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1968 with Tom Brokaw (History Channel) 
Actors : Tom Brokaw, Andrew Young (IV), Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, James Taylor
Studio : A&E HOME VIDEO
by A&E HOME VIDEO
Release Date : 2008-02-26
Publisher : A&E HOME VIDEO
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 0733961107951
UPC : 733961107951
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 5 reviews)
List Price : $24.95
Our Price : $14.70
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Americancivilwar.com |
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Actor Dennis Hopper is credited with the adage "If you can remember the '60s, you weren't there." As Roger Ebert once observed, Hopper (or whomever) was no doubt referring to the late 1960s. But even so, 1968 was a hard year to forget. Pat Buchanan, one of the more prominent talking heads in this efficient, but hardly radical History Channel documentary, calls it probably the worst and most divisive year in the nation's history (our vote: 1969, when the Chicago Cubs fell from first place in a late-season collapse). But that's a typically harsh view from the former Nixon speechwriter, who coined the phrase "the Silent Majority." Others offer a fonder look back. Something of a companion to Tom Brokaw's book, Boom! Personal Reflections on the '60s, 1968 focuses on this "historic year," one rife with turmoil, tragedy, and upheaval. Brokaw guides viewers through the milestone events (the assassinations of the Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the ongoing Vietnam War and the growing protest movement, Lyndon Johnson withdrawing from the presidential race, the Chicago Democratic Convention). Interviews with a wide spectrum of voices offer a personal perspective on what was happening here. They include a glib Arlo Guthrie, whose classic Alice's Restaurant crystallized growing anti-war ferment, an earnest Bruce Springsteen, and Andrew Young, who was with Dr. King when he was gunned down. An inspired pairing is kindred spirits Tommy Smothers, who, with his brother, Dick, brought the counterculture into America's living rooms with The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. But most effective are the ordinary citizens whose lives took extraordinary turns in 1968. We meet an army nurse and wounded Vietnam vet, who married and now offer counseling to injured vets of the war in Iraq. David Smith, founder of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, decries the destructive legacy of drugs. The program ends, as did 1968, on a moment of hope and triumph as the Apollo 8 astronauts circle the moon, and newly elected President Nixon promises to "bring us together." Leave it to Buchanan to posit that 1968 was the beginning of the culture wars that would lead to the Red and Blue state divide of 2004. Still, a year that gave us 2001: A Space Odyssey, pitcher Denny McLain's 30-win season, and "the San Francisco Sound" can't be all bad. 1968 is an illuminating time capsule. --Donald Liebenson |
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Product Description |
1968 was a year of extraordinary tragedy, triumph, and transformation. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy failed to halt the juggernaut of the Civil Rights Movement. Richard Nixon was elected President following riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As rockets rained down on fighting men in Vietnam, a NASA rocket carried men into lunar orbit. From music to politics to issues of feminism, race, and war, 1968 left almost no facet of American life unchanged.
Now, legendary award-winning journalist and best-selling author Tom Brokaw commemorates the revolutionary events of this pivotal year in a feature-length special, based on his book, Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today. Drawing upon his decades of experience, Brokaw revisits the scenes of these iconic events, pairing provocative voices from the past and present to explore how these 40-year-old moments still impact our lives today.
DVD Features: Interviews with Tom Brokaw |
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Narrow View of 1968 |
For those who are looking for a one sided, liberal bent view on the 1960's and specifically 1968 than you have found the perfect video from the History Channel with Tom Brokaw. The film covers 1968 but as other previous reviewers have written, Brokaw narrows his view of 1968 to focus on what we already know: that the anti-war movement was in full swing against the rising conflict in Vietnam, that 1968 was an election year with the Democrats (whom Brokaw clearly favors in the film) not taking charge against the Republicans nor siding with the anti-war movement as Brokaw seems to feel they should have done so in hindsight, that drugs, peace symbols, and "love" where found in San Francisco, and that 1968 saw the murders of MLK and RFK.
But where is the history that we need to know? While I think we should know the above, most of us study this in high school or college history courses. The philsophies, the music, the art: all these are missing from the film. We understand that 1968 was a difficult year in America and around the world but tell us where those horrors and triumphs came from. This is the problem of isolating history down to one year. The 1960's were not based on one event or one movement but on several factors coming together in a pluralistic culture found only in the United States. The 1960's in America were based on the confrontation between two clashing cultures, generations, and values. Brokaw seems to have missed this point.
Overall I felt that after watching the film that Brokaw had his own agenda. Perhaps he followed the History Channels writers but either way the film grossly misses the point of 1968 and the 1960's in general. Brokaw would have us to believe that 1968 would have been different had not Nixon won the White House, had the Democrats listened to the "majority" of Americans who were against the Vietnam War, and had the drugs, peace, and love been truly allowed to radiate in the lives of all Americans. Sadly, he was terribly wrong. This bias opinion shapes the film and misses the lessons we can learn from history itself and the 1960's to be specific. |
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A limited view of 1968 |
As a person who lived through 1968 I was disappointed by the limited vision of Tom Brokaw and the documentary maker. They took about 5 events of significance and revisited them continually throughout the film.We know there was civil unrest...we know that the Vietnam War was raging but cover them and move on to other developements.This is very much about the politics of this year and not much else. They say History is a dry subject. This DVD does not do much to dispel that theory. History is not only about events it is about people and there was little or no attempt to cover the people that made this such an interesting year. I remember Jackie married Onassis and there was nothing else on the front of newspapers for 5 days...didn't even rate a subliminal blip on this interviewers radar....USS Pueblo captured by the North Koreans..(could have been mentioned I may have been fast forwarding though the student riots)...wasn't 'Laugh In the most outrageous programmme on the TV that year...only mentioned because Richard Nixon appeared briefly on it.There was a draw for the first time for Best Actress at the Oscars...not covered.The Graduate....Here to you Mrs Robinson....music was only mentioned it it was related to the protest Brokaw was covering..The novel Myra Breckinridge was published..there are so many other areas that could have rounded out this documentary.Limited only to the American experience it does not cover the rioting in France or the Czech revolt.
A very sober and limited view...he must be a riot at a dinner party |
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1968, Important Year, Important News Anchor |
Excellent documentary on a pivotal year. A year to remember....for good and bad. This doc coincides with Brokaw's new book on the 60s and the baby boomers, "Boom!".
If you missed this when it aired on the History Channel, then you'll want to be sure to see the DVD.
Thanks to Mr Brokaw.
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wow, just wow! |
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i watched this show on history channel, and wow. what a great piece tom did. it was real cool to be able to connect why we do things certain ways today all because of things going on in 1968. highly recommended |
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Commpletely Unbalanced, typical Brokaw |
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I had great expectations for this documentary - 1968 is packed full of very interesting events. However, Brokaw missed a chance to make a worthwhile film. For starters, his half-hearted attempt to connect 1968 to the present is both incomplete and misdirected (including John Stewart in a documentary about 1968?!). Secondly, he repeatedly mentions the so-called "silent majority" of conservative upset with the turmoil, yet fails to give them a voice. Pat Buchanon is one of the few conservatives featured. Lastly, I was also distracted by the inclusion of some his own personal memories, particularly the story about his friend that was killed in Vietnam. I would be interested to hear the story from the perspective of the veteran's family. |
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