Love, Peace, Light… and Pot

The 20th century has been a monumental one hundred years in the history of man. Many of the scientific discoveries we learn in school today happened in the 20th century, together with a lot of political, social and cultural reforms and revolutions. Also significant to mention is the blossoming of different subcultures. Almost every decade, a new subculture rises to prominence.
To begin with, let us answer the question “What is a subculture?” According to everybody’s friend, the Webster’s Universal Dictionary and Thesaurus, a subculture is “a distinct group (of individuals) with its own customs, language, dress, et cetera within an existing culture”.
Subcultures were very prevalent during the last century and even up to now. During the 1920’s to 30’s, the mobsters and gangsters (I’m talking about Al Capone and those goons carrying Tommy Guns, not the hiphop gangster stuff) rose to fame (or infamy). Hippies we’re the “in” subculture during the 1960’s to 70’s. The punk revolution of the 80’s then happened. Today, the most famous (or, yet again, infamous) subcultures are the emo, hiphop and the very irritating Jejemons (I pity you if you’re one of them).
Though their decade of prominence has ended, some of these subcultures haven’t necessarily ceased to exist. An example is the hippie subculture, which is what I’ll be talking about.
What is the hippie subculture? It was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s, swiftly spreading to other countries around the world1. You might probably have seen them on TV. They’re often stereotyped as people, both male and female, wearing tie-dyed t-shirts, bell-bottom pants, sandals, vests, and a necklace with the peace sign on it. Men often sported beards.

Ideologies

Hippies value equality, especially in the treatment of men and women. This isn’t like those gender equality movements where they cry for “equal rights for women” and so on. Rather the hippies’ belief on the equality of men and women is based on the saying, “What you can do, I can do better”. They believe that if a man chops wood, why couldn’t women? Or if a man drives a huge truck, why can’t women?
Hippies also frequently call for peace and the non-violent solution of cultural and political problems (an influence by Gandhi). They have been known to attend rallies calling for peace at times of impending war (like the Gulf War in the early 1990s). This sort of gives you the idea why Hippies love to wear necklaces with the “peace” logo dangling from it.
Being a group of sophisticated people, hippies prefer to view life in a perspective different from how the common man’s outlook in life. To aid this, hippies promote the use of drugs that induce a psychedelic effect on the mind, like marijuana (considering it is “pleasurable” and “benign”) and LSD. Drug use for spiritual purposes is practiced by other subcultures, but it is the Hippies who have given fame to it. Hippies enjoy having pot sessions with other of their own kind. The more, the merrier, as they say. But though Hippies promote the use of drugs, they renounce the intake of alcohol.
Hippies enjoy listening to psychedelic rock because, according to them, it simulates the effect of marijuana to the mind (expanding one’s consciousness). Hippies storm mosh pits to listen to this form of rock music. Psychedelic rock bands include The Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, The Great Society and Jefferson Airplane.
Hippie philosophy also credits the religious and spiritual teachings of Jesus Christ, Buddha, St. Francis of Assisi, and Gandhi2.

Characteristics

Hippies sought to free themselves from societal restrictions, choose their own way, and find new meaning in life3. They refuse to conform to the status quo because they value freedom of expression and often, the status quo prevents them from freely expressing themselves. This is the reason they choose to dress, act and live life in general differently. They feel that by conforming to the status quo, they do not promote their individuality but rather, generic persons no different than the next guy,
Hippies are avid environmentalists. They advocate environment-friendly practices like riding bikes and scooters than riding cars and public transport (buses, etc.) Despite of this, there are many hippies who ride buses (painted with colorful designs that, again, simulate the psychedelic effects of drugs to the mind). Their justification? The same reason why people car pool: to save on fuel and thus minimize the release of ozone-destroying gases. Others attend and organize environment-themed rallies. Others go as far as excluding food derived from animal flesh from their diet. Yes folks, some hippies are vegetarians.
Hippies are politically active as well. They have liberal political beliefs. They often proclaim “Fight the power!”, meaning fighting “oppressive” government policies.




Hippies in pop culture

Hippies are often depicted in pop culture. References that directly or indirectly show hippies and the hippie subculture itself are often found in movies, books, TV shows and documentaries. Probably one of the most famous suggestions to the hippie subculture is found in the well loved (at least, back in the 90’s) cartoon series Scooby Doo. Yes, you’ve guessed it. It’s non other than Scooby’s best pal, Shaggy! His name itself is an obvious reference to the subculture. Plus, if you’re an avid fan of the show, you would notice the wacky design of the painting in the group’s (Scooby and friends) van and the kind of van itself is also hippie-inspired.
One of the more recent shows that featured a hippie is Nickelodeon’s The Fairly Odd Parents (how do I know about this? I’m a little boy by heart ). Yes, that show about a 10-year old buck-teethed boy with fairies has a hippie as an extra character. His name is Mr. Bakenburg, Dimmsdale Elementary’s school paper adviser and resident journalist.

Influences on other subcultures
Like every other subcultures, the Hippie subculture faded from prominence at the beginning of the 1980’s, giving way to the rise of the proto-punks and the punk movement of the 80’s. Despite losing their spot at the top fame, hippie culture has influenced other cultures. Much of their political and social ideologies have been copied by the subsequent punk and grunge subcultures as well as their spiritual drug use. Their love for individuality and freedom has found their way to the straightedge subculture.

Where are they now?

As what I’ve said, the Hippie subculture is no longer as prominent as it was before. But that doesn’t mean the Hippies themselves have disappeared. They just live among us; practicing their own beliefs the way the hippies of the past have done so in their heyday, albeit, modern hippies no longer practice their beliefs in groups. They may seem weird, but hey, who isn’t? They are just individuals freely expressing themselves the best way they can.
Though the hippie subculture may seem ancient and no body gives a crap about them anymore, we cannot deny the influence they’ve left on society. We just don’t know it, but some of the current fads, fashion, norms and trends have been heavily influenced by hippies. So if you’re a stoner, an environment freak, lover of peace or some plain bell-bottom lover, go out and thank your local hippie for the influence.