Caitlin Teetor

HIST 4499-02
TR 1:30-2:45
Primary Think Piece
May 2, 2013
Reform, Revolution, and Change in the 1960s
The 1960s was a decade of drastic change of the traditional lifestyle.
Throughout the decade, the once customary roles were jumbled, and the
fight for freedom for all became a prominent ideal. Women were taking a
step away from the household image and struggling for liberation to be seen
as equals with men of the time. The high influence of psychedelic drugs was
also a common cultural aspect of the sixties. The civil rights movement took
full force during the decade and with leaders such as A. Philip Randolph and
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., great strides were made for improvement. The
decade focused on the idea of non-conformity and focusing on the individual.
The entire traditional way of living began to crumble, and changed the lives
and outlook of the people of the decade.
The Twilight Zone was a prominent television show during the 1960s
that combined an underlying lesson with science fiction and current events.
The episode Number Twelve Looks Just Like You came out in early 1964 and
was a direct note on the non-conformity attitude. The Beatles were a British
band that soon gained success in the United States, and eventually changed
their style to fit with the psychedelic aspect of the 1960s. The Beatles songs
presented ideas of breaking loose from the mold, and having fun. Their song
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was off of the album Sgt. Peppers Lonely
Hearts Club Band released in 1967. Bob Dylan was singer and song writer

whose performances transcended beyond just the 1960s. His song Blowin in
the Wind is a direct commentary to what was going on with the civil rights
movement (as seen in the lyrics). The Graduate, released in 1967, took the
movie world by full force with its more explicit scenes of near nudity and a
relationship between a younger man and an older woman.
The whole idea found throughout the 1960s decade is the concept of
individualism and breaking free from the traditional mold seen as the norm in
previous years. Women were no longer simply housewives; they were now
making their way into the workforce and even more were going to college.
The Twilight Zone episode focuses on a young woman named Marilyn living
in a society in the year 2000 that conducts plastic surgery on both men and
women to make them identically beautiful. The girl resists for a while, but
eventually still is forced to get the corrective surgery so that she can be
pretty like every other person in the society. This episode is a direct look
into what can be the bad side effects of conformity. The generation of the
1960s presented an ideology of revolution for the different rights. The nonconformity aspect fits in directly with the revolutionary mindset as it takes a
step away from having the traditional role of the male dominated world
where the man brings home the bacon, the woman takes care of the house
while the man is at work, and the children obey and follow in the same
footsteps as their parents. In this episode of The Twilight Zone, Marilyn fits
within the 1960s generation at first when she resists, but at the end of the
story, she becomes one in the same, like everyone else. She is exemplary of
the non-conformist generation, but at the end of the day falls right back into

the traditional role that everyone has to look the same.

Another aspect of The Twilight Zone episode is when Marilyns friend
Valerie states everyone marries everyone these days. She makes reference
that both of the girls mothers had around ten new husbands over the past
years. This falls into the idea of the sexual revolution that was also
prominent during the 1960s. The idea that one person marrying anyone
definitely strays from the traditional idea of a woman marrying a man and
they spending their lives together. Another problem with every person
looking the same is that there is free range for any of the people to simply
remove their name tag and have a relationship with any person. There is a
hidden meaning of free love for any and all people of the society. This falls
under the sexual revolution that any person can do what they please. There
are technically no rules, or in other words, no right or wrong for the actions
of the people living in the society. A simple removal of a name tag can open
the world to deception and a free range for any citizen to have relations with
any other person. When Marilyn received the surgery she gave into what was
trying to be fought in the sixties. The episode is a direct commentary of the
worst effects that can come from joining the conformity bandwagon- that
everyone is the same and there is no uniqueness or identification in a closedminded world.
The Twilight Zone episode also touches on the empowerment trying to
be reached by the prominent feminism movement during the sixties. The
writers could have put a man in place of Marilyn, but the use of a woman as
such a decisive and intellectual part showed how women were taking a step

away from tradition. When Marilyn is still forced to get the surgery, it is a
direct hit on the idea that if a woman does not take a stand and make a life
for herself, she will just become another person. She will lack the
individualism needing to make the idea of the 1960s succeed. Marilyn was
seen as a smart woman that was fighting for her right to make the decision
to get the surgery on her own. She did not want to be told what to do with
her life. She had supposedly read Shakespeare and other banned books of
this fantasy world, showing that she had intelligence beyond what was in the
kitchen.
The Graduate totally transformed the traditional outlook on
relationships. The idea of a younger man having an affair with a married
woman can be seen as scandalous. When Mrs. Robinsons daughter Elaine
becomes part of the mess that has ensued from the love affair between
Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson things take a turn for the worse. Benjamin starts
out as a timid young college graduate, inexperienced in the world of sex.
Taking Mrs. Robinson home and being seduced by her, Benjamins eyes are
opened to the world around him. Mr. Robinson tells Benjamin to let loose like
the idea of breaking the mold, and to have fun. He decides to take the
plunge into a relationship with a woman that has a husband and a daughter.
Ben transforms from a seemingly innocent person into passionate lover.
Feminism was on the rise during the 1960s, and a definite difference
between generations can be seen with Mrs. Robinson and the generation of
the sixties. Mrs. Robinson became pregnant with Elaine during a love scene
with her now husband, and was forced to marry the man. She was no longer

happy with her marriage. She said that she had to get married. A woman
living in the sixties would have probably not taken the same route. It became
that Mrs. Robinson had no rights, and that she did the only thing that would
seem acceptable by society given the circumstances of her impregnation.
Abortion was frowned upon, and it wouldnt be until 1973 when the Supreme
Court decided to legalize abortion. Mrs. Robinson was not of the 1960s
generation and because of that she had to make a decision for her life that
she necessarily did not want. She was no longer happy because she had to
marry the man that got her pregnant, not because she married the one she
loved.
In previous years, showing partial nudity or even the aspect of an older
woman and younger man having a relationship would have strictly frowned
upon in a movie. When Benjamin takes Elaine to the strip club, the woman
on stage is wearing almost nothing. It is a very explicit scene for the time
period. Before the 1960s, having a scene such as that would have resulted in
it being edited out or banned. Also, the bedroom scenes between Benjamin
and Mrs. Robinson show partial nudity. Mrs. Robinson and Ben both are also
shown in their underwear multiple times throughout the movie. A sense of
modesty and traditional in previous years were totally against this sort of
exploitation of sex. The boundaries of what was seen as the normal for the
past few decades had been slowly been breaking down through like 1950s
with teen rebellion, and when the 1960s came around, the entire structure
began to crumble. The scandalous love affair between a married older

woman and a younger man was another upheaval during the 1960s sexual
revolution.
While explicit material as seen in The Graduate was becoming more
acceptable during the 1960s, it is still shown that people were trying to keep
the old system from breaking down. The older generation represented in the
movie was exemplary of what had been the norm for previous decades.
Benjamins father and mother pressured him to go and get a job since he
had already graduated from college. Ben lay around and did not really do
anything productive with his life while he was involved with Mrs. Robinson.
For previous generations, he would have had to go and get a job and start he
role as a future man of the house when he would marry and become the
bread winner. Benjamin did not directly fall into the path into becoming that
traditional role and received pressure from the older generations to do
something with his life. This movie demonstrates how the upcoming young
generation was changing the social status and turning the world into
something new.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by the Beatles was one of the
psychedelic songs of the 1960s that showed the prominent use of drugs that
cause psychedelic effects upon the user. This song fits into the whole aspect
of drug use of the generation of sixties. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is not
only lyrically trippy, but the music video for the song also shows an animated
version of things one might see while they are on the drugs. For the
musicians of the time, the music was a direct reflection of their drug usage
and how it effects their how they see the world. This particular song focuses

on a scene of a girl in a world that is what could be called psychedelic. The

lyrics A girl with kaleidoscope eyes is direct reference to how the drugs
made the world seem to be after they had taken effect. A world that was
directly different from the normal world where there are tangerine trees and
marmalade skies.
Certain words used in the song lyrics can also be referenced back to
drugs. The usage of high when describing the flowers could be coincidental
or be used for a direct reason. They could merely being saying that the
flowers are growing tall, however, it could also be referencing to how a
person becomes after they have used the drugs such as marijuana. Lucy in
the Sky with Diamonds is somewhat representative of maybe how a person
felt as the drugs began to take effect. A person enters into a state of mind
that is a little beyond what is normal. Such as the lyrics that state where
rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies. A world that that is nothing
that the norm. Perhaps this is why many of the people used drugs- to get
away from the normal world and enter into something where there were no
worries and everything was a sort of a wacky paradise.
For the person that had never done drugs, which was most likely rare
for people living in the 1960s, a song such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
gives the listener a view of what the whole drug intoxication would be for a
non-user or a first-time user. The song also may have just been so
outrageous so as to fit in with the changing lifestyle of the 1960s. With all of
the feminism, civil, and even some gay rights movements, people would
want a way to get away from life. Psychedelic drugs served as this purpose.

A huge social upheaval seen in the 1960s could have proved to be too much
for some, and using drugs was their way of escaping from the reality that
they faced when they walked out their door each day.
Blowin in the Wind that was originally written by Bob Dylan and then
later sung by the group Peter Paul and Mary, was a direct stab at what was
taking place with the civil rights movement. The fight for equality among the
White and Black citizens of the United States had finally came to a head with
movement, and for once the Black community was not going to take it sitting
down. The March on Washington in 1963 was one aspect of the fight for
equality. As seen in previous decades, Black citizens were seen as lesser than
the white people living in the country. It was up to the white people to help
educate and not leave the African Americans behind- it was up to the whites
to help the others. Throughout the years though, people began to have an
even more violent attitude towards African Americans. With the peaceful
protest of the March on Washington, some of the most well-known speeches
concerning the civil rights movement were given. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
gave his famous I have a dream speech where he said that he wished to
see equality for all people regardless of skin color. He hoped that his children
would be able to play with the white children, and that there would be
equality for all.
The song written by Bob Dylan was a direct commentary on what was
happening with the civil rights movement. The lyrics directly talk about how
some of the black citizens must have felt during the time. It says How many
roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? It is directly

referencing how long it will be before a black man will have the same Godgiven rights as a white man. There was no difference between a white and
black man other than skin color. Many of the people of the time though still
thought that the difference in skin color made all the difference. Dylan writes
Yes n how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have
died? It is a direct question to the white man- how many of the black people
will have to suffer and die before they have the same rights as white people.
The song also says Yes n how many times can a man turn his head
pretending he just doesnt see? White people of the time turned their backs
on the black citizens and only saw them as lesser beings that had no rights
in this world. The civil rights movement was for the people to be able to just
get the rights of any human. If a black person died, his family had no
workers compensation for after his death. There was separation of
practically every place and form of transportation during that time. It was the
white man that would turn his head to avoid seeing the pain from his own
ignorance because ignorant was the quality what the majority of the people
had.
Bob Dylan says that the solutions to all of the questions asked in his
song is blowin in the wind The people could find the answers they were
looking for because they were right in front of their faces. The wind can be a
powerful force. It could either be a reference to that the answer was right in
front of someone or that the wind could be a force to hit a person with a
realization. The answer to all of the problems faced in the 1960s was right in
front of everyone; it was simply that no one was willing to take their blinder

of ignorance off in order to see the solution to the problem. Many knew that
the civil rights movement was going to happen sooner or later, but whenever
a drastic change presents itself, people put up a wall because it will totally
change the traditional system that had become comfortable. Bob Dylan took
a bold step in writing a song that has direct references in supporting the fight
for equal rights for all people. Some can say that the lyrics are focused
elsewhere, but the lyrics that say How many times must a many look up
before he can see the sky? shows that the white people were putting a
direct blinder on the black people living during the sixties. Black citizens had
a hard time at being able to succeed at life because the white forces pushed
them down into an almost non-human stature.
Probably the most civil rights movement centered lyrics of Blowin in
the Wind is Yes n how many years can some people exist before theyre
allowed to be free? The black people had been around beyond long enough
to have the same rights as the whites. It is astounding that one race of
people declaring that they are superior because of a difference of skin color.
That is almost like saying we will discriminate against these people because
they have brown hair or because they have green eyes. It is sheer madness
that humanity can be that evil. Bob Dylan captures in his song though the
direct problem of the decade in a thoughtful manner.
All four of these pieces of 1960s pop culture are directly representative
of the changes taking place throughout the decade. The Twilight Zone
episode touches on feminism and the non-conformist attitude dominant
during the sixties. Similarly Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds focuses on drugs,

but also is a statement against the conformist attitudes being pushed be

older generations. The Graduate completely reinvents the idea concerning
sexuality and even partially feminism as well. Bob Dylans song also fits
within the non-conformity attitude as he directly comments on the civil rights
movement.
Feminism is shown in The Twilight Zone Episode, Number Twelve Looks
Just like You and in portions of The Graduate. The main character in the
television episode is a woman that wants to make a decision on her own.
Relating back to the issue with abortion, women wanted the ability to make
choices for their own bodies. Marilyn did not want to have surgery; she
wanted to make her own decision about her body. The Twilight Zone writers
took a direct issue of the 1960s and applied it to a scene set forty-some
years in the future. The Graduate also has portions of feminism throughout
the story. Mrs. Robinson is somewhat empowered by having an affair with a
younger man. Benjamin was a shy person when it came to the sexual aspect
of life, and Mrs. Robinson was able to be a determining factor in their
relationship. The film also shows Mrs. Robinsons daughter attending college
at Berkeley. While it was not uncommon for a woman to go to college, the
movie directly shows Elaine not directly falling into the normal role that had
been set girls upon completion of high school. Elaine was getting a higher
education, and making a new life for herself.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds directly relates to the non-conformity
idea that many people supported in the decade. The psychedelic drug usage
demonstrates a generation that wanted to let loose and cut ties to any

remains of tradition. For some, the use of drug may have also been a way to
get out of feeling the stress for the drastic changing of the social system in
the sixties. Using drugs such as LSD and marijuana, a person could escape
from the world and enter a state where everything was chill and
lackadaisical. Using drugs also directly put the younger generation in conflict
with the older generation were tradition ruled supreme. Drug usage was a
way for youngsters to take on a carefree and fun-loving attitude.
Blowin in the Wind did not address the issue of feminism or the idea of
being carefree, but it did touch on the civil rights movement taking full force
in the sixties. Bob Dylan presented a song that addressed the issue of how
black citizens did not have the same rights as did white citizens. The civil
rights movement as well as Dylans song was a take on breaking conformity.
For past decades, white people were superior to the African Americans, and
having a reform revolution for equal rights directly tore down the traditional
boundaries set by previous generations.
The 1960s was a decade of definite change. Through the feminist, civil
rights, and anti-conformity movements was the idea of tradition beginning to
completely crumble. Pop culture directly focused on the issues of the decade,
and proved that change takes reign over all aspects of life.