Researching Cultural Context Crafting a Hippie-Inspired Story
Recently, I have been writing a short story about someone I knew involved in the Haight Ashbury movement in San Francisco. I am relying on my memory as a fourteen-year-old, other than seeing photos in Time magazine’s July 1967 issue, which glamorized the hippie movement and influenced young people to travel across the country to be a part of “the scene.”
At the same time, I was protected from it and did not realize the significance of the movement. Even though I have specific details written down from interviews, I have discovered a debunk in the myth-in-my-mind of actual events, such as a family member who identified with the new culture.
It has been a struggle to write between the romantic stereotype of a hippie looking for freedom, peace, and communal living and the contrast of the drug culture that came with it. Also, there is the harsh reality that not all people who experienced the hippie movement came out of it with happy endings.
When I heard the word Haight Asbury in my youth, I envisioned a deep, dark commune hidden in the hills of LA, led by a guru who indoctrinated his followers with acid.
But in reality, Haight and Asbury were the names of two streets in San Francisco. In 1967, this area became known as the “Summer of Love,” peaceful demonstrations protesting against the status quo of the previous generation, protesting the Vietnam War, and advocating for Civil Rights.
Time Magazine, in its July 7, 1967, issue, posted by Lily Rothman in 2017, stated that the hippies became known to some as a “gentleness, a quietness, an interest-something good” but to their parents as “dangerously deluded dropouts.” Either way, the hippie movement became a “Flower Power” subculture, professing “psychedelic philosophy.”
Undoubtedly, music was the most influential aspect that evolved from this era. I read the book A Gathering of Promises by Ben Graham, which gave me a greater understanding of Psychedelic Rock and Roll like the bands Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin), The Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane, to name a few. However, there were also ‘minor’ bands with aspirations to be a part of this music phenomenon, like the 13th Floor Elevator from Austin, Texas. One thing they all had in common was their music and another “instrument” (drugs) in their journey to find inner peace when they discovered the benefits of LSD and the visions they experienced. Bands performed while they were high or “tripping,” a testament to the influence of the drug culture and their music.
The character in my short story, Dawn, departs on a journey with her infant and guitar and hitchhikes to California, a brave and daring move. Her path crosses with a band that aspires to perform in Haight Ashbury, and her life takes a new turn. Her concerned parents, who only want the best for her, are in shock when they discover her new boyfriend, the lead singer for the band, is on the lam along with the rest.
