Introduction to Beatniks and Hippies

Beatniks and hippies were very unique individuals. Just like any other era, they had their good and bad side. Hippies were free-loving, “do your own thing” type people. What I feel was so significant of the hippie era, was how young people were trying to stand up for something they believed in. They believed everyone was equal and that war was wrong. Their protests were peaceful, but occasionally there were a few that turned violent. From the “Summer of Love” to Woodstock, whatever movement hippies organized, their opinions were heard.
What is a beatnik if nothing more than a stereotype made by people opposing the Beat Generation? Beats, in my eyes were so significant, because these young adults felt like outcasts, and instead of trying to fit in, they went out and became their own person. They were people who were intact with their intellectual side. Women made an important part in the Beat Gereration, but were not given the credit they deserved.
Beatniks and Hippies were young people who stood up for what they believed in, but they were also stupid young adults when it came to drugs and sexual matters. They would experiment with both, which made others question their beliefs. These were two different eras, that had a similar affect on society. Beatniks and hippies changed the world for better and for worse.
- Carla Mendoza

How the New Controverisal Generation Came About

It all started when Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg rebelled against the rules of society in the 1950s. They expressed their disgust for mainstream obedience of Americans, through writing. What they did not know was that they had started a worldwide cultural movement. It all started in New York city, where Kerouac met Ginsburg. The need of objecting to anything conventional, their refusal of following any type of rules, and of course their same style of literature is what brought Kerouac and Ginsburg together. Soon their group expanded and included writers such as William Burrough, Gregory Corso, Kenneth Rexroth, and Gary Snyder. This was when the Beat Generation came to be.

-Carla Mendoza

Beatniks. Who are they truly?

A beatnik would be described as someone who doesn’t allow society to slow them down. They are people whose minds wonder, eliminating distractions caused by society, in order to have enough freedom and creativity to express themselves. The beat Generation didn't want to fit in the conformity of everyone around them. They had their own rules about music, drugs, religion, sex, and literature. They also looked for anything that involved crazy situations, girls, and alcohol. Beatniks didn’t start questioning everything that was mainstream out of the blue. Many of the questions beats had started after the second World War. After the war there was a strong feeling of freedom. People wanted new things, and beatniks helped paved the way for those who were willing to follow. Not only has the beat generation left a literary movement, but it has left society the idea that creative and original thinking is a good think.
-Carla Mendoza

The Women of the Beat Generation

"The truth of the matter is we don't understand our women; we blame them and it's all our fault." This is what Jack Kerouac said about the women of his generation. Because he had so many women in his life, Kerouac began understanding them. There were many female beats, but they were rarely mentioned, because of the sexism of that era. Take the poet Joan Vollmer for example. She represented an independent, intelligent, and free-spirited woman, but never got published or recognized. After she married William Borroughs, all she was known for was being his wife. During this time period, it was hard for women to express themselves. Not only would they be considered crazy, but would be removed from any site by force. Writer, Diane di Prima, stated in a 1978 interview that many "potential great women writers wound up crazy or dead." There were a few women that did indeed received recognitioned. These women were Joyce Johnson, Joanne Kyger, and Dianne di Prima. There was nothing more thrilling than to leave the stereotypical role, that women had to portray during the 1950s. The women of the Beat Generation had enough courage to make a life of their own.
-Carla Mendoza

The King of the Beat Gereration

Jack Kerouac, the king of beats, was the first to use the term "beat," and included the definition of "upbeat," "beatific," and "on the beat." He attended Columbia University because of a football scholorship. He dropped out of school to join the U.S. Navy and fight in World War II. Because he was so disobedient and refused any type of disipline, Kerouac was discharged from the Navy. With many disappointments and torments Kerouac began writing his first novel, which was about his struggle of deciding between old-family values or wild-city life. Although this book was published, it did not make him famous. It would take a few years before Kerouac had another work of literature published. He spent many years traveling with his friend Neal Cassady, who was also a writer of the beat generation. After seven years, his book On the Road, which was about his many wild trips with Cassady, became published. Kerouac became the first beat writer to become nationally known, but his fame was costly. His book showed such a wild side, and being under so much pressure trying to live up to the expectations, he became an alcoholic. From then on his life and career went down hill. Kerouac did keep publishing, but most of his works were things he had written before fame. Eventually, his health deteriorated from all the alcohal he consumed, and died at the age of 47 in 1969. I think that Jack Kerouac did accomplish something throughout his disobediant life. This man showed perseverance and never gave up on what he believed in. By doing that he accomplished his goal of stopping the conformity of American society.
-Carla Mendoza

1960's Hippie. Make love, not war :)

In the 1960’s, Hippies were the white teenagers and young adults born in the epitome of a “personal freedom” revolution and were likely the ones wearing very flamboyant outfits painted with flowers, long hair, and giving a peace sign. Hippies, basically, were one of the major components of some of the most influential youth movements of the 1960’s. Best known for throwing out many of the general public’s ethics and regulations, hippies were an extension of the 1950’s beatnik. They opposed any type of conformity associated with conventional institutions, middle class standards, or war and supported sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, a carefree lifestyle, peace, and desegregation.
Hippies considered the governing culture, “The Man”, as a corrupt, close-minded entity that implemented unjustifiable control over most peoples’ minds and their lives. The Hippie opposition to “The Man” spread around the world to Canada and some parts of Europe. They held many protests to end the war in Vietnam. Hippies did not follow the teaching of their elders; instead they went and did their own thing. They were part of a new generation and did not see "eye to eye" with traditional society. A vast majority of Hippies were said to be from wealthy middle-class families and ran away for multiple different reasons; whether it would be because they rejected their parents ideas, wanted to get away, or were an outcast and thought they’d fit in with the Hippies. Sexual promiscuous was a common trait of a Hippie; as they were often lincked with the term "swingers". The introduction of the birth control pill gave many adults and teenagers the freedom to experiment with sex without the fear of pregnancy. The birth control pill was especially praised among females. In the 1960’s, marijuana, LSD, and cocaine were easily accessible. Hippies took advantage of that factor and engage in risky drug behavior in order to achieve a euphoric state of mind. Unfortunately, several hippies died from drug overdose. Despite all the negative thoughts associated with this specific group of individuals, hippies were also known for their love and compassion for others. The 1960's were a time or racial divide among Americans, schools were segregated and people of different races had an unconcealed hate for one another. As for hippies, because they believed in love and peace, they would accept everyone regardless of color, faith, or sex. Hippies put a lot into ending segregation, which is why many took part in historic movements such as the March on Washington. The hippy culture in the 1960’s protested the war and support the black power and feminist movements. The hippy movement let people get away from main stream society and let them protest issues that they agreed with. It showed people that they didn’t need to conform and they didn’t need to all fit into the same mold you could be an individual and share the love.
-Paris Crockett

Differences of Beatniks and Hippies.

Beatniks started an enourmous cutlural movement at the start of the 1950s, and even though hippies followed thier footsteps, they were two totally different eras. The way these two generations expressed their feeling were completely different. For example, beatniks would express themselves through writing. They would write poetry, books, any type of literature, to get their feelings out to the world. Hippies on the other hand, used music to express what they thought. They would also have protests to stand for what they believed in. Anohter difference between Beats and hippies is their clothing style. Hippies wore colorful and vivid loose clothing. They would wear long hair and were known for "being cool" Beatniks were complete opposite. They would wear dull clothes, men had goatees, and would "play it cool." No matter how different these two eras were, they had the same impact on the younger generations of America.

-Carla Mendoza

The Dark Side of Beatniks and Hippies

These two generations were all about being your own person, following your own rules, but their rules were not always a good. Many Beatnik writers struggled with their sexual orientation. Authors, like Allen Ginsburg were gay, and treated like pariahs. Hippies were very wild partiers. Their state of mind was "do you own thing." If that meant they didn't have to work, then they wouldn't, unless completely necessary. Hippies never went to church, and were very promiscuous. In my opinion the darkest side of these eras, have to be the drug abuse. Beatniks were the first people to use drugs casually. They would use marijuana, heroine, and amphetamines. Hippies followed in their footsteps, and introduced Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD. Marijuana was the most used, and the number of people getting high went from a few hundred to 8,000,000. Most new users were of the age of 12 to seniors in high school. Hippies believed that drugs increased creativity and perception. These claim were wrong. Many drug users would experience a "freak out" and literally freak out. Some would even die. That didn't stop hippies from getting high. Music and drugs were connected, and some musicians even believed that drugs helped them get inspired. Jimi Hendrix's song, "Purple Haze," was about marijuana. The Beatles had a song about LSD called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." This dark side of hippies caused many deaths such as Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, Rolling Stones guitar player Brian Jones, and Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry Garcia. Some may say that drugs helped musicians create some of their best songs, but in reality drugs created a trend of death.
-Carla Mendoza

Haight-Ashbury. If it feels good, do it!

Haight-Ashbury became the heart of the” Summer of Love” phenomenon. The neighborhood had become the birthplace of a rising drug culture and rock-and-roll lifestyle by the mid 1960’s. Hippies, young adults and high school students, flooded the neighborhood during the spring break of 1967. San Francisco's government leaders tried to stop the summer from getting out of control, but instead brought more attention and helped it gain popularity by bringing the newspapers, local, and national media into the craziness. By spring, community leaders responded by forming the Council of the Summer of Love, giving the word-of-mouth event an official-sounding name. Haight-Ashbury reached its peak in fame as top rock artists and bands performed that summer, like Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin. Some artist knew people in the Haight-Ashbury district as close friends and not just fans.
-Paris Crockett

The Summer of Love

The “Summer of Love” is a time when music, art, literature, and lifestyles changed into a more psychedelic style that became popular across the western world. San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district was the central source for this social phenomenon. It was the heart of the hippie revolution and a blend of music, psychoactive drugs, sexual freedom, creative expression, and politics.
Hippies, from 1965 until the summer of 1967, saw themselves as the witnesses of a new age where “The Man” would fall while peace and spirituality would over power. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were their heroes as they turned to the rich heritage of Asian mysticism and metaphysics for their inspiration and practice. Peace and love were not just slogans to them, but were states of mind and a way of life. One major component of the “Summer of Love” time period was their music. Some popular artists of the time were The Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, and Big Brother and the Holding company. The style of the music was untimed, un-planned, and imprecise; basically very “free-formed”. The music was mostly a combination of blues, small local bands, folk music, and indie sounds and it was these sounds partnered with the unusual use of the stereo is what gave the music its psychedelic feel and made the music so memorable. The music had a relationship that symbolically related to the drugs used during the Summer of Love. Drugs, like cannabis and LSD, were a major part of the Summer of Love. The reason these drugs were used were because they were connected with beliefs of personal growth and enlightenment and were, in some ways, natural and they believe LSD could connect them with nature. Hippies desired enlightenment because they rejected the consumerist culture and war. However, on October 6, 1967 the remaining residents staged a mock funeral, called “The Death of a Hippie”, to indicate the end of the played out area, because overpopulation, homelessness, drug addiction, and rising crime killed the party.
-Paris Crockett

Woodstock

Woodstock, otherwise known as Three Days of Peace and Music, has been one of the most talked about events of the hippie era. It all started out as an idea that four young named John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Mike Lang, had. Roberts and Rosenman wanted to find ways to invest all of Roberts’ fortune and make even more money. They put an ad in The New York Times, looking for anyone that was interesting in their idea. This is when Kornfeld and Lang came in the picture. These two men had the idea of creating retreat for musicians in Woodstock New York, along with a recording studio. To pay for the studio, they came up with the idea of having a two-day concert expecting up to 50,000 people.
The event was gonna take place in Wallkill, New York, and tickets were being sold all around the country. Things went wrong when the city of Wallkill banned the concert because of all the hippies that were going to be there. Foreturnaltey, Max Yasgur, the owner of a 600 acre dairy farm in Bethnal New York, let them have the concert there.
Two days before the concert 50,000 people were already camping at the site. Since there was no time to build gates to stop people from walking in, the Woodstock Music Festival had to become a free concert. Because woodstock became a free concert, the organizers lost a tremendous amount of money. Police sent many cars back to where they come from, so about 500,000 people made it to woodstock. Performers were taken to the concert by helicopters, because traffic was so bad.
The Woodstock Music Festival started on Friday, August 15, of 1969. The first performer was Richie Havens. The show started up again Saturday in the afternoon, with Quill being the opener of that day. The music did not stop till 9 a.m. on Sunday. By Sunday night there were only 150,000 people left. Jimi Hendrix was the to perform at Woodstock. His last set ended on Monday morning. By then there were only 25,000 people in the crowd. Despite all the complications that the organizers went through, Woodstock became one of the most successful concerts of all time. The concert involved nudity, sex, drugs, not to mention mud, but it was also involved a massive amount of peace and incredible music.
-Carla Mendoza

Woodstock 1969 Performers

August 15(day one)

Richie Havens, Swami Satchidananda, Country Joe McDonald, John B. Sebastian, Sweetwater, Incredible String Band, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Rave, Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez,

August 16(day two)

Quill, Keef Hartley Band, Santana, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Mountain, Creedence clearwater Revival, Sly & The Family Stone, Janis Joplin, The Who,

August 17 and After midnight(august 18)(day three)

Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Country Joe & The Fish, Ten Years After, The Band,Blood Sweat and Tears, Johnny Winter, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sha-Na-Na, Jimi Hendrix

-Carla Mendoza