The 1967 photograph, Flower Power, is easy to relate to across time. People, in particular, young people, have always had conflicts with authority figures, the police. However, at the heat of the movement for peace in Vietnam, this photograph may have had an even stronger effect. The flower was seen as a symbol of peace, and some of the negative stigma commonly now associated with the hippie movement had not developed. In 2014, the power of the message could be affected by the protester's weapon, the flower. The flower's message of peace has been undermined by its image as a feminine object. This brave man, George Edgerly Harris, could be critically perceived soft for his weapon of choice by today's public.
The song, Aquarius Let the Sun Shine, is telling the listener about the mythical Age of Aquarius. This concept is not very timely to the era, the astrological event of entering the Age of Aquarius is presumed to occur later. On the other hand, the positive energy the song produces is parallel to the positive energy surrounding the Flower Power movement. In line with the positive energy of the flower in the photo, the song creates a feeling that positive feelings will prevail.
Good post. I don't know if you've heard of Swami Vishnudevananda. He was a man who threw flowers from his "Peace Plane" in order to protest the Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteI wonder exactly when did flowers come to represent peace?
- Lina Bauer
Something else that could be said is that both of these pieces of media, the photo and the song, helped define the hippie movement at time when it was first coming into public prominence.
ReplyDelete- Robert