10-15-2022, 04:07 PM
I've put a little more thought into this, and for whatever reason I find this particularly easy to do with respect to the last Awakening. There's all these movies that capture the Silent generation's midlife passaging, their difficult relationship with their 13er children, and their fascination with the Boomer generation and the youth movement.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) - two Silent couples half-heartedly attempt to live the swinging life.
Easy Rider (1969) - two Silents hit the open road, looking for America.
Getting Straight (1970) - a college professor decides to throw his lot in with the student protesters. Has a protracted scene of a campus riot complete with students destroying property and screaming at police, calling them "pigs." Ah, those free spirited days!
Carnal Knowledge (1971) - follows two Silent generation men and their various relationships. This has a scene where a middle-aged man (played by Art Garfunkel) is dating an 18-year old (played by Carol Kane) and actually says something to the effect that he's learned so much from her - a Silent mid-life crisis moment if there ever was one.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - a free-wheeler teaches some inmates how to be free like him. To me this film captures the shift from treating exaggerated, emotional expression as a sign of mental illness, a High era perspective, to treating it as a sign of independence and free thinking, an Awakening era perspective.
The Bad News Bears (1976) - enter the 13ers, scrappy little buggers whose mentor is a pathetic drunk.
Same Time Next Year (1978) - two Silents have a protracted affair, while living through the changes of the 60s and 70s.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) - a film about divorce that was released at the peak of the divorce wave of the 70s, and was a huge commercial success.
Ordinary People (1980) - a Silent/13er family falls apart.
The Shining (1980) - this is a weird choice, I know. I bring it up because in the amazing final maze scene, a 13er kid's savvy survival instincts save him from the worst parenting ever.
Anyway, you probably noticed there's not a lot of Boomer representation in this list. That's possibly because the Silents were dominant in culture, and possibly because personally I relate more to stories about family experience in that era than to stories about young adults. There are notable films about young Boomers from this same time period - Saturday Night Fever and Rocky come to mind - but how well do they capture the Awakening? It's hard for me to say because I wasn't a young adult then.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) - two Silent couples half-heartedly attempt to live the swinging life.
Easy Rider (1969) - two Silents hit the open road, looking for America.
Getting Straight (1970) - a college professor decides to throw his lot in with the student protesters. Has a protracted scene of a campus riot complete with students destroying property and screaming at police, calling them "pigs." Ah, those free spirited days!
Carnal Knowledge (1971) - follows two Silent generation men and their various relationships. This has a scene where a middle-aged man (played by Art Garfunkel) is dating an 18-year old (played by Carol Kane) and actually says something to the effect that he's learned so much from her - a Silent mid-life crisis moment if there ever was one.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - a free-wheeler teaches some inmates how to be free like him. To me this film captures the shift from treating exaggerated, emotional expression as a sign of mental illness, a High era perspective, to treating it as a sign of independence and free thinking, an Awakening era perspective.
The Bad News Bears (1976) - enter the 13ers, scrappy little buggers whose mentor is a pathetic drunk.
Same Time Next Year (1978) - two Silents have a protracted affair, while living through the changes of the 60s and 70s.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) - a film about divorce that was released at the peak of the divorce wave of the 70s, and was a huge commercial success.
Ordinary People (1980) - a Silent/13er family falls apart.
The Shining (1980) - this is a weird choice, I know. I bring it up because in the amazing final maze scene, a 13er kid's savvy survival instincts save him from the worst parenting ever.
Anyway, you probably noticed there's not a lot of Boomer representation in this list. That's possibly because the Silents were dominant in culture, and possibly because personally I relate more to stories about family experience in that era than to stories about young adults. There are notable films about young Boomers from this same time period - Saturday Night Fever and Rocky come to mind - but how well do they capture the Awakening? It's hard for me to say because I wasn't a young adult then.
Steve Barrera
[A]lthough one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. - Hagakure
Saecular Pages
[A]lthough one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. - Hagakure
Saecular Pages
