"The Sixties", as they are known in both scholarship and popular culture, is a term used by historians, journalists, and other objective academics; in some cases nostalgically to describe the
counterculture
and revolution in social norms about clothing, music, drugs, dress, formalities and schooling. Conservatives denounce the decade as one of irresponsible excess and flamboyance, and decay of social order. The decade was also labeled the
Swinging Sixties
because of the fall or relaxation of social taboos especially relating to
racism
and
sexism
that occurred during this time.
The 1960s became synonymous with the new, radical, and subversive events and trends of the period. In Africa the 1960s was a period of radical political change as 32 countries
gained independence from their European colonial rulers
.
Some commentators have seen in this era a classical
Jungian
nightmare cycle, where a rigid culture, unable to contain the demands for greater
individual freedom
, broke free of the social constraints of the previous age through extreme deviation from the norm.
Christopher Booker
charts the rise, success, fall/nightmare and explosion in the London scene of the 1960s. However, this alone does not explain the mass nature of the phenomenon.
Several nations such as the U.S., France, Germany and Britain turned to the
left
in the early and mid 1960s. In the United States,
John F. Kennedy
, a
Keynesian
and staunch
anti-communist
, pushed for social reforms. His assassination in 1963 was a stunning shock. Liberal reforms were finally passed under
Lyndon B. Johnson
including civil rights for
African Americans
and healthcare for
the elderly
and
the poor
. Despite his large-scale
Great Society
programs, Johnson was increasingly reviled by the
New Left
at home and abroad. The heavy-handed American role in the
Vietnam War
outraged student protestors across the globe, as they found peasant rebellion typified by
Ho Chi Minh
and
Che Guevara
more appealing. Italy formed its first left-of-center government in March 1962 with a coalition of
Christian Democrats
,
Social Democrats
, and moderate
Republicans
.
Socialists
joined the ruling block in December 1963. In Britain, the
Labour Party
gained power in 1964. In Brazil,
Joao Goulart
became president after
Janio Quadros
resigned.
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On November 11, 1960, a failed
coup
attempt against President
Ngo đinh Di?m
of
South Vietnam
was led by Lieutenant Colonel
V??ng V?n đong
and Colonel
Nguy?n Chanh Thi
of the
Airborne Division
of the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN).
The rebels launched the coup in response to Di?m's autocratic rule and the negative political influence of his brother
Ngo đinh Nhu
and sister-in-law
Madame Nhu
. They also bemoaned the politicisation of the military, whereby regime loyalists who were members of the Ngo family's covert
C?n Lao Party
were readily promoted ahead of more competent officers who were not insiders. đong was supported in the conspiracy by his brother-in-law Lieutenant Colonel
Nguyen Trieu Hong
, whose uncle was a prominent official in a minor opposition party. The main link in the coup was đong's commanding officer Thi, whom he persuaded to join the plot. (
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John Winston Ono Lennon
(born
John Winston Lennon
; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of
the Beatles
. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His
songwriting partnership
with
Paul McCartney
remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters in the Beatles.
Born in
Liverpool
, Lennon became involved in the
skiffle craze
as a teenager. In 1956, he formed
the Quarrymen
, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle", Lennon initially was the group's
de facto
leader, a role he gradually seemed to cede to McCartney. Through his songwriting in the Beatles, he embraced myriad musical influences, initially writing and co-writing rock and pop-oriented hit songs in the band's early years, then later incorporating experimental elements into his compositions in the latter half of the Beatles' career as his songs became known for their increasing innovation. Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including
How I Won the War
, and authoring
In His Own Write
and
A Spaniard in the Works
, both collections of
nonsense writings
and line drawings. Starting with "
All You Need Is Love
", his songs were adopted as anthems by the
anti-war movement
and the larger
counterculture of the 1960s
. In 1969, he started the
Plastic Ono Band
with his second wife, multimedia artist
Yoko Ono
, held the two-week-long anti-war demonstration
Bed-ins for Peace
and
left the Beatles
to embark on a solo career. (
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Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
KBE
(13 August 1899 ? 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews,
his cameo appearances
in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(1955?65). His films garnered 46
Academy Award
nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for
Best Director
, despite five nominations.
Hitchcock initially trained as a technical clerk and copywriter before entering the film industry in 1919 as a
title card
designer. His directorial debut was the British-German
silent film
The Pleasure Garden
(1925). His first successful film,
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
(1927), helped to shape the
thriller
genre, and
Blackmail
(1929) was the first British "
talkie
". His thrillers
The 39 Steps
(1935) and
The Lady Vanishes
(1938) are ranked among the
greatest British films
of the 20th century. By 1939, he had international recognition and producer
David O. Selznick
persuaded him to move to Hollywood. A string of successful films followed, including
Rebecca
(1940),
Foreign Correspondent
(1940),
Suspicion
(1941),
Shadow of a Doubt
(1943) and
Notorious
(1946).
Rebecca
won the
Academy Award for Best Picture
, with Hitchcock nominated as Best Director. He also received Oscar nominations for
Lifeboat
(1944),
Spellbound
(1945),
Rear Window
(1954) and
Psycho
(1960). (
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Gay liberation demonstration in 1970
The
gay liberation
movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged
lesbians
and
gay men
to engage in radical
direct action
, and to counter societal shame with
gay pride
. In the
feminist
spirit of the
personal being political
, the most basic form of activism was an emphasis on
coming out
to family, friends, and colleagues, and living life as an openly lesbian or gay person.
The
Stonewall Inn
in the
gay village
of
Greenwich Village
,
Manhattan
,
New York City
, was the site of the June 1969
Stonewall riots
, and became the cradle of the modern
LGBT rights movement
, and the subsequent gay liberation movement. Early in the seventies, annual political marches through major cities, (usually held in June, originally to commemorate the yearly anniversary of the events at Stonewall) were still known as "Gay Liberation" marches. Not until later in the seventies (in urban gay centers) and well into the eighties (in smaller communities) did the marches begin to be called "
gay pride parades
". The movement involved the lesbian and gay communities in North America, South America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. (
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