatniks > Counterculture > Punk/Alternative > Hipsters