The 60's: Part 1

So I haven't done it much, but the professor asked us to use layers (images, videos, music, etc.) for our entries. I felt using music for an entry about The 60's movie is very appropriate, but I realized that the song I chose was the same one of my classmates chose... anyways, no shame. I'll use it too. 

Ah. Few things are more 60's than this. 

In class, we spent a few classes watching The 60's mini-series/TV movie (I'm not sure which it is, so I'll just say both). We're supposed to write two entries about it, but I honestly don't know if I can write two... I'll try though. The movie is mostly about two (presumably fictional) families living in the 60's: one white, and one black. The white family's story focused on their three kids and how their lives take different paths, while the black family's story focused mainly on how the father and son struggled living in the deep-south during this time period. A big theme for a chunk of the semester was discrimination. I think it's pretty obvious how much discrimination existed in the 60's, and a movie about the 60's isn't really complete if it doesn't talk about it. So, the father in the black family is a minister, and is constantly trying to guide his son through the right path, leading him to fight for equality without resorting to violence. His son, like most teenagers, is reluctant to follow his father's teachings, and they clash a lot. In one scene (and one of the most emotional ones in the movie), there is a riot going on, and the father (named Willie Taylor) is desperately looking for his son amidst the chaos. When he finally finds him, his son is stealing a TV and holding a gun. He reprimands him, orders him to drop the TV and give him the gun, and once he does, they hug. The police, however, spot them standing amongst the mess, and order them to turn around. The father is still holding the gun, and as soon as they see it, the nervous police fire at him, killing him in front of his son.

(I tried to find a Youtube video of the father's death, but I couldn't find any...)

The son escapes and moves to the city to join the Black Panthers, but his involvement in the story slowly fades away, as it begins to focus more and more on the white family (so much for a movie about racism). I'll discuss this a little more in the next one...