WEEK 8 Response: The Sixties and the film 1968
Response: The Sixties and the Year That Changed the World Of all the decades in U.S. history, it is hard to find one more packed with cultural and political change than the 1960s.
The civil rights movement born in the 1950s came to fruition with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, but much more work was yet to be done to establish true equality for all Americans, as new racial justice groups formed demanding change. The counterculture – generally a youth movement centered around cultural revolution,
music and art – rose up to challenge the status quo as the Vietnam War deeply divided America.
But never think that most young people were hippies or that America embraced the
counterculture – indeed, with the election of the conservative Republican Richard
Nixon in 1968, it was clear that the so-called “silent majority” of Americans wanted no
part in the “radical” change they were seeing happening in America.
In this incredible decade, one year stands out – 1968.
That year saw the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, as
well as a pivotal change in the direction of the Vietnam War after the Tet Offensive
early that year forced America to question whether the war was winnable or just a futile
quagmire.
Numerous books focus on just 1968, as do several films, including the one you will
focus on in this response: “1968 with Tom Brokaw.”
The Assignment:
Write at least 150 words about any three things featured in this film. Describe when
they occurred, who was involved, and in general why you think this was an important
event/person to the Sixties. Quote from the film at least three times and at least once
from the Foner book.
The Clips:
Here’s the film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQNgH9FvLk This is not a short
clip – it is about an hour and a half – so I recommend you break it up and watch it over
a couple of days.
Before you watch the film, I recommend you watch this Crash Course on the Sixties
The Reading:
You should give the Eric Foner chapter on the Sixties a good read. It is one of his best –
as a baby boomer himself, that is perhaps no surprise.
I will expect you to quote from Foner, so focus on his account of 1968 on pgs. 1008-1010
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APA
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