This almost two-hour-long ABC documentary directed by Mark and released in 1990 tells about the very politically active student movements at University of California in Berkeley in the 60’s. The documentary includes hundreds of clips of happenings from that age (demonstrations, politicians, significant characters etc.) as well as many interviews with the leading figures of these student movements filmed in the later 80’s which give a good perspective to all that happened.
First we learn about the Free Speech movement and Civil Rights marches. It’s difficult to understand how much a few students could achieve with their determination by putting their whole future at risk at the same time. This was not the whole victory yet, however: next it was time to oppose the Vietnam war in a very firm and powerful way by fro example trying to prevent the drafts. There is also a nice amount of material of the San Francisco hippie culture and the bafflement it caused in the main population. The opposition turned more radical and violent and the arm-carrying Black Panthers movement was born. This of course caused some bodies as well as a huge media hassle. There was revolution in the air all over the planet and the world was changing very rapidly. The women’s rights was one of the important issues of the time. After the violence during the Chicago Democratic Party convention chaos spread all over the United States. Then there is still a section about the People’s Park that was formed in 1969 where the counter culture took a piece of land to create a utopia of its own. As you might have guessed, it was not to let live in piece for long and more rioting and confrontation was about to take place… When Reagan gassed peaceful demonstrators from helicopters many of the activists decided to split from the scene. Although the movement stopped or at least continued in different forms the 60’s counter culture has changed the American and whole Western society into better direction and this DVD is a wonderful document of that. As a backdrop we get to hear bands and artists like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix and Country Joe & The Fish. This is interesting stuff for all those who just can’t remember of don’t yet understand what kind of an era the 60’s was.
This almost two-hour-long ABC documentary directed by Mark and released in 1990 tells about the very politically active student movements at University of California in Berkeley in the 60’s. The documentary includes hundreds of clips of happenings from that age (demonstrations, politicians, significant characters etc.) as well as many interviews with the leading figures of these student movements filmed in the later 80’s which give a good perspective to all that happened.
