Away in Context

The 1960s was a period of reformation and revolution; a complete overhaul of the way the world viewed themselves and their surroundings. It was a period in which science took its greatest steps, from space exploration to the the mass production of the first contraceptive pill to the first heart transplantation. The sexual revolution freed it's followers from the constrains of mainstream liberalism and the conservative societal dogma that had enslaved the generations before them. The 1960s was the time of honesty. Suddenly, people were not afraid to tell the world just who they were, with feminism and the gay rights movement gaining momentum as each year went by. The African-American Civil Rights Movement took centre stage in the media during this period. The 1960s was when the people of the world pushed the previously constrictive subliminal boundaries that hounded the words 'freedom of speech' to their very limits.

The 1960s was later seen to be a huge decade in the later influence of modern music, as the counterculture movement created a market for rock, soul and pop. This period produced chart toppers that are still easily recognised by the youth of today. Prominent groups and artists of this time include Elvis Presley, the Bee Gees, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Simon and Garfunkel and Pink Floyd. Psychedelic drugs such as LSD were also popularised in popular culture, especially in music, with social comments such as Tom Leary's slogan "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

Defiance of societal norms played a huge role in the fashion choices of 1960s youth. The hippie movement created the stereotypical "flower-power" clothing trend, with bell-bottom pants, tie-dyed articles and paisley patterns. As this was also a period where people tended to want to shock others, it is no surprise, then, that this was also the time where the bikini became popular after being featured in the film Beach Party, as did the mini skirt, which was invented by Welsh fashion designer Mary Quant. Women tended towards beehive hairstyles, or extreme pixie cuts as seen on British model Twiggy.

The decade of societal reform did not hesitate in extending to the sporting field. At the 1968 Olympic Games, held in Mexico City, African-American athlete Tommie Smith won the 200m sprint in a record-breaking time of 19.83 seconds. Second place went to Australia's Peter Norman and third place again to an African-American, John Carlos. The two black men went up to receive their medals shoeless, with only black socks to represent the intense poverty in their homeland, Africa, and Carlos wore a necklace of beads that he describe as being intended for "the ones who were lynched, or killed, that no one said a prayer for." All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights badges, including Norman, who was a critic of Australia's White Australia policy. The black men wore a single black glove each, which they raised into the air in the traditional Black Power salute as 'the Star-Spangled Banner' played.

Australia, culturally, politically and socially, was highly influenced by both America and Britain in the 1960s. The popularity of British bands such as the Beatles during this period was known as 'the British invasion'. The influence of American pop culture on Australian youth was evident in their clothing and musical choices, as America had emerged from the second World War as the dominant economic power. The increased popularity of American films, which portrayed American people, in American settings, who faced American problems. This relatively modern form of communication allowed the Australian public to quickly adopt the American concepts of consumerism and materialism.