Hi all, what do you think the sixties did for your country and culture, although all of us may not have been around in the sixties on this forum, im sure that if we thought about it we could all come up with something. Do you think that a certain country or countries led the way into a worldwide sixties kind of revolution with things like music, art, political policies and social culture. Or on the other hand was your country not affected in any way in that decade. Also what do you think led to the sixties being a massive cultural change for many people? cheers
I live in an underdeveloped country, and my opinion is that in all decades the cultural trends have been determined by the central or developed countries, mainly the English speaking ones. I was born in 1962, so there´s not much of the 60´s that I can remember, but to me the 60´s are The Beatles, Vietnam, psychodelia, Twiggy, the hippies, Kennedy. Anything to do with Argentina? Nothing. Why was it a massive cultural change? There are tons of paper printed on this subject, and I haven´t read much. My would say that after the war people were led to think that now the time for peace and happiness had arrived, but in the sixties they started to see that life is not a dream, that wars would continue. And music, art and society showed this in many ways.
I think the sixties were important to the world at large in two aspects: Firstly, the people who were part of the upheaval of the sixties had gradually come to terms with the concept of rock 'n' roll, that it was more than a "fad" in music and actually was the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of people expressing themselves without being hemmed in by tradition or convention. This switch in perspective allowed for greater exploration of personal points of view as opossed to conformity to dogma and custom. Unfortunately, this self-realization gave way in some instances to abandon and indulgence, and so entered the drug scene (which before I would think virtually unheard of in the middle class) and promiscuity, those being... confused? ... or equated?... hmmm... justified by? with freedom of choice. It must have been a very exciting time, to find oneself awakening to all the possibilities... and to all the pitfalls... of the modern world. The other way in which the sixties were of immediate importance to me and a few other people, is that I was born in that decade. Boon or bane? The jury's still out on that one.
In the Ireland crawling out of the 50s, the 60s were experienced rather differently than they were in other 'western' countries. It was the start of our real development as an economically independent entity. It heralded an approaching era of wealth and prosperity and showed the beginnings of the end of the curse of emigration. Things were looking good. And then… and then trouble flared in Northern Ireland, and what was about to become a class struggle was hijacked by forces of reaction on all sides. The fledgling Civil Rights movement which stood a chance of uniting the underclass of both sides of the established political divide was undermined by infiltration by both the thugs and bullies of the IRA and by agents of the establishment. Things went downhill in Ireland as a result. But that part was the 70s and therefore off-topic Really, the big social chance here in the 60s was the escape of "light entertainment" from the dire state it was in, "folk music" was languishing and was cut off from people's lives. One or two names arose which tok Irish music by the scruff of the neck and dragged it into the twentieth century. Some went abroad and became hugely influential on all sorts of well-known names. The likes of Bob Dylan pays homage to The Clancy Brothers, and big-name performers line up for a chance to play with The Chieftains. And finally, to anyone who knew me in the 60s, I apologise for soome of those clothes! ;D
Do you think it would br fair to describe the activities as 'counter culture' or rather a gradual revolution within mainstream culture?For instance the womens rights which were fought for around 67 which culminated in the equal pay rights in the early seventies.They were moving against the mainstream but was it a revolution or simply a movement away from the norm ie. counter culture?
"Counter" always implies separate and distinct. I don't think there was such a separation of the 'alternative' from the mainstream to allow for that to be used with regard to the 60s, and particularly not in relation to the women's rights movement. Had they not worked within the mainstream they could not have achieved the victories over oppression which they did.
Hmmmm Let's see! Political instabillity continues from the '50s, persecution of the communists and anyone the authorities call communist goes on, some policial changes towards a more true democracy make a timid appearence on the political stage and then we have a junta in '67. No time for feminism etc I'm afraid
Yes good point, very intresting. To throw yourself completely away from the 'mainstream' as you say would only cause to alienate oneself, which i suppose is not good at all for any 'cause'.
FRG had gone mainstream and the youth got eagerly beaten up by cops, there were hippies, femists, etc. Basicly the mirror image of USA, except for that the local commies were a little more radical and would sometimes kill this or that former National Socialist amongst the industrials, capitalists, conservative politicians and others. Yeah, and the social democrats with Willy Brandt got elected for the first time since the formation of the republic (ending the monopoly of power of fundamentalist Christian Democrats) and started a policy of endearment with the soviet bloc ("Ostpolitik") recognizing the GDR and giving up claims on Prussia and Sudetenland. Also, the Nazi Era stopped being a forbidden topic in the media and in school. As for Soviet Union, all the 60s things, with all the soceity changes, you know, promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners without protection while at the same time experimenting with mind-expanding drugs in a consequence-free environment, happened during Khrushchov's Thaw in the 50s. The 60 were the hangover after the party with the spring tanks in prague, a wall through Berlin, forced bald shaving of hippies, renaissance of the censorship and other not-so-much-fun stuff. Blame the Eisenhower doctrine.
Bonjour, I was thinking of a thread like this. I am from the last 70's, nearly 40 years old, this could explain that The sixties in France are my parents' and in-laws' childhoods. - My mother, and her older and younger siblings (eight together), grown up first in the French African colonies, then (decolonisation) in the "Old France". Strict education; radio, no TV. My grandfather was an officer of the French marines and my grandmother followed him. - My father, the same age as my mother, is the first of three siblings. Post-war family; my grandparents were only children, and my grandfather was even not in the Algerian war. Both my grandparents started working after school when 14 years old. After living in an old house, they bought a brand new one. TV, car, modern life, the beginning of today's. But, my great-grandfather (who fought World War II, and was in a prisoner camp) a team leader in public road department (a quite comfortable position), left the family, living in worker or homeless residences My in-laws report that in village festivities it was common to see major incidents with guns An aunt of my wife relates that since the French rocker Johnny Hallyday died in 2017, her adolescence (teenagehood ?) is over. See also, much more related to music : https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/what-do-the-sixties-mean-for-you.1814270/
