Zach Wong, Andrew Sasaki, Tim Zhao, Steven Rochon
What is Flower
Power?
 Flower Power was a Slogan used during the late 1960’s and early 70’s
 Had its roots in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War
 Coined by American beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to make war
protests into Peaceful spectacles
 Hippies dressed in vibrant clothing embroidered with flowers, wore flowers in
their hair, and distributing flowers in public.
 Later became known as “Flower Children”
Origins
 Originated in Berkeley California
 Started as a symbolic action of protest against the war in Vietnam
 November 1965- Allen Ginsberg’ s essay entitled How to Make a March
advocated that protesters should be provided with “masses of flowers” to hand
out to policemen, politicians, etc.
 Protestors began to use props such as flowers, toys, and flags that turned these
rallies into a form of street theater called Guerilla theater.
 The protest received positive attention and the use of “Flower Power” became
integral to the movement
The Movements
 By Late ‘66, The use of theater protest had spread across the states
 The Bread and Puppet theater in NYC staged Numerous Protest which
involved handing out flowers and balloons with their anti-war literature
 May 1967- Abbie Hoffman organized the Flower Brigade as an official
contingent of a New York Parade honoring soldiers in Vietnam
 The Following Sunday, The Workshop in Non-Violence declared Armed
Forces day as “Flower Power day”, and held a Rally in Central Park.
 Turn out was low, and the rally proved to be ineffective
 Gruesome images of two anti-war activists who lit them selves on fire in
November 1965 provided iconic images of how strongly some people felt
that the war was immoral
 32 year old Quaker Norman set himself on fire in front of the Pentagon
 22 year old Catholic worker movement member Robert Allan LaPorte did
the same in front of the UN Headquarters in NYC
 October 1967- Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin organize the March on the
Pentagon.
 When Marchers faced off against more than 2500 Army National Guard troops
forming a human barricade in front of the Pentagon
 Demonstrators held flowers and some placed flowers in soldiers rifle barrels
The March on The
Pentagon
Abbie Hoffman
 Born November 30, 1936
 Abbot Howard “Abbie” Hoffman was an American political and social activist
and anarchist.
 He Co founded the Youth International Party (Yippies)
 Hoffman was arrested and tried for conspiracy and inciting to riot as a result of
his role in protests that that led to violent confrontations with police during
the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
 Before becoming a prominent member of the Yippie movement, Hoffman was
involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and organized
Liberty House, which sold items to support the Civil Rights Movement in the
States
Jerry Rubin
 Born on July 14th 1938
 Jerry Rubin was an American Social Activist, anti-war leader, and
counterculture Icon during the 60’s and 70’s
 He began demonstrating on behalf of left wing causes after he dropped out of
Berkeley
 He attempted to run as mayor for Berkeley, on a platform of opposing the
Vietnam War, and supporting black rights and the legalization of marijuana
 Rubin organized the Vietnam Day Committee, that led to some of the first
large numbered protests against the war in Vietnam
 One of the Founding Members of the Youth International Party
“The more visual and surreal the stunts we could cook up, the easier it
would be to got on the news, and the more weird and whimsical and
provocative the theater, the better it would play”
The Chicago
Seven/Eight
 The Chicago Seven were seven defendants including Abbie Hoffman, and Jack
Rubin.
 They were charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges related to
counter cultural protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois in protest of the
1968 Democratic National Convention
 Rallies were held at a number of different parks in Chicago
 Over the course of five days and nights, the police made arrests, in addition to
using tear gas, Mace, and batons on the marchers
 Jury indicted eight demonstrators and eight police officers.
Four Charges:
 A conspiracy by protesters to cross state lines to incite a riot
 Violations by police of the civil rights of demonstrators by use of excessive force
 TV network violations of the Federal Communications Act
 TV network violations of federal wiretap laws.
Allen Ginsburg
 Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American Poet and one of the leading figures of
the beat generation, and counterculture of the 1960’s
 He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism and sexual
repression.
 Promoted free speech through his willingness to talk about taboo subjects
made him a controversial figure in the conservative dominated beliefs
 His poem “Howl” contained language that was considered “Pornographic”, and
could be prosecuted under law
 Had connections to Communism
 Believed in Rights LGBT
Woodstock
 The Woodstock Music & Art fair was a music festival held at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre
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dairy farm at White Lake in Bethel, New York
Lasted from August 15th to 19th 1969
32 acts performed outdoors in front of an audience of 500,000 People
Performers included Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sly and the
Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix , etc.
During The Who’s Performance, Abbie Hoffman interrupted their performance to
speak against the Jialing of John Sinclair
“I think this is a pile of sh*t while John Sinclair rots in prison”
Pete Townshend was tuning his guitar and shouted “F*ck off! F*ck off my stage!”,
and hit him with his guitar. He later denied the accusations
Townshend later said that while he actually agreed with Hoffman on
Sinclair's imprisonment, he would have knocked him offstage regardless of the
content of his message, given that Hoffman had violated the "sanctity of the stage,“
In Woodstock Nations, Hoffman recalls that he was on a bad LSD Trip at the time,
but he does recall getting hit in the head by a guitar
Counterculture
 Saw Development of Left wing political ideologies
 Developed concerns with other issues such as women's rights, human sexuality,
traditional conservative modes of authority, experimentation with
psychoactive drugs
 Brought in the rise of the hippie, and other alternative lifestyles
 This embracing of creativity is particularly notable in the works of British
invasion bands such, and filmmakers, who became far less restricted to
censorship
 This era of youth rebellion essentially commenced with the assassination of
JFK, and became absorbed into popular culture with the termination of US
military involvement in Vietnam, and the end of the draft in 1973
Sociological issues/Left
winged ideals
 United States seeking to resolve constitutional civil rights illegalities, especially
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regarding general Racial Segregation, and discrimination of blacks in the
South.
On college and university campuses, student activists fought for the right to
exercise their basic constitutional rights, especially freedom of speech and
assembly
Many counterculture activists became aware of the plight of the poor,
and community organizers fought for the funding of anti-poverty programs
Environmental concern grew from a greater understanding of the ongoing
damage caused by the resulting pollution of industrialization.
The Need to address rights for Women, Homosexuals, and Handicapped.
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes
of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the
60’s to the 80’s
Hippie Culture
 Originated in San Francisco, in the Haight Asbury District
 On January 14, 1967, after the Human Be-In, the Media’s attention on culture
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was activated
Hippies adopted new styles of dress, experimented with psychedelic drugs,
lived communally, and developed a vibrant music scene
Men had very long hair, African American men had afros, Levi's denim, tiedyed t shirts, Converse sneakers etc.
Marijuana, LSD and other Recreational drugs expanded into a subculture that
extolled mystical and religious symbolism in combination with the effects of
the drug
Another aspect of Hippie culture included the rejection of active political
engagement with the mainstream and overall just dropping out of society
Influenced punk rock, and disco
Impact of
Film/Television
 After WW2, television became a major source of entertainment and
information, as well as the influence of TV advertising for American
consumerism
 key components in youthful disillusionment and the formulation of new social
behaviors, even as ad agencies heavily courted the "hip" youth market.
 Censorship in motion picture production was on the decline
 The end of censorship resulted in a complete reformation of the film industry
 modern production values heralded a new era of art-house, pornographic, and
mainstream film production, distribution, and exhibition
 With new-found artistic freedom, a generation of exceptionally talented new
wave film makers working across all genres brought realistic depictions of
previously prohibited subject matter to neighborhood theater screens for the
first time,
Music
 Britain's new wave of musicians gained popularity and fame in the United
States
 The music of the 1960s moved towards an electric, psychedelic version of rock,
thanks largely to Bob Dylan's decision to play an electric guitar at the
1965 Newport Folk Festival
 The newly popularized electric sound of rock was then built upon and molded
into psychedelic rock by artists like Pink Floyd and the Beatles.
 The Beatles went on to become the most prominent commercial exponents of
the "psychedelic revolution“
 Saw Rise to Music Festivals Such as Woodstock
Major figures in music &
pop culture of the sixties
 Bob Dylan
•Cheech and Chong
 The Beatles (Lennon • Ed Sullivan
& McCartney)
•Johnny Carson
 The Who
 Jimi Hendrix
•Kurt Vonnegut
 The Rolling Stones
•Hugh Hefner
 The Doors (Jim
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Morrison)
Janis Joplin
Grateful dead
Led Zeppelin
The Beach Boys
Joan Baez
The Stooges
•Andy Warhol
•Allen Ginsberg
•Abbie Hoffman
•Jerry Rubin
•Muhammad Ali
Some Tunes For
You
 The Who- My Generation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN5zw04WxCc
 Baba O’Riley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY5rztWa1TM
 The Beatles- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKXfqpg-Q-k
 Bob Dylan-Blowin’ in the Wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4nVByCL44
 The Animals-House of the Rising Sun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2oKRKZnEoA
Jimi Hendrix- Foxey Lady
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfGyylmR-aI
Video Clip
 Forrest Gump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcOTZeZ3_40
Legacy
Discuss with the Person next to you how
Counterculture of the 1960’s has
influenced society today.