Youth Culture in the 60s essays

Youth Culture in the 60's essays During the decade of the 1960s, the United States began to fully celebrate youth culture in a way that had only begun to brew in the 1950s. Youth culture began to rise and was thrust into mainstream America because what was occurring was a widespread rebellion against the mass society occurring in young, college students. It was a rebellion against the 1960s politics of the United States, the Vietnam War, and the culture of the older generation in general. However, this rebellion occurred exclusively among American youth that came from white, middle to upper class, and affluent families and were given the privilege of attending college. While the sense of alienation and estrangement was certainly present in the entire generation, rebellion was only able to occur among youth that were so spoiled with affluence that they had the ability to rebel without any inhibitions. The 1960s were a time of an approaching revolution for the United States, and it can be credited, in a large part to, American youth. The youth rebellion of the sixties was lead by college students that felt alienated, estranged, and distant from their parents, the American dream, and the older generation. These students rebelled against mainstream culture, largely opposed to the Vietnam War, and rallied for the Civil Rights Movement. The reasoning behind their rebellion came from a desire for a revolution. However, the significance of the sixties youth culture is not solely in the rebellion itself, but in the fact that it was exclusively college students whom were doing the rebelling. The students that were dissatisfied by the American dream in which their parents had in store for them were completely middle to upper class whites that came from affluent backgrounds. They were so spoiled by this privileged upbringing that they had no idea what it felt like to be oppressed, an d therefore were completely able to rebel and held no inhi...