1
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,280
The summer of '67 was a moment
that rewrote history.
2
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,120
Nature Boys,
truth-seekers and politicos
3
00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:15,680
converged on the Haight-Ashbury
district of San Francisco
4
00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,360
to forge a new way of being.
5
00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,400
The hippie was born.
6
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,760
People in the Haight-Ashbury
are seekers of a more meaningful
7
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,200
human experience.
8
00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,880
MUSIC: Eight Miles High
by The Byrds
9
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,400
Free love, free drugs
and freethinking
10
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,040
were the mantras
of these cultural revolutionaries.
11
00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,760
And yet, no sooner
had the party begun
12
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:42,720
than it started to unravel.
13
00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,520
What started happening
with the Summer of Love
14
00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,520
was a lot of hard drugs started
coming into the Haight-Ashbury,
15
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,120
and that changed things a lot.
16
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,880
The atrocities that have yet
to surface from women's treatment
17
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,840
by the hippie movement
are considerable.
18
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,960
The US government mobilised to stamp
out the first signs of an uprising.
19
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,960
We were afraid. You know, those of
us who are alive today can tell you
20
00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,080
that we all thought that
we were going to get killed.
21
00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,480
We never imagined living past 30.
22
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:17,320
GUNSHOT
23
00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:21,760
The hippie movement is like
any other extreme action
24
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:23,920
on the part of people.
25
00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,400
It'll die a natural death.
26
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,960
But the hippies would not be beaten.
27
00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,680
We were gassed,
but we were prepared to fight again.
28
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,520
The Summer of Love lasted
just a few idyllic months,
29
00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,360
and yet it launched the biggest
cultural shift in living memory.
30
00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,000
The revolution it unleashed
not only changed the way
31
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,560
we think about ourselves,
each other and our planet,
32
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,720
but shaped the world
we live in today.
33
00:01:53,320 --> 00:02:00,360
This programme contains
very strong language.
34
00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,080
MUSIC: Let's Go To San Francisco
by The Flowerpot Men
35
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:39,240
June 1967, and San Francisco is
on the brink of a hippie revolution.
36
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,920
Thousands of dreamers have come to
look for an alternative way of life,
37
00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:47,560
turning the city into the
flower power capital of the world.
38
00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,120
It was an incredibly exciting time.
39
00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,680
Incredibly optimistic.
40
00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,680
And we felt, as young people,
very empowered.
41
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,640
People were inventing themselves
42
00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,880
and inventing the way
they wanted to live.
43
00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,520
And there was a kind of
implicit scale of revolution
44
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,640
which went from the guys
that wore little mullets -
45
00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,040
you know, their haircut
looked normal from the front
46
00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,560
but they had a little pigtail,
so, on the weekends,
47
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,640
they could let it down
and be hippies -
48
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,600
to guys who were, like,
tattooing their faces.
49
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,160
There were head shops
on Haight Street.
50
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,400
There was the psychedelic shop.
51
00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,560
There was
The Garden Of Earthly Delight.
52
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,440
It was a wonderful place and it was,
in a way, self-sustaining.
53
00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,400
We had established a tribe,
54
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,560
a community that took care
of each other
55
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:53,840
and made money and distributed
the money and made music.
56
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,200
It was paradise.
57
00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,760
People in the Haight-Ashbury
are practising
58
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,280
what people have spoken about
for centuries
59
00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,120
and it threatens to overthrow...
60
00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,480
..the rest of
the American establishment,
61
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,120
which is built upon
motives of greed...
62
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:18,000
..anger, lust...
63
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,080
..and self-interest.
64
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,440
At the heart of the community
were an anarchist troop of artists
65
00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,520
and radicals called the Diggers,
the Robin Hoods of Haight-Ashbury
66
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,280
who stole from the rich
and gave to...
67
00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,000
the beautiful people.
68
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,840
Their plan was to turn the Haight
into a living experiment,
69
00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:44,880
to create a money-free,
self-sustaining anarchist community
70
00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,040
with a collective conscience.
71
00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,320
'A group of hippies
called the Diggers
72
00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,120
'provide free food to hungry hippies
in Panhandle Park.
73
00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,160
'Diggers are people who share,
says their manifesto,
74
00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:58,680
'and their aim is a society
where everything is shared,
75
00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,280
'everything free.'
76
00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,560
Initially, the free food
started by putting out
77
00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,080
Digger stew.
78
00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,640
It was stew
and it was actually hot food
79
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,640
that was cooked
in an apartment somewhere
80
00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,960
and then brought out onto the street
and fed to people.
81
00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:19,360
And all we asked them to do was
step through a frame, 6ft by 6ft,
82
00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,560
painted yellow and it was called
the Free Frame of Reference.
83
00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:25,120
And when they stepped through it,
84
00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,640
we gave them a little
one-inch-by-one-inch frame
85
00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,160
on a shoelace,
86
00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,760
hung it around their neck and just
invited them to look at the world
87
00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,160
as if everything they saw was free.
88
00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,120
Most of these people had just
discovered social change.
89
00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,800
They grew up in a soft,
middle-class family or something,
90
00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,160
and then, all of the sudden,
91
00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,400
they found out
there was injustice in the world.
92
00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,600
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
There's injustice. Social injustice.
93
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,320
"We've got to do something about it.
I know, we'll give away...clothes.
94
00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,280
"Free clothes!
Yeah, that'll be great!"
95
00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:02,160
You know? "And free food!
That's what the people want."
96
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:03,840
They can have the free food
97
00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:05,880
and, you know,
if it's past its sell date,
98
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,640
who the fuck gives a shit, you know?
99
00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,880
MUSIC: Happy Together
by The Turtles
100
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,000
By the height of the Summer of Love,
101
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,680
half a million starry-eyed kids
had defied their parents' wishes
102
00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,920
and descended on the Haight.
103
00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,760
Among them were
two teenage runaways,
104
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,320
Tadg Galleran and Kat Castro.
105
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,800
Everybody... The place was just...
106
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,440
It was like 1,000 people on
every block. I mean, the street was
107
00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,840
completely lined with bodies.
You remember. I do.
108
00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,640
KAT LAUGHS
I do! Everywhere.
109
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,200
And anything that
you needed or wanted,
110
00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,240
you would just ask around
and somebody would give it to you.
111
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,760
Oh, yeah. It was a community.
It was a community.
112
00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,240
If there was food,
if you needed money,
113
00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,400
if you wanted something to drink,
if you wanted a joint...
114
00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:55,680
It was all over the place.
115
00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,200
And everybody shared - that's what
was really cool about it.
116
00:06:58,200 --> 00:06:59,920
It was a community.
That's what I call it.
117
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:02,080
It's when you share like...
And that was a community.
118
00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,600
It was a true community.
It was like family. Yes. Yes.
119
00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,080
And it was better...
More like family
120
00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:08,720
than the family I had at home.
121
00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,240
Exactly. Cos when I came up here,
I had just turned 16
122
00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,000
and just put down my Barbie dolls
a month before,
123
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,600
so, I mean, I was pretty,
pretty sheltered.
124
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,800
They kept acid in their cupboard
like vitamins.
125
00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,040
They did. I said, you know,
"Can I get a hit of acid?"
126
00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,720
"Yeah. Help yourself, Kathy.
They're on the shelf." Oh, really?
127
00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,400
I opened the cupboard and there's
a little bottle. Pop, pop, pop.
128
00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,320
SHE LAUGHS
Jeez. I know.
129
00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,400
The Summer of Love wasn't
actually a real thing.
130
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:39,920
It was a media creation.
131
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:44,600
It was describing the influx
of teenagers to San Francisco...
132
00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,160
..who had heard about,
or read about,
133
00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,200
the subculture in Haight-Ashbury
and flocked there.
134
00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,800
You can be yourself. You don't have
to be what adults want you to be
135
00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,360
and everything like that, you know.
'Well, what do you want to do here
136
00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,480
'that your parents wouldn't want you
to do?' Nothing! That's it.
137
00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,080
'Exactly.' Nothing.
I don't have to do anything.
138
00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:12,400
Underaged children poured into the
Haight-Ashbury totally unprepared.
139
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,480
No resources,
140
00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,520
no way to feed themselves,
no way to live.
141
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,960
Kids with no shoes,
girls on the street,
142
00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:20,760
14, 15-year-old kids.
143
00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,040
What's the point
in going around dirty?
144
00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:24,840
Do these people bathe?
'Are they dirty?'
145
00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,400
Yes. Half of them smell so bad,
I don't want to stand next...
146
00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:29,680
'Well I've never got
that close to them.'
147
00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:31,760
That was the one thing I hated about
148
00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,440
the whole period
and the whole movement
149
00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,760
was girls with dirty feet
150
00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:38,480
and the same odour.
151
00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,480
They all put this, like...
They thought it was perfume,
152
00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,520
and it smelled like hay
from a horse shed
153
00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,640
with shit in it, you know.
It was horrible!
154
00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,040
MUSIC: Heroin
by The Velvet Underground
155
00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,680
Today, we went down
to the city clinic
156
00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,640
and we talked to the people down
there about the venereal disease
157
00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,000
that is spreading through
Haight-Ashbury.
158
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,480
They would have bad LSD trips,
drug overdoses.
159
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:07,920
They'd have gonorrhoea.
160
00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,880
They'd come from the Midwest
to California
161
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:15,560
thinking it was sunny California
and they'd get pneumonia.
162
00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:21,000
We were seeing 250 patients a day
with no government support.
163
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,320
In fact, we asked
the Health Department to,
164
00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,240
you know, help us because we had
this public health crisis.
165
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,480
There are a number of people
in Haight-Ashbury who have this.
166
00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,480
They have the syphilis,
gonorrhoea and the clap,
167
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,120
and it has to be stopped
because if isn't stopped now,
168
00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:38,560
it's just going to spread.
169
00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,320
And if it spreads,
everyone here is going to catch it.
170
00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,600
If you're boning some chick
and she's got it,
171
00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,120
you say, "Oh, that's cool,"
and you go get yourself fixed up,
172
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,200
in the meantime,
she's giving it to somebody else.
173
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,520
Naive young kids living
on the streets of Haight-Ashbury
174
00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,560
became easy prey for adults
who hadn't come for peace and love.
175
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:14,080
There were more and more
unsavoury characters
176
00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:19,200
that started to exploit
the drug culture,
177
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,760
which had been primarily
marijuana and LSD.
178
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,720
And now, all of a sudden,
179
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,640
amphetamines and other things
were being hawked
180
00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,640
and so, you know,
a much rougher element -
181
00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,760
more like organised crime -
182
00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,240
came as time progressed in there
183
00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,240
because there was a buck
to be made, you know.
184
00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,080
I started to notice that
there were people on the street,
185
00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:49,400
if you will, who seemed different.
186
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,720
They kind of looked like
a lot of people looked,
187
00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,560
but they were into different things.
188
00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:56,760
They had no interest
in social activism,
189
00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,840
they had no interest in politics,
190
00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,600
they had no interest
in helping other people
191
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,120
for any reason whatsoever.
192
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,640
They had no spiritual centre.
They had no ethical compass.
193
00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,800
They were just there for the party
and for the hard drugs.
194
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,480
It became a nightmare.
It was a nightmare.
195
00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:18,200
I mean, Charlie Manson
was cruising the main strip
196
00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,240
just looking for
those stoned hippie eyes
197
00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,320
on some little girl, you know.
198
00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,400
And he'd just, like,
get them under his wing
199
00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,080
and give them more of the same
200
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:35,680
and eventually they were going on
creepy crawls with him and his gang,
201
00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:38,160
you know, out to kill people.
202
00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,000
Charles Manson and his cult
of teenage followers
203
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:47,120
would go on to murder seven people
in a drug-fuelled frenzy.
204
00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,960
I find that I have to stay out
of people that I know
that are getting stoned
205
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:53,120
because when I see them on it,
206
00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,480
then I know that I want
to get on it too, you know?
207
00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:06,280
By August 1967, the Haight-Ashbury
had turned into a human freak show.
208
00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,880
The tourists coming into
the Haight-Ashbury, for me,
209
00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,120
was an indicator that
this thing had turned the corner.
210
00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,560
We became a destination -
a tourist destination.
211
00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:22,520
We'd hold up mirrors
in front of the bus
212
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:26,240
so they could see themselves in
the mirror instead of looking at us.
213
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,120
There was a blossoming of head shops
and hippie stores.
214
00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,520
You know, you'd go into stores
and you could buy hippie clothing.
215
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:35,920
Right? You could buy beards
and wigs and stuff
216
00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,040
and go to Haight-Ashbury
for the weekend.
217
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:44,320
My parents came here looking for me
over the Fourth of July weekend.
218
00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,640
By then, I was in Milwaukee
getting my ear pierced,
219
00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,680
but my parents
dressed up like hippies.
220
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,480
So did my dad!
My dad tried on bell-bottoms...
221
00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,760
My mom had these, like, white,
plastic go-go boots and a miniskirt.
222
00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,360
And my father, who was,
like, you know, portly,
223
00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,040
got a Nehru jacket and a peace sign.
224
00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,480
The media attention
to the subculture
225
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,040
destroyed most of its meaning.
226
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,720
And the external symbols by which
we used to recognise each other -
227
00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,320
long hair on guys,
long dresses on girls,
228
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,800
this language using the word hip
or cool or groovy
229
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,280
or my pad or whatever -
230
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,800
all of those things were
completely drained of meaning
231
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,600
and became kind of cartoon things
232
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,040
that were easier to make fun of
than to emulate.
233
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:38,680
MUSIC: The Rain, The Park
And Other Things by The Cowsills
234
00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,400
In October, just four months
into the Summer of Love,
235
00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,160
the social experiment into
an anarchist community
236
00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,040
had run its course.
237
00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,840
The Diggers staged
a mock funeral in the Haight
238
00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:58,920
to symbolise the death of hippie,
239
00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,400
and to persuade the college kids
and runaways to go back home.
240
00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:08,120
The death of hippie was an event
241
00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:12,600
basically to float this notion
about hippie.
242
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,000
You know, that it was a bad idea,
that it was a contrived,
243
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,600
conceptualised,
now commercialised idea.
244
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,280
This was street theatre
that was meant, hopefully,
245
00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,480
to be evocative and provocative.
246
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,160
This eye-catching and
dramatic performance
247
00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,840
caught the attention of
two politicos from the New Left.
248
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,080
Abbie Hoffman
and Jerry Rubin had emerged
249
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,000
out of the free speech
and anti-war movements
250
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:49,920
to form a new political party
called Yippies in December 1967.
251
00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,640
To achieve their aims,
they, too, staged spectacular stunts
252
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,680
designed to attract
maximum media attention.
253
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,280
See, the dollar in American society
254
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,800
is a symbol of property,
255
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,000
and we believe
that property is theft.
256
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,600
And one of the things we like to do
is burn up the money.
257
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,440
It was the famous emergence
of Abbie Hoffman
258
00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,640
into the public stage in '67
259
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,480
when he and half a dozen friends
went to the New York Stock Exchange
260
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,400
and scattered dollar bills
261
00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,960
onto the floor
of the New York Stock Exchange,
262
00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,440
and watched all of
these millionaires scurrying
263
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,320
to pick up a dollar
as sort of a comment on materialism.
264
00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,720
The idea was that the system
operated on a structure of logic,
265
00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,640
and if you undercut that structure
and subverted it,
266
00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,400
the system could not function.
267
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,400
So, when Abbie Hoffman went
to the New York Stock Exchange
268
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,240
and threw a barrage of dollar bills
down from the visitor's gallery
269
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,240
onto the floor
of the stock exchange,
270
00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,640
it disrupted the proceedings.
271
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,560
And brokers actually tried
to pick up the money.
272
00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,200
They were serious anarchists,
revolutionary anarchists.
273
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,520
'And now I introduce
a presidential candidate, Pigasus!
274
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,240
'The Democratic Party is going
to nominate a pig for president
275
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:08,960
'and a pig for vice president,
276
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,360
'and so we're nominating
a pig for president.'
277
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,400
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
278
00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,840
Abbie and Jerry, they had to pick
a pig to nominate for president.
279
00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,600
Their candidate for president
was a pig called Pigasus.
280
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,680
You know? Well, that's good theatre.
I like theatre.
281
00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,200
Theatre's really great.
But they got in a fight over...
282
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,800
One of them wanted
a good-looking pig,
283
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,960
and one of them wanted an ugly pig.
284
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,120
So, they really were not talking
to each other that night, you know?
285
00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,520
And I thought,
"Wow, these guys are a little..."
286
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,560
HE HUMS
287
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:45,840
MUSIC: You Showed Me
by The Turtles
288
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,600
'Political pigs,
your days are numbered.
289
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,720
'We are the second
American Revolution.
290
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,480
'We are winning. Yippie!'
291
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,400
With the support
of hippie heavyweights
292
00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,000
like Allen Ginsberg and John Lennon,
293
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,040
Abbie Hoffman was one of
the most charismatic leaders
294
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,520
of the revolution, but not everyone
fell for his impish charms.
295
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,000
Yippie was an anarchistic,
you know, do-what-you-want.
296
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,680
And I must say, at first,
I was taken by their style
297
00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:19,320
because their style seemed
insouciant and witty,
298
00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:24,120
and was not rhetoric-filled.
299
00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:27,720
But the hypocrisy of Yippie...
300
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,240
You know, the revolution
is about free everything.
301
00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,760
Free food and free drink.
Well, that sounds good.
302
00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,960
Free housing and free grass. OK.
303
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:38,720
And free women.
304
00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,240
Many women, who were free,
sexually, in the '60s,
305
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,720
that consent was too easy
to come by,
306
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:46,680
and that there was this feeling
307
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,200
that they sort of had
to go along with this.
308
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,480
Men, especially in
the hippie counterculture,
309
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,160
especially in Haight-Ashbury,
used - quote, unquote -
310
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,040
free love as an excuse
311
00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,240
for violence against women.
312
00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,120
Groping, raping -
there was an awful lot of that
313
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:05,880
that was hidden at the time.
314
00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,320
MUSIC: You Don't Own Me
by Lesley Gore
315
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,800
The New Left and the hippie movement
were led by white men.
316
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,320
Were led by men.
317
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,040
So, the women mostly rolled joints
and made coffee.
318
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,760
And if you said no, it was like,
"Why are you being so bitchy?
319
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,040
"Why are you being
so counterrevolutionary?"
320
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,600
Everything was defined by guys
as what was revolution or not.
321
00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,920
So, I decided, "OK, well,
I'll just learn to roll a..."
322
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,040
Nobody will want my joint,
and I just...
323
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,560
They fell apart the minute
you got hold of them,
324
00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,520
and I was never asked
to roll a joint again.
325
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,640
Robin Morgan formed
a breakaway guerrilla theatre group
326
00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,640
to give women an independent voice
in the revolution.
327
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,200
WITCH stood for
328
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,240
Women's International
Terrorist Conspiracy From Hell.
329
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,400
I mean, when we hexed
the stock exchange of New York,
330
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:06,960
we announced it to the press.
331
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,080
We were going to go
on such and such a morning
332
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:10,680
and hex the stock exchange.
333
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:12,520
And the stock exchange
would not open,
334
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:14,240
and the doors did not open because,
335
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,800
at four o'clock in the morning
the night before,
336
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:21,120
two of us, three of us, went
and oozed Krazy Glue in the locks.
337
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,160
There's a picture over there
of me and my supporters -
338
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:26,680
my women supporters -
339
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,240
all of us dressed
as a version of WITCH,
340
00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,200
because WITCH was an idea.
341
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,840
In a sense, it was like Yippie.
Anyone could be a Yippie.
342
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:35,680
Right. Any woman could be a WITCH.
343
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,680
WITCH was actually very important.
344
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,960
I think it was, in terms of
putting an alternate identity
345
00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,520
for women out - for radical women -
out in the world.
346
00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,680
MUSIC: Respect
by Aretha Franklin
347
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,280
As the hippies took on
the American establishment,
348
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,680
America's corporations
responded in kind
349
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,960
by buying into
the one hippie commodity
350
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,960
they thought they could sell -
the music.
351
00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,280
Before the record companies came in,
352
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,360
you could just go
to the Sons Of Champlin
353
00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,360
or Big Brother
And The Holding Company.
354
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:19,520
They were just the guys
in the neighbourhood.
355
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,880
And they would hold these parties
and we would celebrate ourselves.
356
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,240
It was quite wonderful.
357
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,280
But then the record companies
came in
358
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,840
and they started giving out
100,000 advances.
359
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,000
And the musicians were ambivalent.
360
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,880
They were getting 100,000
as an advance,
361
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,160
which is about 700,000 today,
maybe more.
362
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,480
And they were told,
"You can do whatever you want.
363
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,920
"We're not going interfere.
364
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,040
"You have the studio.
Do whatever you want."
365
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,240
So they took the deal.
366
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,320
And I don't think any of the groups
367
00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,800
that were at all significant
resisted.
368
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:58,480
When the record companies showed up,
it was the end of that golden era
369
00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:04,040
of three-day concerts and unity
and that kind of feeling,
370
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:08,160
because the thing about
being a recording artist is that
371
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,760
you become a personality
along with it
372
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:12,720
because they're marketing you.
373
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,480
If it's Moby Grape,
then you try to make them seem like
374
00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,360
the American Beatles
or the American Stones.
375
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,920
"The bad boys of San Francisco."
376
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,960
The bad girl of San Francisco,
Janis Joplin,
377
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,160
was another artist to be signed up,
378
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,080
but she wasn't going
to bow down before the man -
379
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:36,520
in this case, Columbia Records'
overlord Goddard Lieberson.
380
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,240
There was a party
in Goddard Lieberson's room.
381
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,720
So, Janis is there, and...
382
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,720
Oh, man. I don't know if
I should tell this story. 'Go on!'
383
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,240
Well, she went into the bathroom,
you know,
384
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,080
and found that he had
all of these...
385
00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,480
Like, a hairbrush and comb
that had his initials on there,
386
00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,920
G-O-D - God.
387
00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,520
And she didn't like that.
388
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,040
She went in and piled them on floor,
and then...
389
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:10,760
..and then came out and said,
"Go and check what I did, dude."
390
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:12,920
You know,
I walked in there she'd peed
391
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,520
on these toiletries of this guy.
392
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,440
And I thought, "Well,
that's really a cool thing to do,
393
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,920
"but it's not something
I wanted to see in particular.
394
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,800
"But that's cool.
I mean, if you can get on...
395
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:27,320
"If you can not care enough
about your career
396
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,680
"to do something like that
to the head of Columbia Records,
397
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:32,640
"I'm right there with you."
398
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,560
MUSIC: Me and Bobby McGee
by Janis Joplin
399
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,200
Big Brother
And The Holding Company's
400
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,960
Cheap Thrills album with
Janis, starring Janis,
401
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,400
became the first number-one album
402
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,320
to come out of the Bay Area in 1968.
403
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,680
So, that was a real change
that someone could actually produce
404
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,640
a number-one album
from the Bay Area.
405
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,960
No-one in Bay Area music had ever
done anything like that before.
406
00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,880
As San Francisco's musicians
were enjoying commercial success,
407
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:07,520
by 1968, the revolutionary edge
of the hippie music scene
408
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:12,360
had moved to Detroit
with a band called the MC5.
409
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:14,040
We used to say that
410
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,360
the Summer of Love
didn't make a stop in Detroit.
411
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:19,440
HE LAUGHS
412
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,920
I was underwhelmed
by the West Coast music.
413
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,160
It didn't move me.
414
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,520
We would open for them.
415
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,800
If they were lame and they got up
and started playing some lame...
416
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,480
..sunbeams-and-flower, folky crap,
417
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,520
we'd yell at them
from the side of the stage,
418
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,360
"Hey, kick out the jams,
motherfucker!"
419
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,800
RECORD SCRATCHES, MUSIC STOPS
Kick out the jams, motherfucker!
420
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,480
MUSIC: Kick Out The Jams
by MC5
421
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,200
The difference between MC5
and the other rock bands
422
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,920
is that they were openly political
423
00:23:54,920 --> 00:24:00,520
at a time when most rock bands
did not feel that it was wise.
424
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,680
We know that Lyndon Johnson,
as president,
425
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,960
would call up owners of television
or radio stations and tell them,
426
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,160
you know, "Make sure that that
particular record isn't played."
427
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,560
But MC5 performed songs
that were openly political,
428
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,120
and actually revolutionary
in the words.
429
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,120
# Just trying
to make it satisfactory
430
00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:20,440
# Over and over
431
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,240
# But all these inclinations
toward manic frustration
432
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:27,840
# I want my vaccination
against castration
433
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,960
# Vietnam, what a sexy war
434
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,240
# Uncle Sam's a pimp,
wants us to be whores
435
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:35,600
# I said no... #
436
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,600
The MC5 were closely connected
437
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,320
to the revolutionary
White Panther Party,
438
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,680
the white counterparts
of the Marxist Black Panthers.
439
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,920
The band would often
carry rifles onto stage,
440
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,600
and their uncompromising
political stance
441
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,360
was exactly the type of music needed
to kick off the revolution.
442
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:57,960
We thought of ourselves
as revolutionaries
443
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,520
because we wanted to use this music
to change the society.
444
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,960
We wanted to overthrow
the government with rock and roll.
445
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,080
HE CHUCKLES
You know what I'm saying?
446
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,880
So, we threw ourselves
at the wall, you know?
447
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:29,080
We had a government
that was waging a war in our name
448
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,920
at home against black people,
449
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,520
which had been going on
for quite some time -
450
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,480
a couple of hundred years -
451
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,920
and then another war abroad
in Vietnam...
452
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:48,760
..waging a war against
Vietnamese people.
453
00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:53,960
So, we were saying,
"No. Not in our name."
454
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,480
Young people had just reached
a point where they said, "Enough."
455
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,200
The hypocrisy
of the older generation
456
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,920
was not tolerable any more, and
we weren't going to stand for it.
457
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,960
We were going to raise our voices,
458
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,880
we were going to raise our guitars,
and at some points...
459
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,960
..some of us said, "We'll raise
our rifles and our pistols."
460
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,000
That was the idea -
total assault on the culture,
461
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,040
by any means necessary,
462
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,920
including rock and roll, dope,
and fucking in the streets.
463
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,600
That was our slogan.
464
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,280
MUSIC: Something In The Air
by Thunderclap Newman
465
00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:41,520
By the summer of '68, one year on
from the Summer of Love,
466
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,800
word of revolution
had spread across the world.
467
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,520
Wave after wave
of student uprisings,
468
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,640
from Mexico to Tokyo,
promised to sweep away the old order
469
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,200
and usher in a new age
of freedom and equality.
470
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,520
In America, the Yippies made
an alliance with the Black Panthers,
471
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,160
and arranged for the MC5
and a number of Californian bands
472
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:10,720
to play a free concert in Chicago
in front of 15,000 hippies.
473
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,840
It would coincide with
the Democratic National Convention
474
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,240
being held in the city
at the same time,
475
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:20,760
and culminate in a huge,
anti-Vietnam War demonstration.
476
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:26,920
They were going to have an
alternative rock festival in Chicago
477
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,000
to counterbalance
the Democrats' convention.
478
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,200
They would be
the convention of death,
479
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,360
and we would be
the convention of life,
480
00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:36,200
and did we want to come and play?
481
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:37,960
And we said, "Of course."
482
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,200
We wanted to invite rock bands
from all around the country,
483
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,320
like the Grateful Dead,
Country Joe And The Fish,
484
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,600
the Motor City Five,
485
00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,320
and we were going to have
literary figures speak
486
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,600
and comedians and theatre people.
487
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,320
It was going to be
a joyous occasion. It was.
488
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,640
"We're going to go there
and we're going to do this.
489
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,800
"Man, it's going to be great,
you know?
490
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:02,400
"What could possibly happen?"
491
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,480
What could happen?!
492
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:08,640
They'll beat the shit out of you
and throw you in jail -
493
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,040
that's what can happen.
494
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,480
Actually,
I think Country Joe came...
495
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,360
Country Joe was...
..and he was in an elevator,
496
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,000
and somebody punched him out
or something? Right. Right.
497
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,560
And then... BOTH: He left.
498
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,480
We were the only band
that showed up and played,
499
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,200
and from my experience,
500
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,160
when the band stops playing
is when the riot starts.
501
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,520
Once the crowd doesn't have
anything to focus on,
502
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:35,160
then the tension between them
and the police explodes.
503
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,280
The Chicago police,
504
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,080
they were the most brutal
police force in the country.
505
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,480
And they, you know,
506
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,440
took out their clubs and
wailed away at people on camera.
507
00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,280
And that made the demonstration
an incredible success.
508
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,480
However, if you were
in the middle of this, as I was,
509
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,760
you were in terrific danger.
510
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,320
Tear gas, if it does not
knock you out, it deranges you.
511
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,480
So everybody was crazy
from the tear gas
512
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:17,760
and mace and all of that,
and I had...
513
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,280
You know, I had a T-shirt around
my mouth and nose for the tear gas.
514
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,160
We WERE gassed. Oh, yeah.
515
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,920
We ran from that,
and that gas was...
516
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,040
You know, you couldn't breathe.
517
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,680
Tears ran down your face
and the gas stuck to our clothes,
518
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,120
it stuck to our eyes.
519
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,200
And we would come back
the next day sort of...
520
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,040
But we were prepared to fight again.
521
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,080
Finally, they called out the
National Guard. The troops arrived.
522
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,520
There are pictures of hippies
putting flowers
523
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,480
in the rifle barrels
of the troops who, you know,
524
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,240
understood perfectly
what these kids were up to.
525
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:57,320
So, the troops actually saved us
526
00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,160
from the most horrible
possibilities,
527
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,720
and what happened then was the
hippie movement lost its quietism
528
00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,520
and began to become combative.
529
00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:12,200
MUSIC: Street Fighting Man
by The Rolling Stones
530
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,760
The Chicago riot was a huge
turning point in the revolution.
531
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:54,960
Eight of the festival organisers,
532
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,360
including Abbie Hoffman
and Jerry Rubin,
533
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,960
were tried and convicted for
incitement to riot, and imprisoned.
534
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,000
The manager of the MC5,
John Sinclair,
535
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,080
also got ten years
for selling a single joint
536
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:09,800
to an undercover police officer.
537
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:15,800
But far from stopping the revolution
in its tracks,
538
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:20,520
the New Left reorganised themselves
into even more militant groups,
539
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,240
many of whom were prepared
to fight fire with fire.
540
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,480
The most extreme of these
were the Weather Underground.
541
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,480
There's no way to be committed
to nonviolence
542
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,280
in the middle of
the most violent society
543
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:34,760
that history's ever created.
544
00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,240
I'm not committed
to nonviolence in any way.
545
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,000
The United States was
the greatest force against humanity
546
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,080
and justice and peace in the world
547
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:50,480
that we had to oppose it
with every tool at our disposal,
548
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,720
and that it was...
549
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:54,880
That we were part
of a global struggle.
550
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:04,280
In 1969,
the Weather Underground declared war
551
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,640
on the government
of the United States
552
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:11,200
and launched a bombing campaign
to try and force political change.
553
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:13,240
Their terrorist actions were echoed
554
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,560
by other anarchist groups
around the world,
555
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,920
including, in Britain,
The Angry Brigade,
556
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,320
and the Baader-Meinhof Gang
in Germany.
557
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,440
The Weather Underground
had planted a bomb
558
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,680
inside the US Capitol Building
and the Senate staircase.
559
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,800
Did quite a bit of damage
to the building.
560
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,400
Perhaps most famously,
they blew themselves up -
561
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,640
three of them -
in a New York City townhouse
562
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,520
where they were trying
to actually build bombs,
563
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,920
but something went awry
with the dynamite,
564
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,480
and so they managed to destroy
the entire building
565
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,640
and themselves, as well.
566
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,480
Comrades of ours were killed -
567
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:52,400
killed themselves in an explosion
in New York that March,
568
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:57,160
and I disappeared along with
a lot of other people.
569
00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,400
Well, I was a fugitive for 11 years.
570
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,240
MUSIC: She's Not There
by The Zombies
571
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:11,000
People took those "wanted" posters
off Post Office walls
572
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,080
and put them in their windows
and said, "Welcome here."
573
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,120
You know, we felt protected
by a bigger scene.
574
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,120
Some hippies were only too happy
to offer the Weather Underground
575
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:27,000
and other revolutionaries on the run
safe haven in their houses.
576
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,240
The American government
took the threat
577
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,480
of guerrilla groups so seriously
578
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:36,640
that President Nixon launched
a national counterterrorism campaign
579
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,400
to try and stop them.
580
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,320
J Edgar Hoover developed a programme
581
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:47,440
to discredit American dissent.
582
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,240
It was called COINTELPRO,
583
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:54,600
and it targeted
every opposition group
584
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,440
that was functioning in the country
in those years -
585
00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,960
the Black Panthers, the Yippies,
the anti-war movement,
586
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:03,960
the civil rights movement -
587
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:09,160
anyone that opposed
the Nixon administration's policies,
588
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,720
as benign as the group might be,
589
00:34:11,720 --> 00:34:15,040
or as militant
as the group might be.
590
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,640
And they sent in
undercover operatives,
591
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,160
so you kind of didn't know
who to trust.
592
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,560
MUSIC: Gimme Shelter
by The Rolling Stones
593
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,720
One of the models
for all would-be revolutionaries
594
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:31,040
were the Marxist-Leninist
Black Panther Party.
595
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,160
Under the joint leadership
of the charismatic Fred Hampton,
596
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,120
their armed struggle
was seen as inspirational
597
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:39,800
by other guerrilla groups.
598
00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:51,640
When it came to
the Black Panther Party,
599
00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:55,560
Hoover decided, and stated, in 1968,
600
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,880
that the Black Panther Party
represented the greatest threat
601
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,080
to the internal security
of the United States.
602
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,000
Now, what J Edgar Hoover said
made us so dangerous
603
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,960
was that we were
getting other people
604
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:13,160
to be aligned with this philosophy
of revolutionary change.
605
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:18,760
The Black Panther Party not only had
coalitions with white organisations,
606
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,880
starting with
the Peace and Freedom Party,
607
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,400
which was mostly white...
608
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,880
SDS was a partner at one point
with the Weather Underground.
609
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,840
At that point,
everything was done to,
610
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,000
as Hoover said, disrupt,
611
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,120
discredit or destroy
the Black Panther Party.
612
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,160
And in December of 1969,
613
00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,480
with the murder of Fred Hampton
in Chicago,
614
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:45,360
it was really horrible.
615
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,080
The people who felt
the stomping most
616
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,520
were actually people of colour.
That's right.
617
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:56,480
They assassinated Fred Hampton
and Mark Clark in their sleep.
618
00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:00,000
Right. A joint task force
of the FBI and local police.
619
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:05,000
So, we took some losses,
but not like that.
620
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:06,280
Right, exactly. I mean,
621
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,640
they said they were going to prevent
the rise of a black messiah,
622
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:10,840
and that was...
623
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:14,360
And to destroy and neutralise -
these are FBI terms -
624
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,480
destroy and neutralise the Panthers,
destroy and neutralise the New Left.
625
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,280
I think that the reason that
I was under so much surveillance
626
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,320
at the end was -
and I know this from my files -
627
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,160
they were looking for Abbie,
who was underground.
628
00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,960
And so it had...
629
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:32,320
There's no question
it had a chilling effect.
630
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,240
Those of us who are alive today
can tell you that
631
00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,200
we all thought that
we were going to get killed.
632
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,520
We never imagined living past 30.
633
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,080
Or 25, in some cases!
634
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:45,440
And so...we were afraid.
635
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,520
People realised, if they went
head-to-head with America,
636
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:56,280
they would be shot,
637
00:36:56,280 --> 00:37:00,840
and we were not in such a hurry
to start a revolution.
638
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,720
You could see what it would be.
639
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:07,720
When a student protester
was shot dead
640
00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:11,760
at a sit-in at the People's Park
in Berkeley in 1969,
641
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,680
and 50 others were injured,
642
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,920
it was clear that the government
wasn't going to back down.
643
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,200
This convinced
many would-be revolutionaries
644
00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,280
to abandon going head-to-head
against the state.
645
00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:32,240
I was under surveillance,
and it became...
646
00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:35,520
..uncomfortable to live
647
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,960
feeling as if somebody
was listening to my life.
648
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,800
So, at a certain point, I felt...
649
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,480
..like going out of their reach.
650
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:53,720
Harriet Beinfield sought refuge
in the Black Bear commune
651
00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:56,680
in the remotest reaches
of California.
652
00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,720
Those who once dreamed
of changing society
653
00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,160
now opted to reject it
and start afresh.
654
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,640
Between 1966 and 1973,
655
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,880
as many as a million Americans
became involved in communal living,
656
00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:11,080
many of them heading back
to the land to do it,
657
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:12,400
as they said at the time -
658
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,960
moving to rural areas,
buying a patch of land,
659
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,640
living with something between five
and 50 friends.
660
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:22,720
MUSIC: The Cost Of Freedom
by Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young
661
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,120
A sociologist handed out
questionnaires
662
00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:34,640
to 60,000 residents
of rural communes,
663
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,960
and he asked
a very interesting question.
664
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:39,480
"Have any of you been arrested
for protesting
665
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:42,800
"in an anti-war movement
or a civil rights protest?"
666
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,680
And half said that they had,
667
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,840
but the other half said
they had not.
668
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,200
And then he said,
"Since moving to the commune,
669
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,440
"have you been arrested?"
And everyone said no.
670
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:56,560
The new communalist critique
of society, in many ways,
671
00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,520
was not perceived as a threat
by the central state.
672
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,920
If they want to go live in Colorado,
grow their hair long,
673
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:03,520
smoke dope, I mean, big deal, right?
674
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:05,800
That's rural Colorado -
I don't really care.
675
00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:17,640
Black Bear Ranch
was really deep in the woods,
676
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:23,280
and many miles on old logging roads
to get there.
677
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:27,120
When we arrived,
there was one house.
678
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:28,800
There were 60 of us.
679
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:33,440
So we had to build shelters
for ourselves
680
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,320
out of the materials
that were there.
681
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:39,120
And you had, you know,
682
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:43,400
50 urban people who'd never lived
in the wilderness before,
683
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:45,560
and every hour and a half,
684
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:50,080
they would run around the house
beating frying pans and pots
685
00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,960
to scare away the bears
and the mountain lions.
686
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:57,240
MUSIC: Hole In My Shoe
by Traffic
687
00:39:57,240 --> 00:39:59,480
The communes had first been created
688
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,360
by the Nature Boy tribe
of the hippies.
689
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,560
Here at Black Bear,
they were determined to implement
690
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,320
the hippie experiment
in alternative living,
691
00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:12,080
based on ecological
and communal values.
692
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:14,960
We shared our money,
we shared our food,
693
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:18,000
we shared our bodies,
we shared our children.
694
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:23,000
You know, we shared everything
and we were trying to figure out...
695
00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:26,440
..how far we could take that.
696
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:30,120
Black Bear was so distant
697
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:34,440
that strange ideas could spread
like a virus through it.
698
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:35,960
So, for instance...
699
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,720
..a group of radical women
took over one winter,
700
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:42,840
and they passed a law that
701
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,880
you could only sleep
with the same woman twice
702
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,800
because, otherwise,
you were encouraging coupling,
703
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:53,520
which was too bourgeois.
So, for instance, that would...
704
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,760
When I had slept with all the women
that I wanted to sleep with,
705
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:58,280
I would figure out a reason
706
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:00,680
to run back to the city
and do a food run.
707
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,360
But one aspect of communal living
708
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:09,760
continuously threatened to undermine
the experiment in a sharing society.
709
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:14,520
In the winter,
60 people slept in one space,
710
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:21,120
and the sort of habits
of patriarchy meant that...
711
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,160
This is going to sound
a little harsh.
712
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:30,120
That the men were predators
and the women...
713
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:37,800
..were under sort of
peer pressure to oblige.
714
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:42,480
I mean, women were literally
hauling firewood at those communes
715
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:47,240
and being the property of six men
and not using birth control
716
00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:49,880
because the men didn't want them to
and it was natural.
717
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,880
I mean, the atrocities
that are yet to surface
718
00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:59,000
from women's treatment
by the rural hippie movement
719
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:00,560
are considerable.
720
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:05,800
MUSIC: Different Drum
by Linda Rondstandt
721
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:12,520
Old patriarchal prejudices
had plagued the hippie movement
722
00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,160
since its earliest days.
723
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,120
Now women formed
consciousness-raising groups,
724
00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:20,680
where they could share
their experiences of sexism
725
00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:22,120
with other women.
726
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:26,320
I went to my first
consciousness-raising group,
727
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:31,360
and I said, "I have to admit
that I have sometimes,
728
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:33,720
"on occasion,
729
00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:38,640
"like, more than once,
faked an orgasm."
730
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,400
And every woman in the room said,
"Oh, you, too?"
731
00:42:43,720 --> 00:42:45,560
And I cannot tell you...
732
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:48,800
I can laugh about it today,
but, my dear...
733
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,040
..my posture changed, you know?
734
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:54,680
I sat up in a different way. I...
735
00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:56,480
I...
736
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:59,120
Such a weight was lifted from me,
737
00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:04,320
and the "it's not just me" was huge.
738
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,960
And, of course,
if it's not just you,
739
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:08,080
then what is it?
740
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,240
Robin Morgan finally broke her ties
with the hippie movement
741
00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:17,880
when she wrote a damning expose
of sexism in the New Left
742
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,120
called Goodbye To All That,
743
00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:22,640
urging other women
to break away, as well.
744
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,680
"Goodbye forever, counterfeit left,
745
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:31,240
"counterfeit, male-dominated,
cracked-glass-mirror reflection
746
00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:33,760
"of the American nightmare.
747
00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:35,880
"Women are the real left.
748
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:37,840
"We are rising with a fury
749
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:42,840
"older and potentially greater
than any force in history."
750
00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:45,160
She named all the names
751
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:49,360
of the men who ran
all the different organisations,
752
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,640
and she pointed out
some of their problems.
753
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:57,640
Quite clearly. Clearly.
But I also didn't like it.
754
00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:00,760
I mean, I was incredibly
uncomfortable when it came out
755
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:04,520
and felt really defensive
about it... Well...
756
00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:07,240
..cos I knew it was right!
Yeah, there you go.
757
00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:10,240
It was another version of
"You, too?"
758
00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:13,080
It was the first time
a woman had blown,
759
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,720
with leftist credentials,
760
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:20,360
known and respected by the guys,
so she must be good,
761
00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:22,400
who had just...boom!
762
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:26,160
We were surrounded by all kinds
of liberation movements -
763
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:28,880
black liberation,
Chicano liberation,
764
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:31,640
the National Liberation Front
of South Vietnam -
765
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:33,880
all these various
liberation movements
766
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:38,000
that we admired and emulated,
but where were women?
767
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:40,880
And then, light bulb! Well, OK.
768
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:42,920
And that's where
the phrase women's...
769
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:45,080
That's why we started out -
before feminism,
770
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:48,240
we called it women's liberation
because it was, in a sense...
771
00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:51,880
We were inspired by all these
various other liberation movements.
772
00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:54,520
It was like a series of steps
773
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:59,200
that were an advancement
in consciousness.
774
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:01,040
There's no question,
at least for me,
775
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:04,160
that Goodbye To All That -
the title of that piece -
776
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:06,640
was, as I said, germinal.
777
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,120
It was one in a series
of steps that...
778
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:11,280
And, ultimately,
at a certain point, I said,
779
00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:14,160
"All right, I am, in fact,
saying goodbye to all that."
780
00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:16,880
MUSIC: Woodstock
by Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young
781
00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,320
Whilst women's liberation
was a response
782
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:21,760
to the chauvinism
of the hippie movement,
783
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,360
the message of peace, love and music
784
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,200
was reaching out
to an even bigger audience.
785
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,760
In August 1969, plans were hatched
786
00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:42,640
to stage a massive three-day concert
outside New York.
787
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,360
When revellers
broke through the fence,
788
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:48,920
it became the biggest
free festival of all time,
789
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:54,080
symbolising all the hope and chaos
of the hippie movement in one event,
790
00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:55,840
as immortalised on film.
791
00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:00,440
Woodstock was
a very interesting experience.
792
00:46:00,440 --> 00:46:02,080
When we were flying over it,
793
00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:05,800
it looked like an encampment
of the Macedonian army.
794
00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:09,840
When you get, you know, 400,000,
500,000 people all together
795
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,120
and you're flying over them
in a helicopter
796
00:46:12,120 --> 00:46:15,280
and there's fires and rain
and mud and music,
797
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:17,800
it was a fascinating experience.
798
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,360
Oh, Woodstock was great.
799
00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:26,280
It was like Monterey, only bigger.
800
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,320
I mean, I watched lots of
the show... The sing...
801
00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:30,920
You know, the other acts.
802
00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:33,560
I saw them perform,
and they were great.
803
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:37,280
The music was great, the vibe
was great, the audience was great.
804
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:41,280
HE PLAYS THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
805
00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:48,120
I mean, Hendrix was just
so emblematic of the...
806
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:51,720
..emergence of the Woodstock Nation.
807
00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:57,000
His presence at Woodstock summarised
the lifestyle, the freedom,
808
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:00,720
the brash resistance to conformity,
809
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:04,120
status quo, the sexual threat,
810
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,320
you know, kind of
a black sexual threat
811
00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:08,480
and a countercultural sexual threat
812
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:12,680
that mainstream America
saw embodied, you know, in Hendrix.
813
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:17,480
I saw him, I stayed,
814
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,680
and I was standing there in the mud
when he played Star-Spangled Banner
815
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:23,000
and I thought,
"Oh, fuck, this is like...
816
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:27,360
"This is an incredible
musical moment,
817
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:31,400
"and he is the best guitar player
that ever lived."
818
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,440
He shredded the national anthem.
He shredded it!
819
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:36,840
I mean, he tore it to bits.
820
00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:39,120
It was fucking mind-blowing!
821
00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:40,960
It's still mind-blowing today.
822
00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:50,600
The Star-Spangled Banner performance
just seems to be the piece of music
823
00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:52,560
that just spoke to the chaos,
the zeitgeist
824
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,840
of the moment, you know,
the most authoritatively,
825
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,200
the most disruptively. Very heraldic
826
00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:00,320
of an apocalypse, in the sense of,
827
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:03,320
you know, something
that removes the veil.
828
00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:08,640
Jimi Hendrix's performance
of Star-Spangled Banner
829
00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:10,160
in the Woodstock film
830
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:13,400
both encapsulated the distorted,
dystopian vision
831
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:16,600
of a nation caught up in a war
it didn't believe in,
832
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,160
and, at the same time, was a requiem
833
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,040
for a political revolution
that was not to be.
834
00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:27,320
MUSIC: Both Sides Now
by Joni Mitchell
835
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:32,000
The confrontational attitude
of the hippies
836
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:34,960
had given way to a new sense
of reflection.
837
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:41,600
The political became personal,
838
00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:44,600
and this found a voice
in a new, laid-back sound
839
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:48,800
emerging from a community of
inward-looking singer-songwriters.
840
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:51,400
And it came
not out of San Francisco,
841
00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:54,960
but the affluent,
leafy canyons of LA.
842
00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,560
It's all very close together,
hodgepodge.
843
00:48:57,560 --> 00:49:00,800
You know, little cabins
and little windy streets,
844
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:02,880
and you literally walk out
of your door
845
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:05,040
and walk over
to Danny Hutton's house,
846
00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:07,280
walk up to see The Turtles,
847
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:10,120
go down to see Joni Mitchell
and Alice Cooper.
848
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:16,320
Laurel Canyon was a small area
of beautiful countryside.
849
00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:18,440
It's very close to the centre
of Los Angeles,
850
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:23,720
but there, there was this collection
of musicians and artists
851
00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:26,720
that lived close to each other
that would interact.
852
00:49:26,720 --> 00:49:29,960
And that's what everyone was doing -
it was what Jackson was doing,
853
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:32,920
it was what Joni was doing,
some of the Eagles, you know,
854
00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:34,880
and la-la-la-la-la.
855
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,760
It was a great time
in Laurel Canyon in those days.
856
00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:41,920
# Tears and fears and feeling proud
857
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:46,960
# To say "I love you" right out loud
858
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:48,680
# Dreams and schemes... #
859
00:49:48,680 --> 00:49:52,040
Joni Mitchell was typical
of a new generation
860
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,120
of Laurel Canyon artists
861
00:49:54,120 --> 00:49:57,040
who took the peace-loving spirit
of the hippies
862
00:49:57,040 --> 00:49:59,960
and turned it into music
that conquered the world.
863
00:50:01,960 --> 00:50:04,600
Laurel Canyon
is in the Hollywood Hills
864
00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:07,720
and became a magnet
for the hip, young gunslingers
865
00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:09,680
of the LA film industry
866
00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:13,240
who felt a natural affinity
with the hippie movement.
867
00:50:13,240 --> 00:50:15,680
There were also,
of course, at the time,
868
00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:17,680
the new young bucks of Hollywood,
869
00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:21,320
like the producers of The Monkees,
Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider,
870
00:50:21,320 --> 00:50:26,600
and they were indeed creating
the new Hollywood film industry.
871
00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:30,400
MUSIC: Born To Be Wild
by Steppenwolf
872
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:34,480
With brilliant improvised direction
by Dennis Hopper,
873
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:38,160
Easy Rider tells the story
of two hippie drug dealers
874
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:40,280
on a road trip across the Midwest.
875
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:43,480
# Get your motor runnin'
876
00:50:43,480 --> 00:50:45,440
# Head out on the highway... #
877
00:50:47,720 --> 00:50:49,600
Easy Rider was a smash hit
878
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:52,080
at the box office and paved the way
879
00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:54,360
for an explosion of new
880
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,560
Hollywood directors
as antiestablishment
881
00:50:56,560 --> 00:51:00,760
films flooded out of
Tinseltown's dream machine.
882
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:04,120
MUSIC: Stairway To Heaven
by Led Zeppelin
883
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:13,560
The hippies were transforming
American culture
884
00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:16,160
with their music and their values.
885
00:51:16,160 --> 00:51:19,520
Now the pioneering
psychological experiments
886
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:24,160
of the truth-seeking hippie tribe
promised the ultimate dream -
887
00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:26,880
a revolution of the mind.
888
00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,680
The mystical experiences
that enough people had on LSD
889
00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:34,400
led them to seek out other ways
of looking at the world.
890
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:37,800
I read a statistic
that you'd have to verify,
891
00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:40,680
that the I Ching went
from selling 1,000 copies a year
892
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:43,560
to 50,000 copies a year
by the end of the '60s.
893
00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:48,200
And there were all sorts
of mystical texts and books
894
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:51,480
that entered the culture
very, very quickly.
895
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:55,520
The centre of what would
become known as the New Age movement
896
00:51:55,520 --> 00:52:00,360
first established itself in 1962
in a former spa hotel
897
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:04,160
on the coast road
outside San Francisco.
898
00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:06,400
Here, at the Esalen Institute,
899
00:52:06,400 --> 00:52:09,040
intellectual gurus
of the hippie movement,
900
00:52:09,040 --> 00:52:11,720
like Aldous Huxley
and Timothy Leary,
901
00:52:11,720 --> 00:52:15,920
had used their experiments with LSD
to create new models
902
00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:19,240
of psychological
and philosophical enquiry.
903
00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:22,840
People were coming for a weekend
904
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:25,480
or for five days
or for several months
905
00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:30,400
to deepen your understanding
of yourself and others.
906
00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:34,120
How to become, you know,
a better person.
907
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:37,080
How to try out new ways of being.
908
00:52:37,080 --> 00:52:39,800
That's central
to what Esalen's about.
909
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:42,000
It's not to withdraw from the world,
910
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:45,720
it's to help the world
come to a greater birth,
911
00:52:45,720 --> 00:52:47,640
to give rise to a greater life.
912
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:52,960
We were catalytic for the dispersion
of these practices.
913
00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:55,600
I mean, a lot of people said that,
when we started,
914
00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:57,880
there were about 20 yoga studios
in America.
915
00:52:57,880 --> 00:52:59,680
Now there are 20,000.
916
00:52:59,680 --> 00:53:02,640
None of us had ever heard
of the word mindfulness,
917
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:05,840
in the way it's used now, in 1962.
918
00:53:05,840 --> 00:53:08,720
And we're actually
experiencing right now,
919
00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:10,720
I must say, Esalen, with a...
920
00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:14,120
This is kind of like we're having
a second beginning, a new beginning,
921
00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:18,400
because we have so many
young people now coming in.
922
00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:23,240
And there is a kind of marriage
afoot with Silicon Valley.
923
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:28,360
Our new executive director
has sold an algorithm to Google,
924
00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:31,800
and there's kind of a new marriage
in the making.
925
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:35,360
MUSIC: New World Coming
by Mama Cass Elliot
926
00:53:38,720 --> 00:53:42,280
The hippie experiment to explore
new ideas and consciousness
927
00:53:42,280 --> 00:53:46,200
and human connection was
first reimagined in Silicon Valley
928
00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:49,240
by the pioneers
of the Information Age.
929
00:53:49,240 --> 00:53:53,160
And although the means they used
were not chemical, like LSD,
930
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:55,760
but digital, like computer code,
931
00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:59,760
the spirit of invention
and adventure was pure hippie.
932
00:54:02,240 --> 00:54:06,760
Silicon Valley required
sort of this proto state
933
00:54:06,760 --> 00:54:10,280
of hippiedom,
a California mentality,
934
00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:12,240
a California perspective
935
00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:15,760
where you didn't ask permission -
you just did it -
936
00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:18,840
where there was a bias
to the open and sharing
937
00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:21,000
rather than to the proprietary,
938
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:25,400
where there was the expectation
that you would try things
939
00:54:25,400 --> 00:54:27,760
and do it yourself
and the fact that,
940
00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:29,640
when people get rich...
941
00:54:30,720 --> 00:54:35,640
..what they do with their money is
they invest into other crazy ideas.
942
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:41,760
Perhaps the most famous hippie
943
00:54:41,760 --> 00:54:45,000
to turn their ideas and values
into a business
944
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:49,320
was a Zen Buddhist LSD advocate
who went on to become
945
00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:53,040
one of the most successful
computer magnates of all time.
946
00:54:54,240 --> 00:54:56,720
Steve Jobs,
who was very much a hippie
947
00:54:56,720 --> 00:54:59,160
living in the Bay Area,
948
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:04,720
was involved in an early computer
co-op project in Menlo Park
949
00:55:04,720 --> 00:55:08,880
that was only six blocks from
where Jerry Garcia was living.
950
00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:13,360
And Jobs and others were interested
in developing a personal computer
951
00:55:13,360 --> 00:55:17,520
because, at the time,
computers meant IBM and Honeywell
952
00:55:17,520 --> 00:55:20,040
and other giant
computer corporations.
953
00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:23,880
And what the inventors of the PC -
the personal computer -
954
00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:27,720
had in mind was that they could put
an IBM on everybody's desk
955
00:55:27,720 --> 00:55:29,920
and that they could give
everyone that power,
956
00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:32,200
that they could
take it away from IBM
957
00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:35,480
and democratise it and, indeed,
democratise it globally,
958
00:55:35,480 --> 00:55:37,400
not just in the United States.
959
00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:42,160
Computer designers, marketers, users
begin to imagine the microcomputer
960
00:55:42,160 --> 00:55:44,680
as a tool for
personal transformation
961
00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:48,720
in terms set by LSD,
in terms set by the counterculture.
962
00:55:48,720 --> 00:55:52,120
We begin to imagine the internet
and network computers
963
00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:54,520
as the kind of community
964
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:57,320
that communes
were once supposed to be.
965
00:55:57,320 --> 00:56:00,840
Communes didn't work out,
but now, with interlinked computers,
966
00:56:00,840 --> 00:56:03,320
we can make a world
of interlinked minds,
967
00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:05,160
just as we hoped once
968
00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:08,280
to make a world
of interlinked consciousnesses.
969
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:12,000
MUSIC: Teach Your Children
by Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young
970
00:56:13,840 --> 00:56:19,600
We are connected today in ways the
hippies first imagined only on LSD.
971
00:56:19,600 --> 00:56:22,440
The revolution of the mind
that was unleashed
972
00:56:22,440 --> 00:56:26,080
has given birth
to the cyberspace generation.
973
00:56:26,080 --> 00:56:29,160
The hippie vision
of creating a global community
974
00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:31,880
based around sharing and not profit
975
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:36,040
is now being acted out
through Facebook and YouTube.
976
00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:39,640
It has come about through
a technological innovation,
977
00:56:39,640 --> 00:56:42,840
a cognitive, not political,
revolution.
978
00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:47,000
It's probably fair to say
that the counterculture lost
979
00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:49,120
all the political arguments.
980
00:56:49,120 --> 00:56:51,600
All of them. We didn't end racism.
981
00:56:51,600 --> 00:56:54,800
We didn't end imperialism.
We didn't end war.
982
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:58,760
We didn't end misogyny.
We just lost them all.
983
00:56:58,760 --> 00:57:03,160
But on a cultural front,
we won every single one.
984
00:57:03,160 --> 00:57:05,800
And there's no place
you can't go today
985
00:57:05,800 --> 00:57:08,280
where there's not
an organic food movement,
986
00:57:08,280 --> 00:57:11,160
a slow food movement,
a women's movement,
987
00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:13,200
an environmental movement,
988
00:57:13,200 --> 00:57:15,280
alternative medical practices
989
00:57:15,280 --> 00:57:19,040
like homoeopathy and naturopathy
and acupuncture,
990
00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:22,720
alternative spiritual practices
like Tibetan Buddhism,
991
00:57:22,720 --> 00:57:25,640
Vietnamese Buddhism, Hinduism.
992
00:57:25,640 --> 00:57:31,760
So, culture runs a lot deeper
than politics.
993
00:57:36,720 --> 00:57:40,600
The things that
the hippies stood for still apply.
994
00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:42,440
Peace IS better than war.
995
00:57:42,440 --> 00:57:45,600
Love IS better than hate.
It really is.
996
00:57:45,600 --> 00:57:50,080
And those ideals are still
as strong today as they ever were.
997
00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:53,080
I still believe it.
I'm still a hippie, really.
998
00:57:54,160 --> 00:57:57,400
There's the big thing, see?
We won a fight.
999
00:57:57,400 --> 00:58:01,280
Now we're allowed
to grow marijuana legally.
1000
00:58:01,280 --> 00:58:05,000
Five big, bushy plants!
1001
00:58:05,000 --> 00:58:08,720
And the cops can come and
look at them and they can walk away,
1002
00:58:08,720 --> 00:58:12,040
scratching their heads, saying,
"How did we ever let this happen?"
1003
00:58:12,040 --> 00:58:14,840
I believe in hippie values -
1004
00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:19,080
inclusion rather than exclusion,
1005
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:23,760
be kind rather than unkind.
1006
00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:27,120
"Remember your hippie days,"
Jerry Garcia used to say.
1007
00:58:27,120 --> 00:58:29,640
"Have more fun than anyone else!"
1008
00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:34,520
# Well, you can tear a plane
1009
00:58:34,520 --> 00:58:38,280
# In the falling rain
1010
00:58:38,280 --> 00:58:41,880
# I drive a Rolls-Royce
1011
00:58:41,880 --> 00:58:43,880
# Cos it's good for my voice
1012
00:58:43,880 --> 00:58:48,960
# But you won't fool
the children of the revolution
1013
00:58:48,960 --> 00:58:54,520
# No, you won't fool
the children of the revolution
1014
00:58:54,520 --> 00:58:56,760
# No, no, no
1015
00:58:58,160 --> 00:58:59,720
# Yeah! #