Berkeley in the Sixties

Berkeley in the Sixties

Berkeley in the Sixties

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.

This film provides an interesting look at the major issues of the 60s on one of the most liberal campuses in the country. Similar to the War at Home (based on the anti- war protests in Madison), the film interviews leaders of the different political movements to get their perspective of what was happening at the time. Good variety of people, if not ideologies. Especially enjoyed the ending that was a "where are they now" update. Glad to see that a number of them didn't stick their beliefs in their back pocket and become part of the "Hippie Beemer" set after they finished college.

A documentary about militant student political activity in the University of California-Berkeley in the 1960s. The film highlights the origins of the Free Speech Movement beginning with the May 1960 House Un-American Activities Committee hearings at San Francisco City Hall, the development of the counterculture of the 1960s in Berkeley, California, and ending with People's Park in 1969. Depending on how you feel about the 1960s and hippies, you may feel one way or another about this film. But as a history, it is a fairly objective look at what was going on in Berkeley, and how that campus has become known -- even 50 years later -- as the most radical in the country, whether or not that is true. The bulk of the interviews are with former students, but even so we can get a rather full picture.

I really enjoyed watching this film... mostly for educational reasons. Being born in 1972, I was not around for the activism of the 60's. Much like most people of my generation, we've heard stories about the 60's, listened to music of the times, etc. However, this film really made me see the various activism of the 60's in a different light. I have a new respect for what students at Berkeley and others were trying to accomplish. You can't help but feel admiration for many of the people interviewed and shown in this film. The film made me contemplate about a lot of issues, as well as puts a new and refreshing perspective on people. It covers plenty of topics without rushing the viewer through them. It's great to explore this small piece of history and see how it effects life today in the 21st century... makes you think about how far or how little we've come since then. As a footnote...The film contains some really interesting footage of Ronald Reagan when he was Governor of California.

Berkeley in the Sixties is an historical documentary that alternates between 1980s oral history and actual period photo-journalism. So it is composed largely of apparently network-sponsored news footage of the street politics and culture wars of the time. Reflecting an irony of the period, most of this footage of revolution was presumably shot and edited by the action-seeking network video journalists (employed by 1960s Fortune 500 corporations) who recorded the street politics and culture wars of the time. One reviewer imagines "hypothetical" conservative viewers "talking back to the screen". But the only controversy of this film comes from giving any voice at all to the memories of today's teachers, social workers and businessfolk who (after all) mostly IN THEIR YOUTH had been involved with organizing and direct action in Berkeley. And this social history and oral history ("Heavens!") may be what one conservative reviewer calls "bias". The personal memories of these movements' various opponents (often unavailable anyway by 1990) are mostly not recorded. (Rather only their statements at the time are represented.) History, like life, necessitates a particular perspective and position. And this one is admittedly not Ronald Reagan's or Ed Meese's or J. Edgar Hoover's history. But the film could by no stretch be called either Leftist or nostalgic or romanticized history of the 60s in the U.S. or abroad. In the oral history testimonies, the "lessons" attested to are pretty darned mixed. Hardly sentimental, approximately two former activists' testimonials emphasize the MISTAKES and excesses of the period for every one that recalls a success or virtuous result, by my count. In other words, if this is propaganda, it is clearly NOT Leftist propaganda. Neither is this a Sunday a.m. tv pundit debate among major party-allied think tank representatives. The film is an attempt to probe the experience of folks who, like the rest of us, shaped human history both deliberately and inadvertently. Moreover this is as much another worthwhile film about boomers recalling their hyper-televised, activist youth as it is an attempt at serious history. and yet in the end Berkeley in the 60s does an excellent job of both tasks. It is among the most . thought-provoking films I have seen. --Todd from Brooklyn

This is a superb, valuable documentary. Berkeley was at the epicenter as the counterculture politics of the '60s emerged. And revisiting the political ferment of '60s Berkeley can offer an unusually helpful overview of these interwoven political currents. This film does that very, very well. The fascinating footage (including early glimpses at Reagan as a relatively new "pol"), the deft editing, the years-later retrospective reflections of "now-grown-up" participants in the Berkeley "FSM" (Free Speech Movement) -- these are all very engaging, and beautifully assembled. But what makes the film great for me is its clarity in reflecting the interplay of counterculture themes: the movements for free speech and for civil rights, the movement against the Vietnam War, and assertion of the new feminism. Along with the energetic pursuit of "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," these elements – blended into one 'tsunami' of a movement -- were experienced by us all coming of age during that time, throughout the US and throughout much of the world. But as a young person during that era, who became very swept up in the self-proclaimed "dawning of the Age of Aquarius," I recall also feeling unclear on how these ideological components -- which otherwise seemed to me distinct and substantively unrelated – became intertwined in the social politics of that era. Whether the film is slanted, and whether "The Movement" was positive or negative, seem to me besides the point. The Movement was; like it or not, that reality is indisputable. From varying perspectives, our entire culture experienced it, and was affected by it. Most of the many millions of us on college campuses during that time were forever changed -- for good, for ill, or both. This film presents the most coherent depiction I've seen of how this happened, what it's "logic" was – and manages to do so engagingly, without becoming pedantic. That's a whole lot for one film to do, even for someone who respects and loves film as our culture's greatest current art form.

This movie is entirely devoted to praising the irresponsible, anarchical, criminal, over-privileged, fascist young idiots of the 1960's, which is perfectly acceptable and the right of every Americans. There is one moment, however, where this movie reveals an incredible degree of narrow- mindedness and intellectual dishonesty. During one of the rare times they mention Ronald Reagan (who, once again, is revealed to be the best politician ever), they strongly implied that his actions were motivated by ulterior, selfish motives (he criticized the irresponsible, anarchical, criminal, over-privileged, fascist young idiots purely "to please the crow to be elected Governor", according to the narrator). How come the idea that MAYBE, SOME of the irresponsible, anarchical, criminal, over-privileged, fascist young idiots MIGHT have been, at least PARTIALLY, motivated by ulterior, selfish, or hypocritical motives is NOT ONCE proposed ? How come the fascist authors of this movie are immediately prone to arrogantly decree that anyone who disagrees with them can not sincerely believe in what he or she says ?

I saw that a lot of people had positive comments about this film. I personally cannot believe anyone took the people on this film seriously unless one is pro-protest because that is the only thing that the people in this film do consistently. I had to watch this movie for class and am currently writing a paper on it. I am currently a student at Cornell University in Ithaca NY which is probably one of the most liberal places in the United States. In class we are often beaten over the heads with professor's liberal political beliefs, so naturally when I began watching this movie I expected more of the same. More of the same was exactly what I did not get. This documentary is surprisingly unbiased, portraying the student population in Berkeley for exactly what it was: A bunch of naive rich kids who had nothing better to do than protest. The people in the film protest for peace then they protest for the Black Panthers, they advocate peaceful protest, then they riot. The Black Panthers interviewed detail how they used the students to organize their rallies, and sold them General Mao's red book so that the could pay for guns. One of the last protests in the film shows when the hippies built a park on land that Berkeley owned, and then claimed ownership of it because they had improved it. When Berkeley bulldozed it they held a violent riot. The film makers, without any editorial comment, are able to show just how misguided these people were. While one might not be willing to sit through two hours of pretentious baby-boomers talking about how justified they were in their protest, it is occasionally funny to see just how stupid these college educated people can be. Watching people who protest for peace back up the black panthers, and then riot is probably one of the most ironic things I have ever seen. If you attend a liberal arts university like I do, you might have heard enough of this drivel, but if not, this film is most certainly for you.