The Long Seventies Podcast

The chaos at the 1968 Democratic National Convention spelled the end of the optimistic Sixties for many, causing massive social and political movements to splinter and break apart into smaller but much more varied movements we see grow during the Long Seventies.

For almost forty years the Motion Picture Production Code censored mainstream American films and limited their artistic vision. It's dissolution in the late 1960s due to changing economic and cultural pressures followed by the the institution of the voluntary Motion Picture Association of America Ratings System created a unique environment within which mainstream films were produced by artists that not only pushed boundaries but completely obliterated them. Unfortunately this proved to be a short lived phenomenon lasting only a brief seven to ten years before another economic and cultural sea change caused movies to move in an entirely different direction. This short seven year period has since become known as the Hollywood Renaissance. In this episode we trace the history of this process and go over some of the unique artists and films of the time period, laying the groundwork for future episodes that will delve into specific genres and films.

The story of Steve Allen's son Brian joining a new religious group called The Love Family in Seattle, Wa. We talk deprogramming and the difficulties the American public had in the early seventies when dealing with family members that joined "cults" and religious groups. Book List: Allen, Steve Beloved Son. 1982 Wilson, Robert Anton Cosmic Trigger I. 1977 Reference Material: Eric Johannson's documentary "It Takes a Cult." http://vimeo.com/141970978 http://people.com/archive/steve-allens-son-brian-saw-god-on-an-acid-trip-it-turned-him-into-logic-israel-vol-11-no-13/ http://www.context.org/iclib/ic02/isreal/ http://www.historylink.org/File/9313

This is a quick intro to the podcast, explaining the focus, time period, and the concept of The Long Seventies. We also give a preview of future episode topics.