Berkeley in the Sixties – Die Geburt der 68er Bewegung (1990)

Berkeley in the Sixties – Die Geburt der 68er Bewegung: Directed by Mark Kitchell. With Jentri Anders, Joan Baez, Frank Bardacke, Stokely Carmichael. A documentary about militant student political activity in the University of California-Berkely in the 1960’s.

“This is a superb, valuable documentary.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBerkeley was at the epicenter as the counterculture politics of the u0026#39;60s emerged. And revisiting the political ferment of u0026#39;60s Berkeley can offer an unusually helpful overview of these interwoven political currents. This film does that very, very well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe fascinating footage (including early glimpses at Reagan as a relatively new u0026quot;polu0026quot;), the deft editing, the years-later retrospective reflections of u0026quot;now-grown-upu0026quot; participants in the Berkeley u0026quot;FSMu0026quot; (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 u0026quot;sex, drugs and rock u0026#39;nu0026#39; roll,u0026quot; these elements – blended into one u0026#39;tsunamiu0026#39; 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 u0026quot;dawning of the Age of Aquarius,u0026quot; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhether the film is slanted, and whether u0026quot;The Movementu0026quot; 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 Iu0026#39;ve seen of how this happened, what itu0026#39;s u0026quot;logicu0026quot; was – and manages to do so engagingly, without becoming pedantic. Thatu0026#39;s a whole lot for one film to do, even for someone who respects and loves film as our cultureu0026#39;s greatest current art form.”