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File:Freedom rock commercial 1988


Cquote1
"Mmmmm…. turbulent."
Homer Simpson, The Simpsons
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The Swingin' Sixties hold a special place in popular culture, mostly because the people who came of age in that decade cannot stop talking about how great it was.

The Theme Park Version of the Swingin' Sixties includes: "free love" and beehive hairdos, hippies and southern sheriffs, Psychedelic Rock and girl groups, marijuana and the pill, sexy male spies in tuxedos and sexy female spies in leather catsuits (or in miniskirts with go-go boots, or in leather miniskirt catsuits), the Charlie Brown Christmas special, Peter Fonda dropping acid in a graveyard, prim newscasters speaking in clipped tones about those wild youngsters having too much fun, and everybody doing "The Twist". In Britain it includes the rise of Carnaby Street (inevitably accompanied by The Kinks' "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"), Mary Quant (the Mother who Made Miniskirts Mainstream), Harold Wilson, the satire boom, and a bunch of Buccaneer Broadcasters demolishing The BBC's radio monopoly. It was all about the music: Mop-topped mods and cock-walking rockers all the rage, and the British were cool for the first time in recorded history. Except to the British, who were way into India. The Sixties gave us Woodstock, three days of peace and music. And then a little later, Altamont, roughly six hours of skull-cracking brutality set to music.

Of course, much of this great music was made in the context of political unrest: Escalation of the Vietnam War was met with a powerful protest movement, admired to this day for stopping the war dead in its tracks just nine years later. President Kennedy narrowly averted an end-of-the-world nuclear showdown, then was shot dead. Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X gave voice to the Civil Rights Movement, and then were shot dead. Robert F. Kennedy renewed the country's spirits with a message of hope and unity, and then was shot dead. Really, the only important political figure who survived the 60s unscathed was Tricky Dick. This was the era of COINTELPRO, with Government Agents surveilling, infiltrating and discrediting Anti-War and other groups to the point of sowing distrust and paranoia among these groups to Philip K Dick levels.

The Sixties were also the time of The Space Race - Following the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the first manned launches took place in 1961 (First Russian Yuri Gagarin in April, followed closely by Alan Shepherd in May.) The idea of people actually entering space for the first time led to a new fascination with Science, and a corresponding boom to Science Fiction. John F. Kennedy ordered the seemingly impossible - putting men on the Moon. After his death, America's resolve was steeled, and the course was set. The route to the Moon was very nearly derailed by the disastrous Apollo 1 fire, claiming the lives of 3 American astronauts in a test. Over a year of unmanned testing went on, trying to repair the mistakes. A return to space flight in late 1968 led to an epic Christmas flyby of the Moon by Apollo 8, one of the most watched television broadcasts in history. Finally, in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the Moon, fulfilling Kennedy's mission and marking the first time a human being had walked on another celestial body.

That's what you learn watching TV and movies about the Sixties. No Sixties Montage is complete without them. If not set to Jimi Hendrix playing "All Along the Watchtower," then "Get Together" by the Youngbloods.

But if you watch TV and movies from the Sixties, it's as if half of that stuff never happened. Some of the Sixties' landmark events, such as the Stonewall Riots in 1969 that kicked off the gay rights movement, were barely acknowledged until the 1990s. Our cultural memory has selected The Grateful Dead and Aretha Franklin from a musical landscape that had a lot more Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass than seems sonically possible; and the squares of the first half of the decade actually dressed a lot cooler than the hippies of the latter half, who frankly come off as a little grimy. A standout example of this is The Andy Griffith Show whose title actor portrays a Southern sheriff and in which not a whisper of the civil rights movement is mentioned.

Nonetheless, the sheer volume of memorable songs, shows, books, and movies from the Sixties is testament to the creativity of its artists. The decade did give us Star Trek the Original Series, Doctor Who, James Bond (the films, anyway), Spider-Man, Woody Allen, The Graduate, The Prisoner, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Motown the list goes on. Their continued popularity ensures the Sixties will be around for a long time.

Politically started on August 28, 1963 with the March on Washington and on November 22, 1963 with the Kennedy asassination and ended on August 9, 1974 with President Nixon's resignation and the Fall of Saigon on April 29, 1975, although technically, the S.S. Mayaguez Incident on May 12-15, 1975 was the last battle of The Vietnam War. Pop-culturally the decade began on September 8, 1960 with the theatrical release of Psycho and ended with the Tate-Labianca murders on August 8 and 9, 1969 and the breakup of The Beatles on April 10, 1970.


See Also: The Forties, The Fifties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, Turn of the Millennium and The New Tens.


Popular tropes from this time period are[]


Works set (but not made) during this time period include[]

Anime and Manga[]


Comic Books[]

  • Marvel Comics ; while it's true that the company that would later be known as Marvel (Atlas,) existed before then, the Marvel universe proper didn't exist until 1961. And once it did, Marvel would prove to be one of the most well-known, influential, and (at the time,) ground-breaking comic companies not just of that era, but decades later. Even today, you'd be hardpressed to find someone who hasn't at least heard of Marvel.
  • Zot! is set in a world where the year is always 1965.


Film[]


Literature[]


Live Action TV[]


Music[]


Theatre[]


Video Games[]


Works set and made during this time period (at least mostly, as some say The Sixties lasted until the early '70s):[]

Anime and Manga[]

  • Himitsu no Akko-chan. Manga started in July 1962, Anime in January 1969.
  • Cyborg 009. The Manga started in 1964, the Anime in April 1968.
  • Sally the Witch. The Manga started in July 1966, the Anime in December, 1966.
  • Kimba the White Lion. The Anime started in October, 1965.
  • Speed Racer. The manga started in June 1966, the anime in April, 1967.
  • Lupin III. Started as a manga character. First appeared in August, 1967.
  • Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro. The Manga started in 1966, as a reboot of the earlier Hakaba Kitaro. The anime adaptation(s) started in January 1968.
  • Attack Number One. Manga started in January 1968, Anime started in December 1969.
  • Sazae San. Adaptation of the comic strip. Series started in October 1969.
  • Tiger Mask. Manga started in 1968, Anime started in October 1969.


Comic Books[]

  • Agent 327 (1967-1983) (2000-...)
  • Although it actually started a few years earlier, The Silver Age of Comic Books mostly took place in the Sixties:
  • Tintin. Series started in 1929.
  • Justice League of America. Debuted in February-March, 1960.
  • Captain Atom/Allen Adam. First appeared in March, 1960.
  • Mickey Mouse Comic Universe
    • Trudy Van Tubb. First appeared in March, 1960.
    • Dangerous Dan McBoo and Idgit the Midget. First appeared in October, 1966.
  • Elongated Man. First appeared in April, 1960.
  • Disney Ducks Comic Universe
    • Brigitta MacBridge. First appeared in July, 1960.
    • Jubal Pomp. First appeared in February, 1961.
    • Ludwig von Drake. First appeared in September, 1961. In both comics and Animation.
    • Magica De Spell. First appeared in December, 1961.
    • Ms. Emily Quackfaster. First appeared in December, 1961.
    • John D. Rockerduck. First appeared in December, 1961.
    • Fethry Duck. First appeared in August, 1964.
    • Emil Eagle. First appeared in April, 1966. Joined the Mickey Mouse Comic Universe in March, 1968.
  • Benoit Brisefer. First appeared in December, 1960.
  • Hawkman
    • The Pre-Hawkworld version of Hawkman/Katar Hol. First appeared in February/March, 1961.
    • The Pre-Hawkworld version of Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol. First appeared in February/March, 1961.
  • Batgirl
    • Bat-Girl/Betty Kane. First appeared in April, 1961.
    • Batgirl/Barbara Gordon. First appeared in January, 1967.
  • Sinestro. First appeared in July-August, 1961.
  • The Atom/Ray Palmer. First appeared in September, 1961.
  • Marvel Universe. The "modern" incarnation of it was launched in November, 1961.
  • Ant-Man
    • Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym. First appeared in January, 1962.
    • Hank Pym assumed the Ant-Man identity in September, 1962.
  • Metal Men. Debuted in March-April, 1962.
  • Archie Comics
  • The Incredible Hulk. First appeared in May, 1962.
  • General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. First appeared in May, 1962. He would become the Red Hulk.
  • Doctor Doom. First appeared in July, 1962.
  • Spider-Man. First appeared in August, 1962.
    • The Spider-Man franchise arguably also started in this decade, with the first animated adaptation.
  • The Mighty Thor by Marvel Comics. First appeared in August, 1962.
  • Doctor Solar. First appeared in October, 1962.
  • Sabrina the Teenage Witch. First appeared in October, 1962.
  • Diabolik. First appeared in November, 1962.
  • Iron Man. First appeared in March, 1963.
  • Doom Patrol. First appeared in June, 1963.
  • The Wasp/Janet van Dyne. First appeared in June, 1963.
  • Doctor Strange. First appeared in July, 1963.
  • The Avengers. First appeared in September, 1963.
  • Magneto. First appeared in September, 1963.
  • X-Men. First appeared in September, 1963.
  • Achille Talon. First appeared in November, 1963.
  • Quicksilver. First appeared in March, 1964.
  • Scarlet Witch. First appeared in March, 1964.
  • Black Widow. First appeared in April, 1964).
  • Daredevil. First appeared in April, 1964).
  • Blue Beetle
    • A new version of Dan Garrett, revamped from a cop to an archaeologist. First appeared in June, 1964.
    • Blue Beetle/Ted Kord. First appeared in November, 1966).
  • Norman Osborn
    • Green Goblin. First appeared in July, 1964.
    • The face of Norman Osborn, first appeared in April, 1965. The character remained unnamed.
    • Norman Osborn received his name in June, 1966.
    • Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin were revealed to be the same person in September, 1966.
  • Teen Titans. Debuted in July, 1964.
  • Hawkeye. First appeared in September, 1964.
  • Wonder Man. First appeared indebuted in October, 1964.
  • Zatanna/ First appeared indebuted in October-November, 1964.
  • Hercules by Marvel Comics. First appeared in 1965.
  • SHIELD. First appeared in August, 1965.
  • Animal Man. First appeared in September, 1965.
  • THUNDER Agents. First appeared in November, 1965.
  • Dial H for Hero. Series started in January, 1966.
  • Galactus. First appeared in March, 1966.
  • Silver Surfer. First appeared in March, 1966.
  • Ares. First appeared in June, 1966
  • Black Panther. First appeared in July, 1966.
  • The Question. First appeared in June, 1967.
  • "Him". First appeared in September, 1967. He was eventually reinvented as Adam Warlock.
  • MODOK. First appeared in September, 1967.
  • Deadman. First appeared in October, 1967.
  • Captain Mar-Vell. First appeared in December, 1967.
  • Green Lantern/Guy Gardner. First appeared in March, 1968.
  • Carol Danvers. First appeared in March, 1968. She would become better known as Ms. Marvel.
  • The Creeper. First appeared in April, 1968).
  • Red Tornado/"John Smith". First appeared in August, 1968.
  • Angel and the Ape. First appeared in September, 1968.
  • The Vision. First appeared in October, 1968.
  • The Falcon. First appeared in September, 1969.
  • Vampirella. First appeared in September, 1969.
  • Whizzer and Chips. Magazine launched in October, 1969.


Comic Strips[]

  • Mafalda. Character created in 1962. Regular comic strip series debuted in September, 1964.
  • Modesty Blaise. First appeared in May, 1963.


Eastern Animation[]


Films Of The 1960s[]

See also Films of the 1960s


Literature[]

Live Action TV[]


Music[]


Music Genres That Started in the Sixties[]


Professional Wrestling[]


Theatre[]


Video Games[]


Western Animation[]


Works made, but not set, during the sixties[]

Anime and Manga[]


Comics[]


Literature[]


Live-Action TV[]


Music[]


Western Animation[]



If you can remember the 60s, you didn't live in them.

If you don't remember the 60's, you lived in them.

If you didn't live in the 60's, you remember them.

Therefore, only people who weren't alive in the 60's can remember the 60's.