The 1960’s: The counterculture strikes back.
Our first reading summarises the 1960’s, an epoch marked by a momentous transition. Denoted as one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades, it is defined by the historical actions of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, political assassinations, anti-war marches, and the emergence of the “generational gap.”[ 1] Challenging Hollywood’s traditions of conservatism, it was here in the late 1960s that “exploitation” films became a substantial market. Transitioning the taboo subjects of sex, drugs, violence, and defiant youth into more than just low-budget pictures. [1: John Belton, Chapter 3 “The 1960s: The Counterculture Strikes Back” in John Belton, American Cinema/American Culture (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004, 275. ]
Contextually rich, the article details societal and political revolutions and their correlations with Hollywood’s transforming subject matter. Most prominent is that of the generational gap which saw the established members of society and the youth as ideological oppositions. War, sexual mores, race relations, lifestyle, musical preference, and finer details of style and hair (which quickly became a symbol of the decade) saw conservative elders maintain desires for censorship whilst the youth continued to resist these suppressive discourses. These displays of activism were set off by the Civil Rights Movement, the cornerstone of the 1960s crusade. This non-violent intervention would inform subsequent protests seeking social justice including that of the women’s liberation movement.
Betty Friedan’s 1963 book “The Feminine Mystique,” is simply one noted example of feminist protest, she remarks that the mundanity of suburbia is a tool that buries women alive.[ 2] In attempts to console these frustrations, Hollywood unwisely consulted one aspect of the movement, the women's sexual revolution. Adhering to the opposing stereotypes of the Madonna/whore and the motherly governess. Hollywood depicted these binaries through films such as Lolita (1962), Barbarella (1968), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Sound of Music (1965). Affected by this treatment also were the 1960s youth, Hollywood cinema clinging to confused college kids, heavily involved with sex, cheap thrills, and political activism. The political conservatism of Hollywood was driven largely by economics.’[ 3] Films were produced for a general audience therefore their reluctance to display politically charged pictures was an obvious financial gamble. Thus, the silver screen continued to condescendingly summarise the thriving counterculture in a way that didn’t completely satisfy its desired market. [2: Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: Norton, 1963.] [3: Ibid, 284]
However, revolutionizing sixties cinema was Easy Rider (1969). Hollywood’s misinterpretations and slow adaptation to its new audience[ 4] saw BBS’s output deal, a low-budget film not attempt to interpret nor talk down to its ‘college-aged crowd.’[ 5] Instead, it summarised 1960s America both through culture and aesthetics. Avoiding capitalist regurgitations of the youth culture, Easy Rider captured the essence of the sixties in a way that was tangible to its audiences. [4: Ibid.295 ] [5: Ibid.290]
References
- John Belton, Chapter 3 “The 1960s: The Counterculture Strikes Back” in John Belton, American Cinema/American Culture (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004, 275-294.
- Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: Norton, 1963.
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Essay on Counter Culture Civil Rights Movement.
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