"Hair" Analysis

In the mid 1960s American society was in a state of change and turmoil. A group of non-conformists decided to protest the Vietnam War and develop a culture of peace, non-prejudice, and free love. They were know as hippies. In the movie, "Hair," a young man from Oklahoma named Claude leaves his sheltered southern life and heads to New York City before going to training for the Vietnam War. While in Central Park he meets an interesting group of people that accept him with open arms into their group. They introduce him to a lot of different things including different drugs, sex, and extremely different views on life. Claude keeps an open mind while spending time with these people and is introduced to a whole new society, far different from his in Oklahoma. The group also introduces him to a debutant named Shelia. Shelia is a part of the upper class in New York City. The group decideds to crash one of the dinner parties at Shelia's home and the group catches the attention of the beautiful girl. Claude is infatuated. However, throughout the days of their adventures, Claude does not get the opportunity to develop any kind of relationship with Shelia. He is sent off to boot camp in Nevada and prepares for the Vietnam War. While in boot camp, his new friends from New York, along with Shelia, decide to hijack a car and drive to Nevada to save Claude from going to war. Claude's good friend from the group, Berger, finds a way to extract Claude from boot camp so that he and Shelia can see each other once more. However, while Claude is meeting with Shelia, Berger takes Claude's place in the war and is shipped to Vietnam.

To analyze this movie I think it would be best to use ideological criticism. The film shows a lot of the views of the hippies during the Vietnam War. It suggest that the war is bad and that class ranks and society need to change. Ideological criticism is a method that dissects the beliefs and ideas that some groups of people have. It uses symbols and indirect language to show their own beliefs. "Hair" showed the world during the 1960s from the view of the hippies and why they believed what they did. It allowd the audience to understand their beliefs.

During the film the hippie group shows that they do not approve of the Vietnam War and cannot understand why Claude wants to go. They show their beliefs towards peace and why they protest the war. They do not directly attack Claude's beliefs but they let him know how they feel about different situations. In the dinner party scene, Berger dances on the table and goes against every rule that the upper class has established. This shows the beliefs of social class and that they do not aree with the separation or judgments.