“The youth rebellion was central to much of the
fractiousness and dismay, much of the idealism and hope”[1]
A GAP BETWEEN GENERATIONS
If the 1950s introduced the teenager, the 1960s proved that it
was here to stay. Children turning into teenagers in the 1960s were a part of
the Baby Boomer generation. These children grew up without the ominous threat
of war hanging over them as their parents had. Adults wanted their sons and
daughters to enjoy their childhoods, as they had been denied the chance to do
so.
TEENAGERS AS CONSUMERS
As products became easier to manufacture through
technological development, they became cheaper and more available to the
teenage market. In turn as teenagers became considerable consumers the music, fashion,
and television industries reacted in kind. The invention of the portable
transistor radio meant that teens could listen to their music when, where, and
with whom they liked. Clothing got
brighter and more playful, culminating in the mini skirt- a symbol commonly
linked with the Swinging Sixties. Programmes focusing on the popular music of
the day became common on the TV and radio. Researchers determined that “fifteen
year olds were effectively acting like eighteen year old consumers from the
previous decade”[2].
POLITICAL PROTESTS OR HIPPIE HANGOUTS?
Despite the increased freedom given to them, teenagers still
rebelled against their parents. One of the most common outlets of rebellion was
to become a part of the counterculture. The
American counterculture was not one coherent movement, but rather a collection
of movements that were united in the belief that America was corrupted, unjust,
and required change. Some of those
included in the counterculture were the civil rights, anti-nuclear, free speech,
and feminist movements. All these movements at some point involved protests
that happened in American cities and universities. This counterculture however was not completely
unique to America. Similar events and changes in society were taking place across
Paris, London, and West Berlin as well. Through becoming a part of this, the
teenager was staking their claim to their future, furthering themselves from
their parents and the governments that ruled them.
In contrast with
these structured movements was the growth of hippie communities across America.
These communes came about as teenagers and young adult left their home and possessions
behind in favour of a more natural lifestyle. As well as to escape domineering
parents. Hippies, like normal teenagers, presented themselves and their
thoughts through their clothing and hair. By wearing brightly coloured clothes,
beads, and walking barefoot they systematically rejected the system. To
distance themselves further many hippies smoked LSD and marijuana, listened to
psychedelic rock music, and promoted free love and sexual liberation.
To say that the generation gap could not be any wider would
not be far from wrong. The youth of the era were promoting love and freedom
through peaceful means. Their parents had been fighting for the same things 20
years earlier, in a war on another continent.
Yet both ways of action were needed to further progress the lives of
those in America, and around the globe.
Jenny Coombs
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