Youth Culture and rebellion
After the World War II was over and the men came they found a very different home. The woman were at work and did not want to give that up just because the men came home. This was not the home which they had left before the war. However, finally being back home the young soldiers were eager to start their own families and try to restore their lives back to normality. This desire gave way to the baby boomer generation. This generation will give way to a new type of marketing as well as culture.
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The generation of baby boomers grew up in a world where they did not have worries. They had everything provided for them through their parents and did not have any sense of responsibility and thus created a generation of what the Look’s called the “most maligned generation in our history”. They were considered delinquents are adolescents who were up to no good. The marketing and film industry of this time would advertise and produce their products targeting this generation. this marketing created a blindfold for these
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youth. They were so intrigued with the ideal white middle class that was being portrayed through shows like "Beach Blanket California" they were not able to see all of the injustice happening around them. They were in a protected world in which the only thing they needed to worry about was having fun. However this excess of leisure time did cause distress among the population. The values of the youth was the lowest it could be and that did not sit well with the older generations.
As this generation grew older they began to reevaluate their lives. There was a great awakening in the culture and this is what began the counterculture. They later became known as "Hippies". They began to see the injustice of the world in which they were living in and began to fight for it. However, they also had a rebellious side where they would do recreational drugs and practiced "free love". This too was not acceptable by the older generations.
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Discussion Questions:
- Why was the baby boomer generation so care free?
- What caused the baby boom?
- What gave rise to the counter culture?
Reference:
May, Kirse Granat. Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 2002. Print.
May, Kirse Granat. Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 2002. Print.