The Hippy Movement
* The term “hippy” comes from being hip.
* You were either hip or you were a “square” or a “pig”
* Hippie were looking for an alternative way of life
* Most hippies valued freedom, nature, intimacy, peace, sharing, and spirituality
The Way of Life
* Hippies wanted to distance themselves from mainstream ways of life
* They discarded possessions and often lived in parks or campsites in the foods
* Living like this made them feel free
* Nudity was another form of freedom
Counterculture Fashion
* Hippies distanced themselves from mainstream culture by their dress.
* Colorful, flowing clothing, beads, headbands, bell-bottoms, and tie-dye were popular.
* Men had their hair and beards long or in afros.
* Hippies were often called “longhairs”
San Francisco and Haight Ashbury
* San Francisco was the birthplace of the counterculture/hippy movement.
* By 1965, hippies had taken over the Haight Ashbury district.
* Haigh Ashbury district contains the Golden Gate Park, home of the Trips Festival and “be-ins”
Hippy Music
* The most popular music of the time was psychedelic rock,
* Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the Grateful Dead played free concerts at Golden Gate Park
* Concerts and be-ins were places for hippies to protest, socialize, dance, or take drugs.
* At Woodstock over 250,000 hippies showed up to hear artists like Janis Joplin, The Who, Canned Heat, The Allman Brothers, and County Joe and the Fish.
Woodstock
* Woodstock was not just a music concert.
* “For thousands who couldn’t even hear the music” it was a “profound religious experience”
* Meager resources were shared with everyone
* Many people at Woodstock used illegal drugs
Drug Culture
* Drugs like marijuana and LSD were a big part of the hippy/counterculture movement
* Using drugs made hippies feel like they were rebelling from mainstream society
* Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor, was an advocate of LSD
* LSD was created by a Swiss scientist, used by the CIA, and tested for use by psychiatrists before it became illegal