Counterculture is a term that rose to prominence during the 1960s, generally referring to the hippie movement and the rising popularity of recreational drugs. The counterculture movement evolved due to decades of strict societal rules, mainly in the way that women were expected to get married, stay home, and have kids, while men were expected to work and provide for their families. Any small deviation from this formula was seen as scandalous. It also rose as an anti-war movement, with many being opposed to the imperialism of America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Though the movement itself tapered off in the 1970s, the term "counterculture" can still apply to anyone or anything that intentionally goes against the grain or is in favor of abolishing societal standards. Cinema is an incredibly varied medium and has, of course, seen numerous counterculture-based movies from the start of the movement in the '60s all the way up to the present day. , which are highly critical of the rules and expectations set by human culture.

is : anti-establishment, anti-capitalism, and anti-government, glorifying anarchy and intentionally egging on viewers to start a revolution. It is set in a dystopian future in which Britain is ruled by a fascist and totalitarian regime, with the ultranationalist government executing anyone it deems undesirable, mainly social or racial minorities.

In the face of terrible times, a revolutionary named V () rises; his identity remains unknown, choosing to obscure his face with his trademark mask. Much of the movie involves rioting, demonstrations, and activism against the government following these executions, with the goal being to tear down the regime and abolish the government itself. V for Vendetta is , a prospect that many find disturbing, so there's no doubt in anyone's mind that it is certainly a counterculture flick and a near-perfect superhero movie.

came out in the 1960s, a time when the counterculture movement was just starting to become a thing. Aside from the hippies and the "make love, not war" being a popular counterculture trend, another popular trend was biker gangs, organized crime groups who spent much of their time on motorcycles, often transporting drugs or weapons. This seminal road crime movie is no different, centering on a biker gang that dealt drugs across America.

Much of the film also centers on , especially with the current counterculture movement. The movie glorified biker gangs, attempting to make them more socially acceptable and used real drugs to emphasize its stance on free will and the ability to indulge in controlled substances. Easy Rider was shocking at the time, though it is pretty tame now. Regardless, it has become that came out at exactly the right time.

is a movie so outspoken and in-your-face that it really doesn't take a whole lot of thought to see it as intentionally trying to go against the tide. The musical horror comedy is about a couple whose car breaks down, causing them to seek help from a nearby castle ruled by a cross-dressing extra-terrestrial played by . Fifty years after its release, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and has remained a cultural icon.

The movie is , and has developed a sort of culture surrounding it. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is fun and comical but also certainly not for kids with how openly sex is discussed and with the things that are put on full display, leaving little to the imagination and tearing down many societal stigmas.

On the surface, looks like a cheesy tough guy '80s action movie about alien invaders, but if one were to dig a little deeper, they'd see the cultural implications of the classic film. The main star is Nada (), a vagrant who arrives in LA looking for a job only to find someone preaching what sounds like some pretty bonkers conspiracy theories. It turns out that this preacher was absolutely right, as after acquiring a pair of specialized sunglasses, Nada is able to see that many of the people in the world are secretly a species of aliens hellbent on controlling the masses.

Now, They Live obviously isn't trying to play into the conspiracy theory about lizards running the world. However, it is making are so obsessed with profit over human life that they . Thus, it is up to the common people to put a stop to it. It's a movie that's secretly brilliant, all under the guise of a trendy action movie of the '80s.

is a mockumentary comedy film starring as the eponymous Borat, a Kazakh national who travels to America to report on American society. In reality, Cohen is British, and the purpose of the mockumentary is not actually to learn about America but to ingrained into American society. By far, the saddest yet funniest thing about it is that Cohen intentionally portrays a walking stereotype and pushes some buttons to say some overtly bigoted things, and many of the people he encounters play right into his trap, unaware that they are the butt of the joke.

Most of the people in the movie aren't even actors, but regular people who actually feel the way they do on these social issues, and Cohen is exposing them to the international audience. While it is offensive, it is supposed to be because it is meant to essentially to show how people really are. , Borat has become one of the most iconic counterculture films ever made, even if many can't see past its layers of satire.

stars as "The Dude," aka Jeff Lebowski, an average slacker who is randomly attacked by a porn kingpin's goons, who mistake him for a different Jeff Lebowski. The other man is a millionaire who owes the goons money, but once they realize they have the wrong guy, the thugs leave, not before peeing all over The Dude's carpet. Enraged yet finally motivated to get up and do something, The Dude enlists his friends from bowling to help hunt down the porn tycoon and seek reparations for his soiled carpet.

The movie can be considered counterculture due to the fact that it and staying home without any real aspirations. The Big Lebowski also criticizes how the rich tend to tread all over the average Joe, forcing them to take action and ruining many of the things they hold dear, often for little rhyme or reason. But , encouraging people to take it easy, relax, and try not to conform to societal pressure. It is a widely-loved film now, but it was a box office bomb in the '90s, which is a shame because it's that doesn't necessarily encourage crime. Instead, all it wants is for you to just chill out a little, which the world could definitely do more of.

is often incorrectly dubbed as a stoner flick, as many different drugs are taken or alluded to in the film, but it's actually about a lot more than that. The film stars an ensemble cast and is set on the last day of high school and begins with senior students hazing incoming freshmen, often via public humiliation or physically beating them, which was a common practice in the 1970s.

This cult classic is initiation practices but also , meaning going to college and getting a job after graduating. Instead, the characters in this film prefer to slack off, live dangerously and freely, and have all the fun they want. While many would spend their summers preparing to move away to college, Dazed and Confused is .

is another film that came out in the prime of the counterculture movement at the end of the 1960s. This film follows a recent college grad who gets seduced by an older woman. However, he finds himself grappling with his conscience when he falls for the woman's daughter and winds up juggling both of them at the same time, ending up in a love triangle that he doesn't even want out of.

The reason The Graduate is seen as a counterculture film is because it but also because it glorifies open relationships and large age gaps between lovers, provided the two are consenting adults. In the '60s, and to a lesser extent, even today, marriage and love are seen as solely monogamous, but this movie had nothing of the sort in there. As a result, while The Graduate isn't always the most blatant or in-your-face, .

is directed by , whom many consider to be one of the finest film directors ever. The movie takes place in a dystopian near future on the brink of complete societal collapse, when a criminal gang decides to participate in a night of villainy, breaking into people's homes and beating their inhabitants, engaging in fights with rival gangs, and assaulting a homeless person. Upon its release, the movie was criticized for its high levels of violence.

Indeed, it is definitely one of the darkest movies ever made, but it's supposed to be. Much of what it shows and what it gets away with is meant to be and treatment of prisoners, as well as the ultra-wealthy and society's aversion to seeing things that make them uncomfortable, even when they are happening all over the world. In short,A Clockwork Orange is to break the boundaries of what cinema was willing to portray.

is a movie that breaks all kinds of boundaries and rules with its style and substance. First of all, it utilizes an uncountable amount of fourth wall breaks, which is generally a no-no unless done for comedic purposes. Beyond that, however, Fight Club is and the Western world's need to constantly buy and consume things in order to maintain some semblance of order, which inevitably gives corporations way too much power over people.

The film evolves from sleeplessness and distress experienced by corporate workers to finding an outlet in an underground fight club, hence the name, which then morphs into purposefully committing acts of sabotage and vandalism to disrupt society and attack local oligarchies. Fight Club is one of the most famous and important anti-establishment counterculture films ever made, and its relative modernity, combined with its timelessness, makes it arguably the best of the lot.

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