Yippies/Punk/FSM

The Yippies were a group of young people that were originally protesting the Vietnam War and later had many political themed pranks and theatrical demonstrations. They are significant to the novel Little Brother because Marcus and many of the other youth in San Francisco were organizing against the government and popular beliefs at the time. The Yippies also used music in their movement similar to the "Don't Trust Anyone Over 25" concert in the park. Continuing the theme of rebellion, punk music has always been about going against the norm. Punk rock originated as a genre that strayed from the mainstream music of the 1970's and frequently had a political message in the lyrics. It makes sense that Doctorow would introduce this in the book because the concert of punk rock music unifies the young revolt and brought them together and gave them power and a sense of unity in their fight against the government. In combination with the Yippies, it shows how music can have a great emotional and political affect on people involved. The Free Speech Movement took place at UC Berkeley where students fought for their rights that the school premit on-campus political groups as part of their free speech rights. This is similar to Little Brother in the way that Marcus' high school had cameras and surveillance and does not allow them any freedom of speech or academic freedom. For instance, their history teacher was removed for allowing controversial conversations to take place and that is against many of the First Amendment rights.