Student Movement & the Counterculture

Roots• Booming economy after WWII– Value conformity over independence & financial gain over

spiritual and social advancement– College enrollment took off

• Students for a Democratic Society– “New left”– Port Huron Statement

• Stop accepting a country run by big corporations and big government

• Free Speech Movement– Led by Mario Savio & started at Berkley College– Faceless administration employing vague rules &

punishments– Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students

Counterculture• Mostly white upper & middle–class– Promoted

• flamboyant dress• Rock music• Drug use• Free & independent living

– Utopian Ideal• Full of love, empathy , tolerance & cooperation

– Communes• Group living arrangements in which members shared

everything• Haight-Ashbury district

• Decline– Communes turned dangerous– Lifestyle was not practical

Culture

• Fashion– Long hair

• Art/Pop Art– Andy Warhol• Up to the observer to give the work meaning

• Music & Dance– R&R would topple the establishment• Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix• Woodstock