This liberal movement was a source of excitement for many teenagers and young adults alike (these people’s ages raged mainly between 15-25 years). It started out in the United States of America during the Vietnam War later spreading to other parts of the world such as Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These people simply rejected the ways of their predecessors and simply “dropped-out”Introduction to the Hippie Movement a) Overview and duration of the Hippie Movement ) The rise of the Hippie Movement c) Main aims of the Hippie Movement II- Important people in the Hippie Movement a) Janis Joplin b) John Lennon c) Dr. Timothy Leary III- The downsides of the Hippie Movement a) Effects of drugs b) Views on sexuality c) Effects of unemployment on the economy d) “Destruction” or “corruption” of an entire generation IV- The benefits of the Hippie Movement a) Effects on music b) “Dropping out” and the effects on the Vietnam War c) Effects on racial equality V- Success of the Hippie Movement The Hippie Movement began in and around the 1960’s.This liberal movement was a source of excitement for many teenagers and young adults alike (these people’s ages raged mainly between 15-25 years). It started out in the United States of America during the Vietnam War later spreading to other parts of the world such as Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
These people simply rejected the ways of their predecessors and simply “dropped-out”. Many of these Hippies were well educated people who found that there was a cause greater than any of what their ancestors had worked for.Also, many of them had inherited a lot of money from family members who had no one else to give the money to, and whether intentionally or inadvertently the money ended up in their hands. These “Flower Children”, as they were known, were known to be fighting against the brutalities inflicted upon the Vietnamese by the United States’ government. They regularly rebelled and led protests outside important governmental offices. They slept in parks and in their cars just to show the world that they support humanity and that they are not blind followers of their government.
Although many believe that this style of living was one of the main reasons behind the United States’ retreat from Vietnam, other people find that the Hippies were a bad influence on many of the teenagers of that time. The Hippie Movement had many influential people working with it. Some were singers others were doctors and some were just simply people with loud voices. Of these was the Woodstock Queen Janis Joplin. Joplin went to the University of Texas in Austin, but although she never completed her undergraduate degree, she was probably more popular than the most famous scholars or architects of that time.
Her “Kozmic Blues” music attracted many Hippies and became a living legend. Joplin later died due to her excessive drug use and she will always be remembered as the woman who made Woodstock a bigger success than it would have been in her absence. The Beatles were also extremely influential and fought to save Vietnam. They sang songs in honor of those dying and they held concerts to motivate people to join the Hippies.
The most influential of the Beatles was probably John Lennon. Lennon was one of the loudest voices fighting the war and he had a massive effect on people.He grew his beard and hair for “Hair Peace” and he was a major icon for Hippies worldwide. Another icon, although a bit controversial, was Prof. Dr. Timothy Leary of Harvard.
Leary said drugs were a form of “mind expansion”, meaning that he encouraged the use of drugs recreationally. Examples of the drugs he encouraged are Marijuana or Hash/Hashish, LSD, and Psychedelic Mushroom. This arouses a fraction of the controversy revolving around The Hippie Movement. To some people the Hippie Movements’ regime was one that was a negative for the country and for the world as a whole.Hippies had many characteristics including long hair, sandals instead of shoes, tie-dye and colorful clothing were worn and the use of drugs was present.
The use of drugs was one of the main downsides of The Hippie Movement. Many of the Hippies used their money to buy drugs to share and use recreationally. Drugs, as mentioned earlier, had a huge, yet controversial, impact on the youth of the world. Of course as we know today, drugs have mostly negative side effects.
These side effects were not as known to the Hippies at that time since science and medicine were not so well developed.To the Hippies drugs were mainly viewed as a source of ecstasy or a way to feel solely the pleasures of life. Since some of the Hippies didn’t know the negative side effects of excessive drug use some of them died due to overdose and others had life-long physical or mental defects. But yet again, some didn’t suffer at all. This is a mere argument that might support those who claim the Hippies to be a “bad” part of world history.
Also, the Hippie period was one in which people could experiment with sex without a fear of discrimination. People became more open to casual sex, premarital sex and homosexuality at that time.People’s views on homosexuality were a bit more understanding and it was easier for people to “come-out”. Generally, people’s perspective on sexual intercourse as a whole has changed a lot since then. People whose families would have generally disowned them for having premarital sexual intercourse were some of the first to experiment with sex.
To the conservative families of the era who viewed the Hippie Movement as damaging to the world’s youth this new leaf that the youth of the world have turned was just one downside of their movement.Another major downside of the movement was the economic effect. Since many of the people “dropped out”, many of the people were unemployed. And since there were not enough people who wanted to work, produce decreased and demand was a lot higher than what companies produced. This did not serve anyone well especially since countries such as the United States of America were in a time of war and needed all the extra resources they could get. Some plead the Hippies to be guilty of the “corruption” of an entire generation.
The people that accused the Hippie Movement of the felonies they supposedly caused were probably those affected by the opening up of the youth’s mind and large company owners who lost the bulk of their staff to the Hippie Movement. When examining the Hippie Movement one must not only look at the downsides of the movement, but also its accomplishments and its benefits to itself and to the world. For instance; the effect the Hippie Movement had on music and musicians all over the world was astounding.Music developed from the custom or traditional type of folk music to deep and intense ballads that were extremely effective in conveying the movement’s message. There are many examples of individuals or bands singing strong ballads: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, ELP (Emerson Lake & Palmer), Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Carlos Santana, and The Beatles.
To further emphasize this point, a few brief examples are in order.Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” perfectly sums up a lot of the emotions felt by the movement. The lyrics to this song tell it all! Also, Janis Joplin’s excellent ability to make everyone around her feel her pain through her amazing music was epic. Seeing these strong effects of this type of music on people one cannot help but marvel at the amazing accomplishments that this style of music has accomplished. It is also fair to mention the strongest blow the movement gave to the global economy. This point is extremely controversial.
It can be seen as a downside (as mentioned before) or as a benefit to the movement. Although the economy took a tough punch through “Dropping Out” the movement greatly benefited from the situation and it showed those in power what the movement was capable of doing. This was definitely a bonus in strength and magnitude to the Hippies. The blow was not only to the economy, it was also to the army. Since many people left their homes and not many were willing to volunteer to serve the army, there were no ways to reach additional members to the army.This also crippled The US Army greatly especially since it was fighting on uncharted territory.
This was a major contributing factor to The US Army’s withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. Not only did the movement aide the world on a political or musical level, but it also helped achieve racial equality and in the 1960’s laws were passed ensuring equal treatment to all races. Not only were the effects put down on paper, they were acted upon. People actually respected each other regardless of race or ethnicity.This helped people feel safe and free of discrimination and overall helped all the world’s people co-operate peacefully. Overall, it is safe to say that the Hippie Movement left its mark on society.
Some claim that this mark was a bad one and that people should be ashamed of the movement yet others claim that it possibly the most helpful movement in history. The validity of each argument is insignificant because whether people appreciated The Hippie Movement or not, it left a huge mark on society. The mark these people left was so large that recognition of it was not enough but what truly make us repay our debt to them is preserving all they gave us and trying as hard as possible to build upon what we now have because of them
