Cultural output pushed by media, continuously and inarguably well after the movement ended?
If there's one thing that's clear beyond all else involved in the topic of popular culture, it's that the media chooses what culture to push and what to ignore.
For those not in the know, Mondo films (that's usually the start of the title, like Mondo Freudo) gathered together very disparate samples of different slices of life, with a heavy emphasis on the titillating, the criminal, the bizarre, not to mention almost anything that might be numbered among the counterculture, and presented them in a vaguely documentary-like format. How much was staged, how much wasn't? Still, aside from the almost obligatory nudity, you got a very strong feeling of "look at the strange stuff these people get up to!"
My guess is that they had kind of an outsized impact for what seemed like half "nudie cuties" of the 50s married to a casual National Geographic feel of different cities in Europe, the United States, and associated territories.
How long did that period last? It died very fast, and was really only 5 years at maximum. Probably not much longer than the time that covid started until now. A flash in the pan.
1960s is only 10 years so if something went on in the public mind day on and day off for 5 years (like COVID did for 3 years), I think it's a good candidate for the decade-defining theme
There’s a related occurrence of the same principle — we have had movies/stories about the wild west for longer than the archetype frontier period existed.
The lingering effects might very well last longer than the actual event itself though. Hell, the effects of LSD last much much longer than the drug itself lasts in the body. So to me, you're harping on the wrong thing. Sure, maybe the movement lasted a short time, but the mindset is still out there
