Berkeley in the Sixties
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Movie Reviews of Berkeley in the Sixties
Movie Review: Those were the days.
Summary: 4 Stars
This documentary, focuses on the turbulence of the Berkeley student demonstrations, during the volatile 60s. There's plenty of interviews, with former Berkeley student radicals. Also included, is commentary from members of the Black Panthers, the Berkeley Mayor, local police, and concerned Bay area citizens. Berkeley, and the San Francisco Bay area in general, were the epicenter of political and social unrest, for young people in the 60s. The chaos of the student movement that began at Berkeley, spread to other campuses throughout the nation. Never before, had college students in America been so thoroughly dedicated to positive change, as they were during the 60s.
I lived in the Bay area, just two years ago. And it's undergone a 280-degree turn from its enlightened, progressive character, that was its signature zeitgeist in the 60s. It's become positively inhumane! It's been overtaken by affluent Yuppie WASPs, who have driven the price of housing to astronomical levels. As a result, homelessness is at epidemic levels there. So is unemployment. Even the most highly educated people, have to beg for low-wage jobs there. Racism, and even gay-bashing, now plague the once warm and tolerant Bay area too. High tech geeks are the new gods of the Bay area, and everyone else there is regarded as useless. Bohemians of all stripes, are no longer welcome there. They can't afford to live there anymore, anyhow.
This film is very informative, about how Berkeley students fought valiant battles for social justice in the 60s. It's a real shame, that the Bay area has become a haven for the Capitalist pigs, that the Berkeley students railed against over 40 years ago.
Movie Review: Raises documentary standards...
Summary: 4 Stars
This truly is an exceptionally well researched and presented documentary concerning the events at USC Berkeley in the 1960s.What comes across is that the collection of former students/activists interviewed are intelligent,erudite and committed to social causes:their social zeal did not die with the decade(as is revealed in the "where are they now" segment).However, the documentary is not a total celebration of their experiences;mistakes made and the success/impact of their actions is discussed,with a variety of conclusions being drawn.A small disappointment is the non-appearance of Mario Savio in the interviews:apparently he refused to participate and the documentary is poorer for this.The viewpoint of the "establishment"(university leaders,police,the conservative middle America)would have rounded the documentary out;but these are small quibbles.What remains is a superb piece of social history,with fantastic archival footage,both b/w and colour,accompanied by a soundtrack that complements the action nicely.I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the 1960s,social activism and the search for a better America.My review is dedicated to Michael Rossman,one of the FSM leaders who sadly passed away in May 2008:I applaud your efforts Michael.Movie Review: Blast From The Past
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very good documentary on the history of American civil rights from it's birth in 1960 to the flower power counterculture/ Vietnam era of the late 1960's.Some memorable speeches from the likes of Martin Luther King and
the Black Panthers leaders, student demonstrations at Berkeley, Hells Angel boss Sonny Bargers altercation with student demonstrators and much more. All of which makes for a very informative, educational and passionate film.
What really hit home though, was how oppressive US domestic politics was back then.
Reagans refusal to listen to the students "howling", military
tactics on Berkeley campus and the destruction of Peoples Park
showed Reagan in a true light. He was a misinformed single minded bully, of that there is no question.
It would be all too easy to draw parallels with Bush, but I am
not into all this fashionable Anti-Americanism.
The point I am making is that the US is a great nation, but it's population need to be more careful on who it choses to lead them, and this film is a reminder of that fact.
Movie Review: A very good documentary chronicling the sixties student protest movement
Summary: 4 Stars
This documentary does a nice job of recounting some of the major events in the development of the student protest movements in Berkeley in the sixties. It is stronger on the early years and its highpoints than on the end of it and its ongoing influence, but nonetheless you get some great video footage. I wish there had been more analysis of how the student protest movement altered America and how it left the country a different place.
There are a host interviews with people actively involved in the protests. As a former philosophy grad student I was especially interested in those with John Searle, whose work I have read. Also Susan Griffin, who I have also read.
But apart from the interviews, I especially loved the vintage footage. There are great extended cuts covering many of the key events of the period. All in all, definitely a film worth seeing.
Movie Review: The sixties did not fail!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Is everyone from Texas stupid or just the guy who reviewedthis DVD? Jesus,you're the perfect lamb for George Bush's
America...The sixties and the hippies didn't fail you fool,it
is people like yourself who failed.I know your type well,you
sit on the sidelines too stupid and soaked with fear to think
for yourself and then you attack the very people who are trying
to make life better for everyone...As opposed to better for just
a few.It is very easy to see how Christ was crucified because
we're still doing it to this very day.We destroy the ones who
would enlighten us and then praise those who would destroy us!
Amazing how unconscious and soaked with fear people in this
country are...No,it is mankind who failed not the sixties or the
hippies...We chose fear and ignorance over peace and love...You
tell me who failed....