r/Hippiecommunity

I watched Commune yesterday. As far as I know, the only place it is streaming in the United States is Kanopy, which is the free streaming service you can access with a library card.

I really liked this documentary. It's about Black Bear Ranch, a rare surviving 1960s California commune (currently very small) founded on ‘Free Land for Free People.’ It blends raw archival footage with honest takes to show the highs and hard lessons of trying to build a utopia. If you are looking for an inspirational look at the possibilities of intentional communities and communal living, you'll find it in this movie. But you'll also get a good look at why these communities are so hard to sustain. I like when movies give both views.

The movie also showed how diverse hippies were in terms of interests and beliefs. You saw that in an individual level as they focused on different members of the community, but you also saw it from a wider angle when they discuss how the group was infiltrated (or blended with) outside groups, such as a cult.

Also, I enjoyed seeing how some of the things we nostalgically associate with hippies (like "free love") weren't as simple as some think. In my own life, I've met a bunch of people who you might consider to be "free love" advocates (polyamorous couples, swingers), and it is usually more complicated than the stereotypical hippie ideal suggests. The reason why communes didn't take off is largely due to the fact that living, working, and sharing in such close quarters is hard.

My lingering question after watching this documentary and others is, "What political philosophies were most prevalent among hippies, particularly those living in community?" It seems like there were a bunch of political philosophies mixing within the community. It seems like you'd see a range of leanings from communists/socialists to anarchists, and a bunch of what we might call Libertarians today. These documentaries focus on people who believe in the power of everyday people to change the political system, down to people who just want to "drop out" of our political system. It's pretty cool.

1. They don't love you

2. They care about money

3. They're toxically positive

4. They're toxically "compassionate"

5. Hippy dudes too, just wanna shag all of u.

6. They go about manifestation the wrong way

7. Veganism is inherently hypocritical

8. Prayer will not save shit

9. Spiritual gurus & shamans are fake as fuxk

10. There are no gatekeepers to psychedelics & weed can make you lazy

I watched this documentary on Tubi yesterday. It was solid. It tells the story of two communes in New England that were founded by some activist journalists. It has a bit of everything you might expect from reading my intro. They escaped society but got pulled back in when a nuclear reactor was going to be built down the road. But before that, they were doing typical commune stuff (farming, cooking...and frolicking naked).

I like when documentaries give you the complete picture of commune life. For example, while many people idealize the "free love" stereotype of hippie life, they admit that it often resulted in jealousy and hurt feelings. The documentary showed how fractured a group can be, even when they formed with common ideological beliefs.

The concept of a commune is very appealing to me. But the more you dig into it, the more you realize how challenging it is to make one work long term.

I love Googling the people who are in these documentaries. Several are still doing cool things in the community.

1. They don't love you

2. They care about money

3. They're toxically positive

4. They're toxically "compassionate"

5. Hippy dudes too, just wanna shag all of u.

6. They go about manifestation the wrong way

7. Veganism is inherently hypocritical

8. Prayer will not save shit

9. Spiritual gurus & shamans are fake as fuxk

10. There are no gatekeepers to psychedelics & weed can make you lazy