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Apr 22, 2004 It is most apparent when one ambles into a Starbucks or any other chain store that endorses the new found American ideology. The counterculture has been jumbled, torn apart piece by piece and welded back together like a dysfunctional puzzle. One look at the masses in their mix of birkenstock sandals, Armani T- shirts, black trenchcoats, died orange hair and cell-phones attached at the hip has verified this presumption to be true. America’s counterculture has fallen into the same black hole as America’s less subversive mainstream culture. This hole is a swirling void of conformity and corporately endorsed antiquated thoughts and ideologies. America is well known for it’s melting pot effect that all of the differing cultures have been consumed by. Individuality has never been a major force in American culture no matter how many times we tell ourselves otherwise. Culture in America can be easily summed up by the Japanese phrase “If the nail doesn’t fit, pound it until it does” Luckily in the past the counter culture has had the lacking in veracity to rebel. The counter culture pushed us to new realms in art, music, fashion, philosophy and in general the individuality that was lacking in the mainstream. Post modern America has been defined by two major forces, one being our mainstream American culture, and the second being a strong counterculture. The counter culture is different from mere subculture, subcultures abound in large numbers and have beliefs that are prescribed to only small demographics. The counterculture however, is representative of a generation in all aspects of life and runs the gamut of all demographics. From music, to fashion, to art, and even intellectual thought American counterculture has shaped and reshaped American society in immense ways. Since the nineteen fifties we can trace the counterculture movements and clearly define their ideals, and characteristics and the influence they have played on America’s Macro level social order. The typical flow of the counter culture has been to reject the notions and mores of the mainstream majority in America, and even more so define the generational gap. There has been a new found change however, in American society. This change has hindered the growth of new free thought, and hindered our abilities to see things from a differing perspective. The American Counterculture has become almost completely lost. It has turned from waves of differing movements into one large conglomerate of already spent ideas. Philosophy, fashion and music and all of our previous counter-cultural treasures have recycled themselves to the point where there is no longer a distinction. Post modern American was first influenced in the ninety fifties by the counter cultural group known as the beats. They were formed almost completely by a set of characters from Columbia University consisting of iconoclastic characters such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Bouroughs, and Neil Cassidy. These individuals rebelled against the conservatism of the time. The moral majority was countered by good ole Jack’s usage of drugs, free sex, and musical diversity in his writings which for the time period were considered either satanic or enlightening. Continuing in the beat’s example was the revolutionary Hippie movement. The Hippies were a group that consisted of many subcultures that came together to form a very powerful counterculture. Yes drugs and free sex were still embraced much like the beats, but so was transcendentalism, and the peace movement. As was extreme anti-establishment rebellion in a multitude of aethesticlly pleasing ways. It would be hard to counter the point that the hippie movement didn’t affect every part of society. Like Bob Dylan prophetically sung “ Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, Your old road is rapidly ageing” was truth that most could relate to or at least recognize. Youths of all ages were coming together to change things, to shake up the old ways. The hippies had it, they were creating a new world, a wave of energy that consumed and frightened the mainstream. With their psychedelic music and persona, their efforts to expand their perspective and embody a more open society. The hippies in America’s sixties were making a difference and had the ability and support to envision greater things than the mainstream culture could grasp. Similar effects can be noted throughout all of the other counter cultural movements, from the punks, to the Goths and all else, until the very late nineteen nineties, there was distinction. This is gone. No longer is there a definable group that strives to break new ground in culture. The counterculture has been absorbed by the mainstream and mushed together into a colorless group. Everybody it seems wants to have ideals akin to the beats and hippies, the fashion of the punks, merged with the individuality embodied by the Goths, but still no one wants to come up with a new found idea, a new found musical or artistic color to add to the pallette. Americans’ seem to want to have their thoughts spoon fed to them, yet still grasp for a countering of the already beaten paths. The problem is that rather than coming up with original nonlinear ideals all that can be done is to mix what we already have. Our new found philosophy seems to be “We can be everything at once, and we are better off that way.” As stated by Dr. James T. Clark, a well-noted sociologist “The counter cultural revolution has just seemed to have gone bankrupt. We live in a world were there are just as many things to rebel against as there were in the sixties, but we just don’t. With the advent of new technology there is a lack of independent culture and society is turning more and more into one large super organism. It is my belief and the belief of my colleagues across the nation that hegemony of the conservative mainstream has wiped out America’s chances for positive rebellion of ideals in a subtle yet deliberate manner ” Dr. Clark’s words ring out a call for alert in the minds and souls of many. As history has shown, it has always been the unpopular thinkers who have moved us past our preconditioned necessity of conformity. Without a strong counterculture America may find itself adrift in an island of mass conventionality. One sure sign is our musical taste which, has already faced the devastation of pop songs invading the previous indie label audiences. Only time will tell if America can reclaim a sense of rebellion and once again let individuality flourish. According to the late Jim Morrison Rock is Dead, but maybe if something novel can find itself pinching the nerves of the mainstream hope may exist. Perhaps we can once again break through the boundaries of the melting pot and like crazy alchemists happen upon originality. Originality that isn’t part of the conglomerate. Until than listen to the grateful dead while wearing your black trench coats with a copy of On the Road in your hands, but don’t be alarmed when the books start burning. ------------ About the author: Zachary Weiner is 24 and the from the city of Chicago. He is the author of the title "City at Night" http://www.cityatnight.bravepages.com and the upcoming (and most intriguing) novel "The Road". He has several other books in the pre- publication phase. Email: zachw945@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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