1968: Brokaw

An interesting documentary that captures the emotions and tensions of the late 1960s is 1968: Brokaw. Although much of the film does concentrate on the events in Southeast Asia (i.e. the Vietnam War), it is the coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, that is most relevant to this class- socially these events mark the end of the "Flower-Power" revolution and from a political standpoint, perhaps the beginning of another era in U.S. politics- the Nixon years.

I show this movie in this class because essentially I believe that understanding the impact and consequences of the 1960's and 70's would be important in any class that attempted to take into consideration contemporary living or current events. Obviously, there have been other important events that have taken place much more recently, but again, these events also need to be seen within the larger historical context, at least in my opinion.



However, the above trailer does little to show the events near Grant's Park in Chicago of 1968. A number of clips are available on youtube, and these obviously come from different points of view, and from often conflicting viewpoints.

This short clip is similar to the the footage on the Brokaw documentary: