Youth Culture

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Collapse of Consensus

By the mid-1960s, the Age of Consensus of the 1950s was over. No single event caused this collapse, but certain major events and trends highlighted the decline in shared values in US society and culture.

• President Kennedy's assassination in 1963 seemed to symbolise the death of the optimistic future he had embodied. The Warren Commission into the killing did not present a version of events that most people felt was credible. This increased distrust in the government.
• The Vietnam War eroded trust in the government (it was revealed that the real facts of the war were routinely covered up) and faith in American patriotism. Many Americans could not reconcile their view of their own country with what the US was doing in the war.
• The sexual revolution and 'the pill' changed the family model and challenged the idea that sex should be marital only for having children.
• The violence of the white backlash to the Civil Rights Movement showed that not all US citizens were welcome to share in the American Dream.
• Civil rights movements for African Americans, women, and minority groups challenged the cultural consensus.

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Youth Culture

The children of the baby boom hit their teenage years in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They found themselves in a world very different from what their parents had experienced in the 1930s. With low unemployment, Cold War anxiety, a religious revival, and media stereotyping of the family, teens emerged into a unique environment. As teenagers, they could spend the money they received from their parents as an allowance or the plentiful part-time jobs that the economy created. The boomers spend approximately $20 billion every year. Clothing, food, film, literature, and recorded music were popular. Businesses developed to meet consumer demand. These consumer choices evolved into a distinct culture among America's youth: it was characterised, first and foremost, by the rejection of the Age of Consensus values of their parents.

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Music

Music was one way that boomers rejected their parents' tastes. Rock and roll was the first musical genre to belong to young people. With electric guitar riffs and lyrics about school, dating, and drive-in movies, teens loved this music as much as their parents disliked it. Teens looked for ways to rebel against the conformity they found all around them. Listening to music their parents hated was a reasonably easy and risk-free way to rebel.

Elvis Presley embodied the generational musical divide. He ruled the charts with his blues-inspired music and, with his good looks, owned the hearts of teenage girls. Parents objected especially to his dancing: with its pelvic gyrations, it was considered sexually suggestive. Even the word 'rock' was believed to suggest the act of having sex. After Bill Haley asked teens to Rock Around the Clock, his music was banned in parts of the US. The perceived sexual immorality of the music was compounded as teens learned dances such as the Twist, the Bop, the Hand Jive, and the Stroll, all of which involved vigorous movement and close contact between partners.

The Beatles arrived in the US in the mid-1960s and attracted popularity, especially among teenage girls, that even Elvis had yet to achieve. The Beatles and the near-hysteria they inspired were seen as doubly dangerous, as they were both immoral and foreign.

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Some key points relating to Youth Culture will provide some key additional context. They may act as paragraph headings in an essay or simply as revision tools:

Delinquency

• Increased media coverage in the 1950s and 1960s focused on youth crime and rebellious behaviour.
• Movies like "Rebel Without a Cause" depicted the angst and rebellion of teenagers, fuelling concerns about delinquency.
• Rock and roll music and new dance styles were often blamed for encouraging delinquent behaviour.
• Juvenile delinquency was seen as a breakdown of traditional family values and societal norms.
• Efforts to curb delinquency included stricter school rules, curfews, and campaigns promoting traditional family structures.

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The Sexual Revolution

• The 1960s saw a significant shift in attitudes towards sex, driven by greater openness and the availability of birth control, like the pill.
• The sexual revolution challenged traditional views that sex should only occur within marriage and for procreation.
• Media, music, and literature began to portray more liberal attitudes towards sex and relationships.
• This shift led to greater acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation, and more diverse sexual orientations.
• The sexual revolution contributed to changes in family structures and gender roles, promoting individual freedom and equality.

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Higher Education

• The post-war baby boom led to a surge in young people attending college in the 1960s.
• Higher education became more accessible due to government programs like the GI Bill, providing veterans with financial support.
• Colleges and universities expanded their campuses and programs to accommodate the growing student population.
• There was a shift towards more diverse and liberal curricula, emphasising critical thinking and social issues.
• Higher education institutions became centres of social and political activism, particularly during the civil rights and anti-war movements.

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Impacts on Higher Education

• The increase in college attendance contributed to greater social mobility and economic opportunities for young people.

  • College campuses became hotbeds of political activism, with students playing key roles in the civil rights, anti-war, and women's liberation movements.
  • The student movement led to changes in university governance, with demands for greater student participation in decision-making processes.

• Higher education helped to foster a more educated and politically aware youth, contributing to broader societal changes.

• The focus on liberal education and social justice issues influenced the development of academic disciplines such as ethnic studies, gender studies, and environmental studies.

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