Woodstock and hippie culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Woodstock and hippie culture - Essay Example 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 (â€Å"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 c ultural history of America, and the world (â€Å"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 â€Å"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