Drama Leading Up to the 1968 Convention
Due to the controvery and turbulance of the decade, many Americans were upset with the social and political systems of the United States. Many of them turned out to protest against the 'system,' whatever that meant for their specific social group. Many of them converged in the streets of Chicago in August of 1968.
Enter the dramatic antics and playfulness of the YIPPIE movement...
The movement of YIPPIE - standing for both the Youth International Party and an exclamation of glee - necessitated both a social and mental revolution to create change. Disdaining a standard theater to make speeches, Yippies believed they were igniting a revolution towards the goal of a free society. Their extravagant and exorbitant imaginations relied on a uniquely theatrical public persona where individuals ‘did their own thing’ by behaving as they desired in the face of adversity. That individualism manifested in counterculture methods - such as using drugs or doing sexual activities in public - as well as in confrontational ways through public protests. Their behavior during this time period was unrivaled in its distinctive eccentricity and public display for the media.