Woodstock and hippie culture - Essay Example

?Introduction Revolutionary and rebellious ideas have always been a part of young generation. When a person decides to live a life which is against the set norms of the society, then he is called as rebel. Every culture in the world has experienced a challenge from young generation at some point or another. With new lifestyle, new ways of thinking and by going against the tide, young people try to create their own new ‘culture’. In America, the most prominent wave of cultural revolution and rebellion was observed during the 60’s and 70’s. During this period, a revolution was introduced through music, art, fashion, open relationships, physical appearance, thinking etc. The ‘culture’ that brought about this revolution in 60’s and 70’s was the culture of ‘hippie’. However, what really became instrumental in giving a massive exposure to the hippie culture was the Woodstock music festival. In 1969, the Woodstock festival witnessed the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history, with the presence of 500,000 youthful people (“Woodstock 1969.”). Through Woodstock festival, the whole world witnessed a new wave of cultural revolution in ‘hippies’ and Woodstock became a turning point in the cultural history of America, and the world (“Woodstock 1969”). The hippies Hippie culture is known as the counterculture of the 1960’s (Issitt 2009, xi). It was in San Francisco, California, that the hippie movement originated and from there, it spread all over the United States and Europe (Huber, Lemieux and Hollis). The hippies followed and encouraged liberal thinking in politics, lifestyle and culture ( Issitt 2009, xi). Hippie culture gave an outlet to the psychological, emotional and cultural revolution that was felt in the heart of the youth all over the world ( Issitt 2009, xi). Hence, even though hippie way of thinking was practiced in America, it was actually a global phenomenon (Issitt 2009, xi). The hippie culture not only remained limited to the thinking and behavior pattern of the hippies, but it also permeated the mediums of music, literature, art, cinema and fashion scene of the 60’s and 70’s (Issitt 2009, xii). Most importantly, music was one of the major medium in which the ‘hippie’ sentiments and thoughts were expressed strongly. This was the major reason why the hippie culture influenced the Woodstock festival to such a great extend. Woodstock festival The Woodstock festival was a result of hippie people’s desire to live the hippie life openly, freely and without any guilt attached to it. The large hippie population, perfect climate and setting for outdoor concert, and the opportunity to experience every aspect of hippie culture, made the Woodstock festival a carnival and ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for hippies (Issitt 2009, 41). Hence, thousands of hippies flocked to the festival to socialize with like minded people and to enjoy ‘their’ kind of music, dance and lifestyle (Issitt 2009, 41). The Woodstock festival was a carnival for the hippies and they made the most of it by attending it in large number. Moreover, what made the Woodstock festival a paradise for hippies is the environment and opportunities that it guaranteed. The 1969 Woodstock festival was the giant spectrum of potential for hippies (Miller 1991, 82). They considered it an “epitome of joy and peace” (Miller 1991, 82). The Woodstock became ‘the’ destination for hippies as it offered them everything that they desired for (Miller 1991, 82). In the unrestrained environment of the Woodstock festival, the hippies enjoyed the commune like life, spiritual and religious experience, and total freedom to behave in a typical hippie way (Miller 1991, 82). Most importantly, the Woodstock festival proved to be a free dope territory (Miller 1991, 82) which allowed them an opportunity to experience the ‘spiritual’ high through drugs and LSD, openly(Issitt 2009, 41). Moreover, it also allowed them a space where they got to enjoy the intellectual stimulation by listening to the speeches of intellectuals who were in favor of hippie culture and promoted it among the youth (Issitt 2009, 42). The hippie culture and the Woodstock festival The Woodstock festival, which took place over a weekend of August 15-17, 1969 (“H” 2001, 934) was a ‘dream come true’ for the hippies. They would listen to speeches by spiritual leaders, poets and activists during the break from musical performances (Issitt 2009, 42). There were no strict guidelines to follow or schedules to be met. Everything was perfectly orchestrated as the hippies wanted it. The presence of psychedelic rock bands, which represented the hippie rock, multiplied the pleasure of hippies at the festival (Issitt 2009, 42). There was no pressure on the rock bands as even their loose schedule and ‘sloppy’ performances were appreciated by fans, who were excited to celebrate the life, no matter what (Issitt 2009, 42). The rock bands, representing the hippie movement, found great satisfaction in sharing the stage with other bands who were the part of same movement, and enjoyed the spiritual high by collaborating with them and ‘jamming’ with them on the stage (Issitt 2009, 42). With this kind of atmosphere, the Woodstock festival was a dreamland for the hippies. Every aspect of Woodstock festival was filled with hippie culture and life. Also, the outdoor experience of the Woodstock festival gave a feeling of ultimate freedom and bliss to the hippies (Miller 1991, 82). The festival was an extravaganza for hippies as it entertained the psychedelic rock bands and music (Miller 1991, 82). So along with the hippie music, the hippies experienced a sense of cultural identity at the Woodstock festival, which was not found anywhere else (Miller 1991, 82). The festival was highly charged with energy of hippie culture. The psychedelic and spiritual energy dissolved the ‘personal identities’ of the hippies and gave them the feeling of ‘union’ with the ‘whole’ hippie culture (Miller 1991, 82). The individual barriers and the barriers of outside world were broken and the hippie crowd became ‘one whole organism’ (Miller 1991, 82). Hippies were present in abundance at the Woodstock and experienced peace through psychedelic drugs, music, dance and eastern philosophies (Perone 2005, 63). The place was charged with celebration, music, freedom and religious high. The hippies made Woodstock festival an unforgettable musical and cultural event in the history. The Underlying Energy To understand the reason behind the Woodstock festival becoming a grand celebration of hippie culture, it is important to know the underlying psychology of the hippies and to understand the revolutionary force behind it. The youth of the 60’s had witnessed major crisis through war, prejudice and hatred (Miller 1991, 10). They had realized that the dogmas, beliefs and the cultural values followed by their parents were hopeless and had given them nothing but misery and pain (Miller 1991, 10). This made them lose their faith in the social, political and religious establishments. They realized that Americans are practicing needless repression under the name of ‘culture’ and hence, hippies valued self expression and spontaneity in their nature (“H” 2001, 387). The hippies started looking for something new, something fresh and something positive. Hippies formed a culture of their own and made ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ their ultimate goal (Miller 1991, 10). Hence, hippies were never interested in power, politics or business (Miller 1991, 10). Their interest was freedom from repression, peace, communal life, love, open sex and spiritual high (Miller 1991, 11). They were against the racial discrimination, wars, hatred, authority, dominance, political power and violence (Miller 1991, 10). Hence, hippie culture was called as ‘counterculture’ (Miller 1991, 10). However, hippies were not able to live the life that they wanted to, openly. The laws against the use of drugs and conservative outlook of the adults made it difficult for them to practice the hippie culture openly. Hence, the Woodstock festival, which was held in the town of Whit Lake, New York (“H” 2001, 934), became a place where hippies could give an outlet to their suppressed desires without worrying about the consequences of their outlet. Many hippie cultural practices like nudity and smoking drugs, which were banned and shunned by the ‘outside’ world, were openly followed during the Woodstock festival (Miller 1991, 82). The hippies took huge advantage of this event and lived every moment of it. Interestingly, due to extensive media coverage throughout the world, the Woodstock festival represented a high point for the hippie culture (“H” 2001, 934). Many who attended the 1969 Woodstock festival believe that unattainable idealism of the hippie and rock lifestyle prevailed during the festival and it proved to be the most significant event in the lives of all the hippies (Perone 2005, 63). Conclusion The 1969 Woodstock festival became a milestone in American music scene due to the presence of hippies. The later years proved that no other music festival or event was able to gain an iconic status equal to the Woodstock festival of 1969 (Perone 2005, 62). The festival was so cherished by the hippies that Woodstock came to be known as a hippie ‘nation’ and became a symbol of hippie idealism, peace, transcendence and ultimate freedom (Seiler 2000, 208). In this way, the hippies influenced the Woodstock festival immensely. Bibliography “H”. The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Edited by Ray Browne and Pat Browne. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2001. Huber, Adam, Lemieux, Chris, and Marlon Hollis. “The Hippie Generation: A brief look into the hippie culture”. Rowan University. Accessed March 27, 2011. http://users.rowan.edu/~lindman/hippieintro.html Issitt, Micah. Hippies: A Guide To An American Subculture. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2009. Miller, Timothy. The Hippies and the American Values. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Perone, James. Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2005. Seiler, Cotten. “The Commodification of Rebellion: Rock Culture and Consumer Capitalism.” New Forms of Consumptions: Consumers, Culture, and Commodifications. Edited by Mark Gottdiener. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000. “Woodstock 1969.” Woodstock. Accessed March 27, 2011. http://www.woodstockstory.com/woodstock1969.html   Read More