Woodstock Research Paper
Danielle Krum
May 30, 2011
Research Final
Woodstock 1969
Every memory of the summer of 1969 is connected to, in one way or another, the historical event, Woodstock. The festival could not have left more of an impact on the “hippie” generation anymore than it did those three days of music and peace. The generation of the time wanted nothing more than what they got out of Woodstock. Today, people still look back on the festival and think of how well it made history without the expectance of doing so. Woodstock, one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century, combined iconic musical acts with interesting social behavior. In 1969, a group of men set up a music festival, known as Woodstock, which lasted for three, long, peaceful, and music oriented days that involved an abundant amount of sex, drugs, and poor management. “Many remember Woodstock primarily as a disaster, as it was officially pronounced, a monument to faulty planning, a testament to the limitations and hypocrisies of hippie idealism, a nightmare of absurdities, ironies, and incongruities” (Cooke 177). Woodstock was originally planned to be a moneymaking event by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfirld, and Michael Lang, but due to the poor planning, the event brought forth no money and a lot of debt. The event took place in Bethel, New York from August 15th to August 17th. “Attended by 450,000 people, it is remembered as the high point of the ‘peace and love’ ethos of the period, largely because of the disaster that the over-crowding, bad weather, feed shortages, supposed ‘bad acid’ (LSD), and poor facilities presaged was somehow avoided” (Dodgson 523). The percentage of drug induced fans was well over the amount assumed to be present, as was the actual amount of fans. “Poor planning and happenstance forced them to admit most attendees for free. They were left with a debt of $1.3 million and a site that cost $100,000 to restore” (Dodgson 523). Woodstock was an event
May 30, 2011
Research Final
Woodstock 1969
Every memory of the summer of 1969 is connected to, in one way or another, the historical event, Woodstock. The festival could not have left more of an impact on the “hippie” generation anymore than it did those three days of music and peace. The generation of the time wanted nothing more than what they got out of Woodstock. Today, people still look back on the festival and think of how well it made history without the expectance of doing so. Woodstock, one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century, combined iconic musical acts with interesting social behavior. In 1969, a group of men set up a music festival, known as Woodstock, which lasted for three, long, peaceful, and music oriented days that involved an abundant amount of sex, drugs, and poor management. “Many remember Woodstock primarily as a disaster, as it was officially pronounced, a monument to faulty planning, a testament to the limitations and hypocrisies of hippie idealism, a nightmare of absurdities, ironies, and incongruities” (Cooke 177). Woodstock was originally planned to be a moneymaking event by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfirld, and Michael Lang, but due to the poor planning, the event brought forth no money and a lot of debt. The event took place in Bethel, New York from August 15th to August 17th. “Attended by 450,000 people, it is remembered as the high point of the ‘peace and love’ ethos of the period, largely because of the disaster that the over-crowding, bad weather, feed shortages, supposed ‘bad acid’ (LSD), and poor facilities presaged was somehow avoided” (Dodgson 523). The percentage of drug induced fans was well over the amount assumed to be present, as was the actual amount of fans. “Poor planning and happenstance forced them to admit most attendees for free. They were left with a debt of $1.3 million and a site that cost $100,000 to restore” (Dodgson 523). Woodstock was an event
Cited: 1. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 9. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. P120-121. “Darity” 2. Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. Vol. 8. 3rd ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. P523-524. “Dodgson” 3. Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. P862-864. “Berg” 4. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. P176-179. “Cooke”