Film - Chicago 10

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:

'how do you sleep at night?' history and the media

This blog is for students of Macquarie Uni's Modern Honours unit Media and Methods. In the course, we bring history and media students together to introduce history students to the media, and media students to history. The course has run for two years and 2008 will be its first blogging year.

Frankly, this is an experiment - will it extend the work we do in class or become a substitute for it? Will we post lots of links to fantastic websites or will it just become another way to procrastinate? One reason for blogging is that the web now offers lots of great possibilities to those who want to create history for broad audiences, and in non-print, non-linear formats. If you find something great, share it here. If you see an interesting (or just plain woeful) film or radio doco, share your thoughts on it here too. During your honours year you need to start honing your skills of critical analysis, so short reviews of history in whatever form you find it are welcome.

Finally, to my title. At a recent forum about history and media, I was asked, 'how do you sleep at night? The guy who asked was horrified at the amount of crappy television history there is out there and wondered how I, as a historian, could sit comfortably with the inevitable compromises and challenges involved in translating historical knowledge for large audiences. I wonder what you all think - over to you on that one...