 |
| The Beatles, Circa 1960s. Men wearing long hair in the 60s were commonly frowned upon but The Beatles fought practiced gender norms in their music and bold fashion choices. |
From
taking the History of the 1960’s under Stephen Berrey at UMICH, I have learned
an extensive amount about the history of the counterculture and musical
movement from then on. The counterculture movement in the 60’s brought a new
generation of consumers who received their biases through the music and
speeches they heard on the radios and in large gatherings. With the atrocious
political atmosphere developing during the 60’s, people searched for ways to
find their voice in the governmental haze. Popular talk of the 60’s was on the
topic of the Vietnam war, the counterculture movement, Watergate, Jim Crow,
Stonewall, etc. This was a time of war and of political rifts in several
different aspects that shaped aspects in shopping habits through attempts to
fund the war or to create a more fulfilled life living the fun easy-going
counterculture life. The fun life came with a world of peace of people and love
of mother Earth. These “hippies” preferred their protests through hymn styled
songs given to them by the stars of the counterculture. These pilgrims for
peace found a political voice in their music where they had deities like Lou Reed,
Janis Joplin, The Grateful, and Bob Dylan. Stories of opposing the government, its’
lies, the war, and more told through song created a following. This group of people
became influenced in other aspects of their movement from their styles of
clothing, their leisure activities and even to religious ideals. This political
motion became a lifestyle that shaped consumer behavior in the 60’s.
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| Janis Joplin, 1969. The girl who sang “I’d like to do a song of great social and political import” at the famous original Woodstock in her traditional hippie counterculture garb. |
Woodstock: The famous 1969 Woodstock gathering of many popular politically motivated musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Mamas & Papas, Joe Cocker, & The Who. Joplin is seen in traditional 60’s “hippie” fashion which largely consisted of paisley and flower print, bright colors, bell bottom jeans, and long hair all for men and women. These voices of the counterculture created a uniform for its followers to easily distinguish who believed in the mainstream movement. The beliefs of civil rights, rejecting the Vietnam War, Cold War, and gay & women’s rights. The enjoyment of political activism bled to the audience and influenced their purchases as the culture of hippie fashion grew in influence to denote their symbolic ties to the counterculture movement.
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| Vanessa Hudgens & friends at Coachella 2016 in hippie counterculture influenced fashion. |
“How
long before the hate that we hold
Lead
us to another Holocaust?
Are
we so deep in it that we can't end it?
Stop,
hold, ever call it off
It's
too clear, nuclear's too near
And
the holders of the molotov
Say
that "Revolution's right here, right now"
And
they ain't callin' off”.
The theme
of a fight for equality in a range of aspects has a long history but a similar
message for the counterculture followers and other equal rights advocates.
Outside of the counterculture movement, similar morals influenced other music
styles, like in Sam Cooke’s 1964 song, “A change is gonna come”, where he says;
“Then I go to my brother
And
I say brother help me please
But
he winds up knockin' me
Back
down on my knees, oh
There
have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But
now I think I'm able to carry on
It's
been a long, a long-time coming
But
I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will”
He depicts
the negativity found during the Jim Crown era acted upon him while asking for a
better life, similar in what Run the Jewels and more preached through their
music.
The counterculture movement in the
60’s brought a new generation of consumers who received biases through the
music and speeches they heard on the radios and in large gatherings like
political speeches and politically motivated concerts. In Chapter 7 P 122-125, Consumer Attitudes, we talked about how value
is added depending on consumer attitudes towards the product. If a consumer
feels that the product is valuable, they are more likely to buy into it and
help fund its success. Like the counterculture and music, the artists were
supported by the following and the following supported through concerts sales
and idolatrous beliefs of these lyrical heroes through similar fashion choices,
eating habits, and musical advocacy. The value in the counterculture movement
was heightened because of its political views that gave a voice to the citizens
who could not speak for themselves. This adds a high functioning of attitude in
these hippie consumers through utilitarian and knowledge components. Being
associated with the counterculture meant you followed the same beliefs as they
did, dressed similar, and were similar in overall aspects; creating the hippie
counterculture brand. I have been to concerts ranging from The Jonas
Brothers to USS to Joan Jett, and Heart. Each held a different message within
their music that pertained to current events and feelings of the time showing a
continuation in the idea of political liberation in the art form. Other music
examples have been posted on a Spotify playlist:
Disclaimer:
some music may have triggering speech because of racial and sexual injustice
speech and because of the sensitive subject matter some music may contain
cursing or vulgar language but will be labeled as "explicit".
Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., pp. 27-29). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
