1960s

Radicalism
Civil rights
Counterculture
 Radicalism
• the holding or following
of radical or extreme
views or principles
• seeking political reforms
which include dramatic
changes to the social
order
Student activism, France 1968
Revolt against modern consumer and technological
society
“Prague Spring”, 1968
Democratic reform crushed by Soviet military
invasion
USA: Opposition to Vietnam War, 1967-
1968
 Civil rights
• Protecting individuals from
unwarranted action by government
• Ability to participate in
political life
• Protection from discrimination
• Equal access to education,
healthcar etc.
Civil rights movement
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
Fought to end racial segregation/
discrimination
Civil disobedience (non-violent)
Assassinated
Recognized as martyr by some
Christian churches
Civil rights movement
Malcolm X (1925-1965)
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz ‫الحاجّ مالك الشباز‬
Nation of Islam
Assassinated
Labour movement
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1963: March on
Washington for
Jobs and Freedom
1965: Bloody Sunday
(police brutality)
1968: Poor People's
Campaign
Anti-war movement
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
From 1965
US gov’t as “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world
today”
A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily
on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With
righteous indignation, it will look across the seas
and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge
sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only
to take the profits out with no concern for the social
betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just.”
 Counterculture
the culture and lifestyle of
those people, esp. among the
young, who reject or oppose
the dominant values and
behaviour of society
Young people / students: 1968
Young people / students: 1969
Rock music
A product of British/US military intelligence
Rock “stars” = drug addicts (John Lennon, Keith
Richards)
Fabricated public image; Beatle-”mania”
1963/64 (in the wake of JFK assassination):
A well-planned, well-timed “invasion” of Beatles, Rolling
Stones
 Rock counterculture = a weapon
to destroy political movements
 Rock music
Drugs; New Age;
paganism; black magic
“Sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll” 1943 - 1971 1942 - 1970

They said about Jim

Morrison of The Doors:
"He was not a performer.
He was not an entertainer.

He was not a showman.

He was possessed."
1943 - 1970
Cultural warfare/brainwashing
Mass, open-air concerts – “rock festivals”:
Monterey, Woodstock, Altamont
Up to 500,000 people per festival
LSD freely available  hallucinations, psychosis; permanent
brain damage
"We must always remember to thank the CIA and the army
for LSD, by the way. That's what people forget. . .“
John Lennon & Yoko Ono, magazine interview

Open praise of the Devil

Birth of “heavy metal”

 Death of mass political activism