To treat the matter quickly: While this certainly isn't ironclad,
there is a degree of consensus in the academic community with which I
am familar to the effect that 'if you wish to pick one year during
which things changed, pick 1968'.   What does that mean ?  '68 is a
convenient marker/separator/delimiter in many minds for
distinguishing between how things are now (which hardly anyone can
come to agreement on) and how things were
then/before/in-the-good-ole-days (which hardly anyone can come to an
agreement on); many do seem to agree that things (society, culture
[big words] morals, outlook, mentalites, paradigms [much abused])
are, however, different.  At least in the states, '68 was a
noteworthy year with the Chicago convention, Kennedy's assassination,
racial flareups, the 'Summer of Love'...  In the international arena,
Tet, Indonesia, and France's near revolution, apparently resonated
with or paralleled stateside upheaval.  This might exaggerate, but I
have heard '68 referred to as 'the year of absolute significance'
within the field of cultural history and cultural theory.
 
        Clear as mud ?
                                Joe Lamantia
 
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