Hi! I am a college student doing research on subcultures. If you have the chance to answer these questions that would be great! Thank you. Has hippie culture become too mainstream? What pushed the hippie movement to popularity? What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? Why were you drawn to hippie culture? What hippie stereotype would you debunk?
Born 1951. Has hippie culture become too mainstream? There is no more hippie culture as a separate entity. What pushed the hippie movement to popularity? The Vietnam War, Eastern philosophy, LSD, and rock and roll...in no particular order. What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? The spontaneity, originality, trust and the people. Why were you drawn to hippie culture? The quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. What hippie stereotype would you debunk? Hippies (freaks) had a disdain for hard work.
It was mostly about pot and free love man .... Everything was cool until Charles Manson and his Helter Skelter family came along.
1. Has hippie culture become too mainstream? In the late 60's and throughout much of the 70's the fashion industry adopted their concept of what being a hippie was and at that point it became too mainstream. Everyone became a hipster---a weekend hippie that adopted enough of the style to be cool, but still remain part of the status quo. 2. What pushed the hippie movement to popularity? The Vietnam War was definitely a key part. Drug use had a role too. Another factor is that many young people began to see the meaningless existence of their parents that carried over from the Father-Knows-Best culture of the 50's. This culture painted a picture of a happy everything-in- order life that did not reflect the realities of existence. We watched fathers work long hours while their wives cleaned house and cooked, and then played pinochle on thursday nights, cocktail parties on saturday nights and church on sunday in an ongoing never-ending cycle ad-nauseum, while their sons died in a tremendous hell in the jungles of Vietnam and their daughters cried over the death of their boyfriends (in a war that did nothing but support a US puppet government against farmers who simply wanted their land back). Everyone thought they were happy, and living the American dream but our political leaders were being assassinated, black people were being beat up for wanting to be like anyone else, students were being shot and killed on college campuses for speaking out against an unjust war that our youth were being asked to fight (and Nixon declared war on the youth of America), and all the while we faced the ongoing threat of a Nuclear holocaust. The only answers our parents had, in those moments of realizing that we really weren't happy, was alcohol and church on Sundays. 3. What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? The acceptance of the individual, and the expression of individuality. In the beginning, for example, there was no style, because everyone simply wore whatever they wanted and could be whoever they wanted. There was no judgement, no cultural appropriation, no definitions of who you should be. Also there was that feeling that lasted into the 70's that we were going to change the world---and that we could. 4. Why were you drawn to hippie culture? My political awakening happened at a young age with the Kent State shootings, and the realization that our own military establishment had shot our own college students in our own country. I remember one night in particular, shortly after that, when a friend of mine and I, while listening to records of CCR, and Cream decided to grow our hair long and become hippies. Then of course there was the angst of youth. 5. What hippie stereotype would you debunk? The stereotype about personal hygiene. Just because a guy has long hair and a beard does not mean he is dirty and smelly. Also the stereotype around drug use. Sure drug use is a very intimate part of the culture, but it was much greater than drug use. It was about a search for meaning, and an attempt to find a meaningful way of living. It was rebelling against the status quo and traditional mores and constructs in order to find a more meaningful, fulfilling, and individuated way of living----to truly find peace, freedom, love, and happiness.
There is one other point I just remembered about this: 3 What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? There is something that I think we all took for granted, back then it was just the way it was. In fact I didn't even realize it was missing until I encountered it again. It wasn't just of the 60's but lasted into the 70's. I am assuming that it was unique to the hippie culture, but I'll touch on that in a moment. I am talking about a feeling of love, care, and camaraderie. I encountered this feeling again about 7 or 10 years ago. Canned Heat was the headliner at a local Blues Festival in the Colorado countryside, and it brought out a bunch of hippies and even some Hell's Angels and other bikers. People showed up with tickets from the Woodstock festival hoping to get them to sign it. They even played a portion of their Woodstock set and announced that 'there are people saying the brown acid is bad'---you know redoing that famous Woodstock announcement. It had everyone laughing. We had been there for probably an hour when I realized that there was a feeling in the air that I hadn't felt since the 70's. My son afterwards remarked how nice everyone was, and we talked about it and he picked up on that feeling too. Strangers around us had invited him to play with their kids. It was like one big family gathering. I hadn't realized until then that this feeling was part of the movement. Back in the day it just seemed natural. Today it seems to me to be something very special we had. To be honest, maybe this is just the general feeling of a music festival and I just don't know it. I have only been to a few blues festivals over the past few decades, and lived in Asia before that. I can't really say what goes on at a big festival today or even a rave. So all I know is that the feeling I had that night was something I hadn't felt for many years.
That's the problem with distance learning, home schooling, correspondence courses and shit like that.
I never had one of those, even though I had many many trips. However, I do get marijuana flashbacks. For no reason I'll suddenly crave Doritos and Butter Pecan ice cream, or leftover fried squash.
Has hippie culture become too mainstream? It did, but that was a long long time ago. However, some of the ideals have survived while others have turned into something else. I still meet people who carry the same idea about people just being cool with one another. I remember when that was a radical notion and looking out for number one was the order of the day. Sure, that element will always be with us, but I think it wears regular people out after a while. So we see it fade in and out of popularity. A prime example of how an element of hippy culture was shoved through a mainstream filter is The Mother Earth News. Once a low-budget magazine that told you how to make soap and render sweet potatoes into moonshine. These days you need to be somewhat wealthy to implement anything they suggest. In the back issues you find plans for a brick oven that might cost under $100 in adjusted dollars. Today's version is between $500 and $1000. What pushed the hippie movement to popularity? Freedom. From Radio Caroline to Woodstock the expression of freedom was most cherished. It was also the most under siege by the establishment. They don't want free thinkers, they want to be the only thinkers. What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? A healthier attitude about sex (VD notwithstanding). In the late 70s and early 80s I watched sexuality morph into a way to make a deal as opposed to being part of a meaningful relationship. Or a non-deal where nobody is trying to make out better than the other, an equality of purpose so to speak. Instead it was presented as a marriage machine and the future became more important than the present. Why were you drawn to hippie culture? I had no choice, I was born into it. One parent was a cartoonist, the other was a bartender. What hippie stereotype would you debunk? None, they're all true.
Has hippie culture become too mainstream? It became so mainstream that it vanished. What pushed the hippie movement to popularity? LSD and the media What is one thing you miss from 60s hippie culture? Nothing much. The good part is still here, if you look for it. Why were you drawn to hippie culture? Rejection of Babylon. Peace, love and understanding. What hippie stereotype would you debunk? That it's a monolith.
Question 1 not sure. Question 2 the war, the protests like whats going on now with BLM Question 3 (i was a teenager) going to Boston commons when all collage kids be sitting round passing joints and wine.. All the cute girls wearing tight no bra s . lots of fun for young teen. Question 4 same as Question 3 Question 5 that they all dirty bum s like charles Mansons cult...And the talk like in movies and tv shows Saying things like far out shit like that.
