Countercultural Ideals in the Music of Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell

Abstract

The Bachelor thesis explores countercultural ideals of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States of America and examines the reasons for its development and its resulting effects on American society. In the theoretical part, the term "counterculture" is defined and its prime foundations of this movement are traced back to key historical events, such as the fight for equal rights or the environmental movement. The practical part presents an analysis of Janis Joplin's and Joni Mitchell's selected songs, whose lyrics reflected the era's countercultural ideals.