- Peter L. Berger
Lately I have been in a retro mood, drawing inspiration from a decade that seems to have captured the public imagination in every sector from fashion to politics to film: the 1960s. This was a decade defined by counterculture and massive social shifts as race relations were reevaluated, feminism finally came to the forefront, and environmentalism gained its earliest foothold.
The first film auteurs began to truly come into their own after the breakdown of the Hayes censorship committee, and rock and roll music became even more challenging with acts like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix leading the charge towards the experimental and (occasionally hallucinogenic). More was better, whether in regards to the eyeliner, hairspray, and elaborate jewels with which film starlets adorned themselves or the splashes of colour in the bold new Pop Art.
Now, as if in a flash of deja vu, the world seems to be reverting to this not-so-much-simpler time, as racial issues are in the forefront of everyone's minds through films such as 12 Years a Slave and The Butler or in the headlines of BBC as politicians panic over the mass amounts of Eastern European immigrants (apparently) over-running the UK. Gender relations had a rough year in 2013 ('Blurred Lines', anyone?), as it was revealed that one in five women in the UK are sexually assaulted each year (Don't believe me? You can read all about it here.) It seems some things haven't changed that much after all.
That being said, the '60s were also a very exciting few years in which major innovations in science and technology were achieved and some impressive political and social reforms were also recognised. It was in the '60s that the birth control pill was approved by the FDA allowing women to have more control over their reproductive health, and Martin Luther King Jr. made is famous 'I Have a Dream Speech' in the early years of decade. The first heart transplant was performed in the '60s, and Neil Armstong became the first man on the moon.
If those feats weren't impressive enough, it might also help to be reminded that Sesame Street first aired in 1969 and has been educating and entertaining children and adults alike ever since. Psycho - one of the most groundbreaking horror films of all time - was released in 1960, Andy Warhol exhibited his Campbell's soup cans in a bold comment on consumerism, and the miniskirt made its debut in the decade as well.
In hindsight, society may not have progressed as far as we like to think we have, but by drawing parallels between the 2010s and the 1960s and examining some of the major events of years past, maybe we can finally achieve some of the objectives set out by our forerunners.
To quote John Lennon:
'The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had.'
As a rampant feminist, humanist, pacifist, non-conformist, former flutist, fashionist-a, I am all for keeping the '60s alive.
