EXHIBITS
Outdoor Recreation and the Cold-War American Family: Commercialization
Commercialization
With the return of our soldiers from WW2 America was entering a new age of decadence and nationwide unity. This unity, demonstrated through American industrialism, had shown production output capabilities that far exceeded anything previously thought possible and proved the unrelenting power that advertising holds over us. In the 50's and 60's advertising, would creep into our everyday lives presented on: cars, clothing lines, and even popular literature.
As mission 66 was coming to fruition and people were filtering through national parks en masse, the reality of the outdoorsmen was forming. despite the recent availability of expanded national parks, all these outdoorsmen who knew where they belonged during vacations and weekends still had to live their mundane work lives Monday through Friday. This apparent gap between occupational and free time interests was soon to be exploited in the best way.
Deep in the Pacific Northwest, Patagonia, Columbia, and The North Face were all gently colluding to dominate the outdoors clothing market people didn't yet know they needed. Outside of camouflage, gray sweats, and thrift store tee-shirts, the outdoors didn't have any clothing company to rally behind. All three massive companies realized this and set out with similar aims when constructing their business model. Firstly, the target audience was abundantly clear with each logo: "The Cleanest Line"-Patagonia, [1] "It's perfect, now make it better"-Columbia, [2] and "Never Stop Exploring"-The North Face. [3] The intentions of discovering faraway places didn't simply stop at grand slogans. These companies would later host expeditions for athletes as well as events centered around extreme sports. The outdoor clothing market became a platform to not only materialistically express yourself, but a brilliant source for extreme athletes to test themselves amongst other like-minded people.
The outdoors movement was not only well received in the media and clothing outlets but heavily embellished in literature. In the 1950's, Jack Kerouac, an American writer born in 1922 began what would later be known as the beat generation. Through the revolutionary novels "On the Road" and "The Dharma Bums," Kerouac encapsulated the restless wanderings that plagued the manner in which many youths in America would view their lives. These youth's known as rucksack wanderers to many, would redefine the counter culture and shape much of how 1960's and 1970's American history would play out. [4]
The beat generation was not just a complete break from Christian-centric conformist America, but a break from American ideals at every level. Instead of a happy family home deep in suburbia, a rucksack wanderer would be found bumming it at a friend’s house for several weeks while working a bottom feeder job. Instead of pursuing a college degree, a rucksack wanderer would be found traveling the country with no apparent location in mind. The beat generation brought about a culture of people who rejected former social norms and experimented with: alternative religions, psychedelic drugs, sexual liberation, as well as exploration of the outdoors.
Sources:
[1] "History of Patagonia" Patagonia.com/company-history.html Retrieval date: 4/6/17
[2] "Columbia History," columbia.com/about-us.html_history, Retrieval date: 4/6/17
[3] "introducing the North Face at 50," Thenorthface.com/about-us/our-story.html retrieval date: 4/6/17
[4] Haynes Sarah, November 2005, "an Exploration of Jack Kerouac's Buddhism: Text and Life." Contemporary buddhism vol. 6 issue 2, p153-171. 19p retrieval date: 4/12/17