The Hippies Take Charge at Woodstock '69

         The quote "That must have been how my father felt when he heard Jimi Hendrix. When he stood there in the rain at Woodstock." from 'Because My Father Always Said' by Sherman Alexie spurred me into a deep dive into the cultural significance of Woodstock 1969. 

            Woodstock was the largest rock festival of the 1960s. It took place at a small-town farm in upstate New York and brought in hundreds of thousands of Americans from across the country. The audience primarily consisted of Hippies – defined as people part of the 60s and 70s counterculture movement and those who rejected mainstream American values. At the time, they were against the Vietnam War and the draft. The festival’s music accurately reflected their ideals with antiwar folk music and alternative, unconventional music with underlying political messages. Woodstock was a platform for Americans to release their frustration with the government and identify with the thousands around them. 

The after-effects of Woodstock are what cemented the festival into history. Word of the festival spread through national news, personal stories, and the official documentary – eventually reaching the homes of nearly all Americans. Capitalist America will always be capitalist America, and soon posters, t-shirts, and records carrying the Woodstock symbol became popular. 

 

More than that though, the actual festival was legendary for the way it represented the young generation’s Hippie philosophy and went boldly against the social expectations at the time. The anti-Vietnam war agenda got its spotlight at last.  

    In this picture, you can see the sheer magnitude of people that stormed the festival and crowded together without regard for safety or sanitation, purely for precious connection through music and to feel as though they are part of something greater than themselves.