The 1960's

As I grew up, I learned a lot about the 1960's. Inhibitions were tossed to the wayside, people made love and peace and thought themselves free to do whoever and whatever they pleased. Many people today idealize the 1960's. I used to be one of them, fantasizing about living in those years when things seemed to be a lot simpler. During a time when freedom rang, both personally and politically I wonder, was it really that people had become more accepting, or were they just too drugged up to think about anything rationally?

People feared what would happen with society in the 1950's when people like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis introduced such blatant sexuality in their music and movements. People, particularly young adults, wanted to be free to express themselves. Society was in the midst of a major shift as young people began to suspect that the values their parents held in such high esteem may have been okay for their parents, but not them.

In pop-culture today we see that the strict values of the 1950's are not always seen in a positive light. Consider the film, Pleasantville where two teenagers from the 1990's are
transported to a 1950's television show like "Leave it to Beaver" shake up the moral foundation of an idealized society. It is clear through the plot and suggestions of the cinematography that weakened morality is considered a positive thing.