On October 17, the Global Studies Program took a trip with the CAP program to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts where we learned about the Woodstock Music Festival and the Counterculture Movement. We walked around the museum, watched a film, and even walked around the infamous field where the festival took place.
Below is my reflection of the trip!
Reflection
The counterculture movement completely took over America's young population in the 1960s and in contrast to the mainstream culture at the time, peace, experimentalism, freedom of expression, and love were highly valued and promoted. The participants of the movement, commonly referred to as “hippies”, experimented with fashion, music, sexuality, and the use of drugs. Older generations along with a large portion of society were appalled at this scene.
The Counterculture movement revolutionized society and continues to have an impact decades after its end. In addition to the values addressed earlier, hippies were passionate advocates of civil rights, anti-war, environmentalism, gay liberation, feminism, and freedom of speech. However, how they fought for these ideas is what highly popularized the movement. Whether it was through music or peaceful protests bursting with color and the faint smell of marijuana, they maintained peace and functionality while fighting for what they believed in. However, the counterculture's most noticeable impact is on pop culture, specifically music. The music of the counterculture movement stemmed from the anti-establishment features of rock, specifically the sub-genre of psychedelic rock. In contrast to the “lovey-dovey ness” and light rock of the 50s, the music of the counterculture was loud, straightforward, and straight from the soul. Because of this musical revolution, music culture was changed forever along with the music industry.
During my time at Bethel Woods, in addition to admiring the beauty of the counterculture movement and its climax at the Woodstock Music Festival, I was in awe of the ways people came together at the time. Because the country was in a state of such strong division in many areas of our culture, it made it that much more powerful that hundreds of thousands of people were able to join together so they could celebrate peace and resolution. Throughout my walk through the museum, I couldn't help but think about how amazing it would have felt to be surrounded by amazing music, fashion, energy, and peace while at Woodstock. I grew up listening to The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and so many more of the performers of Woodstock so seeing the videos of them was a beautiful full-circle moment to experience. Seeing the ways the movement accomplished what was intended was very enjoyable and I hope to experience something similar one day!