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Hippie Films, Hippiesploitation, and the Emerging Counterculture, 1955-1970

Rhuart, Britton Stiles
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu159068865182906

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, American Culture Studies.
The 1960s was a turbulent time in the United States. The war in Vietnam and the assassinations of leading progressive figures created great cultural anxiety. One response to the divisive war and the rightwing violence was the Hippie movement, which advocated peace, love, and social equality. In American cinema, films touting their cultural relevance or appeal for the lucrative youth market came to include representations of Hippies. Initially, mainstream films failed to capture Hippie style and ideology, but subsequently featured sympathetic portrayals of Hippies. By comparison, exploitation films depicted stylistic elements associated with Hippies even at the outset, but offered sensationalized characterizations of Hippies throughout the 1960s. The study’s primary method is textual analysis of films, reviews, marketing materials, and print documents ranging from mainstream news coverage to counterculture manifestos. To provide a context for analyzing the various trends in cinematic representations of Hippies, the study examines cultural events and filmmaking patterns that led to and sustained the Hippie movement and its representation on screen. Studying depictions of the Hippie movement on-screen sheds new light on how dominant American society viewed the Hippie counterculture. Most on-screen representations of Hippies reflect the views of the country’s dominant culture, because, in contrast to other Hippie art forms, Hippie films were produced, distributed, and exhibited almost exclusively by companies outside the Hippie movement. At the same time, because certain Hippie films feature verite footage of events such as the Woodstock festival and the 1968 Democratic Convention riots, some on-screen representations offer a window into ways that people sympathetic to the Hippie movement viewed the lifestyle and values associated with Hippies in the 1960s. Analysis of Hippie films illuminates several key distinctions among mainstream, independent, and exploitation filmmaking. The study reveals that exploitation films were generally unfavorable in their on-screen depictions of Hippies, whereas mainstream films featured generous depictions of Hippies when they had left leaning directors at the helm. The handful of independent Hippie films produced in the 1960s capture the movement’s eccentric spirit and its interest in nonviolence.
Cynthia Baron, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Dawn Anderson, Ph.D. (Other)
Angela Ahlgren , Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Bradford Clark, M.F.A. (Committee Member)
Johnny Walker, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
272 p.
American Studies; Film Studies
Film; Hippie; Exploitation Film; Cult Film; Hippiesploitation; counterculture; mainstream; Woodstock; Roger Corman; 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention riots; Sunset Strip riots;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Rhuart, B. S. (2020). Hippie Films, Hippiesploitation, and the Emerging Counterculture, 1955-1970 [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu159068865182906

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Rhuart, Britton. Hippie Films, Hippiesploitation, and the Emerging Counterculture, 1955-1970. 2020. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu159068865182906.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Rhuart, Britton. "Hippie Films, Hippiesploitation, and the Emerging Counterculture, 1955-1970." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu159068865182906

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu159068865182906
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.