I've been excited by reports of a new documentary coming out of the United States about the Chicago 10. 1968 was arguably the highpoint of sixties radicalism, and the Democratic convention that year was the spark that lit a storm of protests. Antiwar protestors, from the student movement and SDS (students for a democratic society), to the Yippies and the Black Panthers, took to the streets in an infamous, violent clash with police. The subsequent media images of the clashes between protestors and police shocked the world (you can see some of this footage on You Tube). When you think of 'the sixties' of myth and legend, you probably have images from the 68 Democratic convention in mind. 10 organisers of the demonstrations, including Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, and Bobby Seale, were put on trial on a (slightly dodgy) 'anti-riot ordinance', and the trial was frequently ridiculous, theatrical, and farcical.
So this new documentary, Chicago 10, directed by Brett Muller, mixes actual documentary footage of the protests (set against tracks by Eminem and the Beastie Boys) with motion-capture animation that recreates key moments of the trial (based on the transcripts). Using contemporary music would seem to give the footage new urgency by investing it with contemporary cultural meaning, and the animation allows the film to capture the unreal nature of the trial. Chicago '68 was a protest against American involvement in the Vietnam war: Muller claims that his film employs elements of the '60s but is actually set today, and the contemporary backdrop of America's involvement in Iraq seems like a parallel the director wants his audience to draw. One to watch out for.
Watch the trailer for Chicago 10
here:
4 comments:
You can also read a review of a graphic novel that deals with the history of SDS, written (in part) by Harvey Pekar, of American Splendour fame here:
http://joshuakahnrussell.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/off-the-page-and-into-the-streets-a-graphic-history-of-sds/
So clearly the history of the sixties is starting to be revisualised in new ways...
Chicago 10 looks to be an interesting movie to watch, an interesting take on a piece of history. It reminds me of year 12 English when studying King Lear, one of our assessment tasks was to come up with new ideas on how King Lear could be presented (either in the form of a play or film)... the pictures I had in my head were of a black and white cartoon with strategic pieces of colour dotting the landscape of certain pivotal shots. Not that the relevance is that huge... but the ideas in my head in relation to how my thesis topic is presented in the media/ how I could potentially present it (in time) are circulating in my head. So thanks Michelle for pointing us to YouTube, I'm off to search on Burma & India there!
Yay! Taryn has kicked off the posts...I think you're right to point out that thinking about presenting something in a different form can help you clarify the story you're trying to tell (well, that's what we hope, anyway). Let us know how you get on with YouTube.
When I was in New York last week, I got to see Chicago 10, and it was interesting that while the animation was a great device to deal with the absence of archival footage of the courtroom, it was still the archival footage of the defendants, and the protests themselves, that was the most interesting part of the film for me. They seemed to have found great snippets of stuff that I've never seen in sixties documentaries before - Aretha Franklin singing the national anthem at the Democratic convention, and kids in Chicago playing a new game: 'police and demonstrators'. This freshness was one of the ways the film avoided sixties cliches (we've all seen that crazy footage of people at Woodstock that stands in generically for 'the sixties').
The animation, while it took a little getting used to, was good because it literally 'animated' the court proceedings - you probably wouldn't believe some of the things that happened in court unless you saw them. The best example of this was when Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, who repeatedly (and loudly) demanded his civil rights, was removed from the court and returned, gagged and chained to a chair. Seriously.
Hi Everyone,
Chicago 10 does seem like a really interesting film to watch. I think that Morgen’s use of animation is quite clever, especially since (as Michelle has mentioned) some of the events he wanted to depict (like the dragging, gagging and chaining of Bobby Seale) would have been difficult to re-enact and watch if humans were used.
It is also obvious that Morgen wants his film to appeal to younger generations, given the animations and his use of music. But while I think that Morgen’s use of animation is clever, I’m not a huge fan of anything animated, so I agree with Michelle about the archival footage being more interesting to watch.
For that reason, I think that an over-use of animation can potentially distract viewers from the real essence of the film. But that’s just my opinion.
Also, I have not seem the film so I wonder how Morgen has established its context for the younger viewers, who were obviously not around when many of these events were happening.
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