Counterculture

This movement was a reaction against the conservative social morals of the 1950s, the political conservatism (and perceived social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam. Opposition to the war was exacerbated in the US by the compulsory military draft.

The 1960s youth rebellion largely originated on college campuses, emerging directly out of the American Civil Rights Movement. The Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley was one early example, as a socially privileged group of students began to identify themselves as having interests as a class that were at odds with the interests and practices of the university and its corporate sponsors.

Today, counter culture is used to describe moving in a theological or material direction that is not the accepted norm in society eyes; this is most easily seen in its manifestation in the media. However, it is strange to see how counter culture movements quickly become the spearhead of commercial campaigns and how once taboo ideas (men wearing a women's color - pink) become popular trends.

1960S COUNTERCULTURE

This movement was a reaction against the conservative Social Norms of the 1950 s, the political conservatism (and social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam . It is sometimes discussed as the inheritor of the " Beat Generation " sensibility of the late 1940s and 1950s. Opposition to the war was exacerbated in the US by the compulsory military Draft .

In one view, the 1960s youth rebellion largely originated on college Campus es. The Free Speech Movement at the University Of California, Berkeley was one early example, as a socially privileged group of students began to identify themselves as having interests as a class that were at odds with the interests and practices of the university and its corporate sponsors. However, other rebellious-youth formats also contributed, some involving people who had never been college students. The Beatnik café and bar scene was a tributary stream.

As the sixties progressed, the Vietnam War became an increasingly high-profile object of criticism, and the sense of the younger generation as a class who wished to create a different society gained momentum. One manifestation of this was the general strike that took place in Paris in May 1968 , nearly toppling the French government.

As criticism of the established social order became more widespread among the newly emergent youth class, new theories about culture and personal identity began to spread, and traditional non-Western ideas – particularly with regard to religion, social organization and spiritual enlightenment – were also embraced.

The above introduces one way of looking at the particular countercultural development of the mid 1960s to mid 1970s – simply (or mainly) an upwelling of youth. A quip from Winston Churchill is often paraphrased these days; it goes: "If you are not a socialist at 20, you have no heart, if you are one at 40, you have no brain" — indicating the anti-conventionalism of youth (and the typical disapproval of older citizens).

Many segments of the youth of this period were well educated, by comparison with earlier periods, leading to an interest in political philosophies. So, in the "youth culture" view of the phenomenon, every sort of outlook and political philosophy (''and'' form of political apathy) ''except , Left-libertarianism , Liberalism , Socialism , Anarchism , Communism , Anti-materialism , Materialism , Naturism , Mysticism , Hedonism , Spirituality , Environmentalism , Feminism , and many other basic orientations. Given the era's capacity for both direct and media communication, it was natural enough that some members of the older generation would contribute to, and be influenced by, this social current within society.

During the period in question, new cultural forms that were perceived as opposed to the old emerged, including the pop music of The Beatles , which rapidly evolved to shape and reflect the youth culture's emphasis on change and experimentation. Underground Newspapers sprang up in most cities and college towns, serving to define and communicate the range of phenomena that defined the counterculture: radical political opposition to "the establishment," colorful experimental (and often explicity drug-influenced) approaches to art, music and cinema, and uninhibited indulgence in sex and drugs as a symbol of freedom.

Another way of viewing the counterculture is as 'the principle of expansion' as applied not to economies or political spheres of influence but to aspects of personal life and to creativity.

The most visible radical element of this counterculture was the Hippie ; some hippies formed communes to live as far outside of the established system as possible. This aspect of the counterculture rejected active political engagement with the mainstream and, following the dictate of Timothy Leary to "turn on, tune in, and drop out", hoped to change society by Dropping Out of it. In looking back on his on life prior to 1960, Leary interpreted his life (as a Harvard professor) to have been one of "an anonymous institutional employee who drove to work each morning in a long line of commuter cars and drove home each night and drank martinis .... like several million middle-class, liberal, intellectual robots."

However, a considerable impediment to the success of alternative movements growing within the counterculture was posed by the very nature of the hippie ethic. When "doing one's own thing" runs to an extreme, there is an inherent rejection of values imposed from without and an adamant avoidance of other people's expectations. So, at the extreme, the individual tends to be isolated, which may or may not be much of a problem for that individual – but it does threaten to abort or curtail collaborative action or accomplishment.

Musical and other performing groups noticeably formed within the counterculture, but very many had a far shorter active existence than, say, the Grateful Dead (a rather unusual example of countercultural longevity). Since this ephemerality has long been the case in the performing arts, in itself it hasn't seemed like a noticeable failure. But not all attempts to "think outside the box" or blaze new trails were related to the arts.

Still, there were people who participated in aspects of the counterculture who were stable, dedicated, and persistent. The countercultural years and efforts had their representatives in the sciences, the trades, business, and law, to name only several walks of life (besides in the more obvious career paths of art, design, music, literature, etc.). Much was done in the area of the human interface with the natural environment (in connection with science, technologies, community planning, parks, and other spheres). While ''ad hoc'' action groups sprang up frequently, usually fading away just as quickly, some established themselves as ongoing Non-governmental Organization s (NGOs) dedicated to working toward particular goals. The counterculture gave rise to many lasting NGOs.

The environmentalist component of the counterculture was quick to grasp the early (i.e., 1970s) analyses of the reality and the import of the Hubbert " Peak Oil " prediction — more broadly that the dilemmas of energy derivation would have implications for geo politics, lifestyle, environment, and other dimensions of the life of modern society.

Social anthropologist Jentri Anders, based in California, has observed that a number of freedoms were endorsed within a countercultural community which she lived in and studied: "freedom to explore one’s potential, freedom to create one’s Self, freedom of personal expression, freedom from scheduling, freedom from rigidly defined roles and hierarchical statuses…" Additionally, Anders believed these people wished to counteract, in the education of children, a perceived discouragement of the "aesthetic sense, love of nature, passion for music, desire for reflection, or strongly marked independence…"

In his essay ''From Satori to Silicon Valley'' (published 1986), cultural historian Theodore Roszak made the point that the Apple Computer emerged from within the West Coast counterculture. Roszak gives a bit of background on the development of the prototype models of these original home computers and on the two Steves' ( Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs , the computer's developers) evolution toward being businessmen. In fact, a considerable number of early computing and networking pioneers – after discovering LSD and roaming the campuses of UC Berkeley, Stanford, and MIT in the late 60s and early 70s – would emerge from this caste of social "misfits" to shape the modern world.

Of course, it cannot be claimed that everyone involved with the counterculture lacked concern for others (or qualities like loyalty and conscience). Some people were consciously experimenting with one eye to common-sensical social norms, acknowledging their customary value (and not wishing to "throw out the baby with the bathwater").

Then too, "the counterculture" may or may not be something that an individual himself or herself identified with, even when that person was identified as an apparent member of it by someone observing it from the outside. Perhaps those people who ''were'' in fact successful in achieving something in cooperation with others (or who, as '60s individualists were able to find a niche and pursue some career) either never really identified themselves with the counterculture, or came to dis-identify with it over time.

In any case, as members of the Hippie movement grew older and moderated their lives and their views, the 1960s counterculture was to some extent absorbed by the mainstream, leaving a lasting impact on morality, lifestyle and fashion. Though not from the so-called '60s Generation, and having grown up in American-Heartland farming country, Jay Walljasper, a commentator and the editor of '' Utne Reader '', has written, "From the great gyrations of the counterculture would come a movement dedicated to the greening of America. While many once-ardent advocates of radical ideas now live in the suburbs and vote Republican, others have held fast to the dream of creating a new kind of American society and they've been joined by fresh streams of younger idealists." But the counterculture is a legacy that is still actively contested – debates that are sometimes framed in the U.S. in terms of a " Culture War ."

RUSSIAN COUNTERCULTURE

Although not exactly equivalent to the English definition, the term "Контркультура" (rus. Counterculture) found a constant use in Russian to define a cultural movement that promotes acting outside usual conventions of Russian culture - use of explicit language, graphical description of sex, violence and illicit activities and uncopyrighted use of "safe" characters involved in everything mentioned.

During the early 70s, Russian culture was forced into quite a rigid framework of constant optimistic approach to everything. Even mild topics, such as breaking marriage and alcohol abuse, tended to be viewed as taboo by the media. In response, Russian society grew weary of the gap between real life and the art world. Thus, the folklore and underground culture tended to be considered forbidden fruit. On the other hand, the general satisfaction with the quality of the existing artwork promoted parody, often within existing settings. For example, the Russian Anekdotal Joke tradition turned the settings of '' War And Peace '' by Leo Tolstoy into a grotesque world of sexual excess. Another well-known example is a Black Humor that dealt exclusively with funny deaths and/or other mishaps of small innocent children.

In the mid-80s, the Glasnost policy allowed the production of not-so-optimistic artwork. As a consequence, Russian cinema during the late 80s to the early 90s was dominated by crime-packed action movies with explicit (but not necessarily graphic) scenes of ruthless violence and social dramas on drug abuse, prostitution and failing relations. Although Russian movies of the time would be rated AO in USA due to violence, the use of explicit language was much milder than in American cinema.

Russian counterculture as we know it emerged in the late 90s with the increased popularity of the internet. Several web sites appeared that posted user-written short stories that dealt with sex, drugs and violence. Since stories were actually posted by editors, it's pretty clear what the characteristics of Russian counterculture were. The following features are considered most popular topics for the artwork:

Wide use of explicit language

Deliberately bad spelling

Drug theme - descriptions of drug use and consequences of substance abuse - at times quite gruesome

Alcohol use - positive

Sex and violence - nothing is a taboo. In general, violence is rarely advocated, while sex is considered to be a good thing.

Parody - media advertising, classic movies, pop culture and children's books are considered to be fair game.

Nonconformism to daily routine and set nature of things

Politically incorrect topics - mostly Racism , Xenophobia and Homophobia

As with Pornography , Russian counterculture has blurred borders and is hard to define. Generally, any content posted on a number of counterculture sites, like Udaff , Litprom or Fuck.ru is considered counterculture, although some of the stories there have nothing to do with all of the above apart from being counterculture-inspired.

The interesting aspect is the influence of the contra-cultural developments on the Russian pop culture. In addition to the in Russian traditional music styles like songs with the jail related lyric, the new music styles with the explicit language were developed. The most known representative of such popular music is Russian band “Leningrad”.

COUNTERCULTURE IN THE ASIAN CONTEXT

In the recent past it is Dr. Sebastian Kappen, an Indian Theologian, who has tried to redefine counterculture in the Asian context. In March 1990, at a seminar in Bangalore, he presented his countercultural perspectives (Chapter 4 in S. Kappen, Tradition Modernity Counterculture, Visthar, Bangalore, 1994).
Dr. Kappen envisages counterculture as a new culture that has to come up negating the two opposing cultural phenomena in Asian Countries: (1) invasion by western capitalist culture, and (2) the emergence of revivalist movements. Kappen writes, “Were we to succumb to the first, we should be losing our identity; if to the second, ours would be a false, obsolete identity in a mental universe of dead symbols and delayed myths. The only valid approach, therefore, is to fashion a counterculture which steers clear of both revivalism and bourgeois modernism.”
In order to achieve this, he proposes a process of critical and creative involution. By involution he means ‘a return to our own culture, but not so much to its developed forms as to its primal sources.’ This involution into one's own cultural roots must be critical and creative. That is, while rejecting what is not humanizing in traditional and capitalist cultures, we must be open to the positive elements of both.
Kappen’s concept of counterculture has inspired many a theologian in the third world. For example, see L. Jeyaseelan, Towards A Counter-Culture, Sebastian Kappen’s Contribution, ISPCK, Delhi, 1999.

COUNTERCULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS

The counterculture had an enormous influence on the Netherlands, probably more than anywhere else in the world. The Netherlands was a very conservative country before 1960. German intellectuals made jokes about the Netherlands: 'When the world ends, then I will flee to the Netherlands, because everything happens 50 years later there'. Until 2002, the Netherlands had the reputation of being a very liberal country.

Amsterdam was one of the hippy capitals of the world, next to San Francisco and London in the late 1960s . But Amsterdam was a special city, most of the Netherlands remained relatively conservative in the 1960s. Especially the 1970s and early 1980s transformed the Netherlands into a liberal country, while other countries had a tendency towards conservatism. Politicians of the Labour Party tried to change society by changing the towns and cities through local politics. Dutch youth demonstrated often against several kinds of abuse of power. All kinds of institutes tried to democratize, bringing the power of managers and officials to an end. The right-wing coalition government was afraid to lose elections, so they had to keep the welfare state until 1983.

Anti-Nazism was an especially powerful ideology. The Nazi-German occupation made a tremendous impression on the orderly organized Dutch society of the 1940s. Many Dutch celebrities were radically left-wing during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Dutch liberalism is influenced mainly by the American culture. The Dutch former punker and celebrity Carry expressed the meaning of punk by standing on her desk next to her computer and saying: “I don't want my grandmother to say that this is not appropriate.”
The special kind of Dutch liberalism becomes apparent when the Netherlands is compared with other countries. The relationship between the Netherlands and Flanders created some tendencies throughout the decades. Dutch people had much self-esteem during the 1980s and 1990s and expressed that by shouting “Hup Holland, hup” at 3 o'clock in the morning in the Flemish city of Antwerp. Belgians were frequently ridiculed as being stupid. Belgians complained also about the Dutch trying to seduce women who were in the company of men. Belgians were jealous of Dutch television, which had a lot of famous television programs, while Belgian television was considered boring in comparison.

American conservatives describe the Netherlands as a “Soddom and Gomorra” — something America should not become. Their arguments are based on a misinterpretation of Dutch liberalism, because humanism is one of the basic values of Dutch society. Dutch society has legalized suicide, prostitution, abortion. Gay marriage and euthanasia are accepted, though euthanasia is only to be applied to stop people from suffering physically. Using words as fuck, asshole or cunt are accepted on television and the radio, even to insult people. Some tourists complain about the rudeness of Dutch people. Rudeness has been identified as a problem in traffic. This rudeness is not something restricted to the low classes, the upper classes are rude as well. The Dutch prefer to call it honesty. Dutch people do as they feel.

Some Christians and Muslims in the Netherlands have a minority complex, because their values are ridiculed in Dutch society. Some Dutch commentators on the television are already regarding religiousness as something of the past. The Netherlands is one of the least religious countries of Europe after the Czech Republic and Estonia ( Christianity By Country ), and it may be the most secularized country of the western world, having experienced the full effect of the 1960s revolution. It should be mentioned however that the percentage of people who don't believe in God is much higher in Sweden, Germany and France {Link without Title} . The difference between the Netherlands and those three countries is that norms and values used to be much more popular there then in the Netherlands of the 1980s and 1990s. Germany is considered as being dull by the Dutch. Social democracy and feminism are very strong in Sweden, compared with the Netherlands. While France has kept strong ideological contradictions. Dutch hedonism could be measured by the acceptance of homosexuality and other hedonistic lifestyles.

Dutch people have had a strong inclination to change the world in recent decades, desiring a world with more honesty, happiness, and less suffering. Dutch news gives a lot of attention to events in foreign countries. The Dutch have been strongly anti-nationalist.

The Netherlands have the least opposition to homosexuality in the world. Pim Fortuyn was openly homosexual. Pim Fortuyn was against the backwardness of the Islamic culture. Many journalists and politicians were complaining about this, comparing him with the Nazis. Fortuyn replied by saying that the sperm of Moroccans tasted the same as that of other people. This was quoted in the major newspapers. Problems with the integration of foreigners have impacted Dutch culture. Many people want order and punishment to bring an end to the feeling of vulnerability.

Counterculture in the Netherlands has become mainstream since the 1970s. This had the result that the left became moderate. Problems couldn't be solved easily. Instead of changing society by demonstrating in the streets, society is changed nowadays by adjusting policy. The main issues that lead to much controversy are the integration of foreigners and adjusting the economy for the threat posed by globalism, which means downsizing the Welfare State. Dutch liberalism and counterculture are non-issues since these were absorbed into the mainstream culture. This has the strange result that socialists are advocating law and order to deal with crime and that hedonists are in favour of making an end to the nakedness and rudeness in video clips of American rappers.

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