Final answer:
The Beat Generation was a countercultural movement of the 1950s that rejected conformity and materialism, influencing later movements like the hippies. Key figures included Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and their ideals were echoed in cultural events like Woodstock.
Step-by-step explanation:
From Beats to Hippies: The Legacy of the Beat Movement
The Beat Generation grew out of the jazz and hep-cat cultures of the 1940s and 1950s, becoming a foundational element of the counterculture movements that followed. Characterized by anti-conformist and anti-materialistic values, they were a group of writers who appreciated jazz and engaged in radical politics. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and others were prominent figures who lived a lifestyle that later influenced the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s. Ginsberg's poem 'Howl', introduced in 1955, is one of the seminal works of the movement that critiqued conformity and materialism in 1950s America.
The Beats' anti-capitalist stance and quixotic search for higher forms of expression resonated with the youth, setting the stage for the hippie movement. Their influence was not limited to literature as they impacted music too, with the emergence of rock 'n' roll bands like The Beatles in the 1960s. While the Beatniks were often viewed with suspicion or disdain by mainstream society, their cultural impact was significant and lasting, leading to the more widespread and rebellious hippie culture, as exemplified by the iconic gathering at Woodstock in 1969.