I have always loved the passion and hope that lived in the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Even as a child I felt that I belonged there. I was watching videotapes of Woodstock when my peers were listening to New Kids on the Block. I would beg my mom to tell me stories about Vietnam and hound her as to why she didn’t join the protests when I was in elementary school. The reason isn’t the one I wish it was. I didn’t have incredible insight when I was a kid, but I did know that my father was a complete asshole. I knew he supported the war, was racist, and hated hippies so very early on that’s who I decided I was. Over the years, I’ve gained more knowledge to support the ideology that as an 8 year old was built completely out of rebellion and wanting to be the absolute opposite of my father. That is probably the only good thing he ever gave me. I was able to determine what the right thing was in nearly every situation simply by going against whatever he said.
In second grade, I had an infatuation with everything John Lennon. That infatuation exists to this day. I remember my older sister who was more conservative than me then and even more-so than me today, telling me Lennon didn’t believe in God and was a communist. Despite her claims being a bit off the mark, all that did was make me doubt God’s existence and seek out The Communist Manifesto. I must have watched the documentary on Lennon 100 times over when I was a kid. I’d rent it over and over again, and to this day the ending will make me cry.
I disliked the government very early on to. I had a complete mistrust of them. Though my mom will deny it to this day, she had a great influence on that and I thank her for it. She would tell me about the civil rights movements and the police beating up black men, women and children. Come junior high, I was enthralled with The Weather Underground. There’s a TV movie called Katherine with Sissy Spacek and Henry Winkler that was based on the party that I would watch on repeat. I still love that film. I would read and watch programs about COINTELPRO, the Tuskegee Experiment, MKULTRA and Watergate like other kids would watch Growing Pains. Movies like The Manchurian Candidate and shows like The Twilight Zone thankfully guided my suspicion and often my moral compass.
Whereas my sister loved Nixon and thought he got a raw deal(and still sadly does) my hero was always Daniel Ellsberg. I have never purchased an item more often than I purchased the book The Pentagon Papers. I have given that book away to so many friends who had no idea about the extent of lies over each presidency, especially those surrounding the Vietnam War.
After 9/11 and when we entered what nearly everyone can at least agree was the wrong country and began fighting another unjust war, I was attending junior college in Holyoke MA. Amidst the fear and wonder of what the hell was going to happen, I had some of the greatest moments of my life. With a group of students and professors from my philosophy class we traveled to DC and to NYC protesting. We protested closer to home in Springfield MA and I joined an organization known as Students for a Peaceful and Just World where we facilitated classrooms. It was an amazing experience and one I’d never trade as it is the closest I will ever be to the feeling of the 1960s. There is something incredible about being around people who believe in the same causes and are willing to fight for them.
Admittedly, I didn’t know who Abbie Hoffman was or what the Youth International Party was until I was in my very late teens – early 20s. I saw him in different programs I watched but I never truly knew his impact. I was a bit worried about watching anyone portray him in a film. Vincent D’Onofrio is a fantastic actor but I stayed away from this movie for a long time because I’m always weary about reenactments for dramatic effect. I never want to confuse fiction for reality. So many do that on both sides of the political spectrum that I like to know the facts. It is for that reason, biopics always make me a bit uneasy.
It was the cast that influenced my decision to watch it. The film includes Janeane Garofalo, Kevin Corrigan, Donal Logue, Kevin Pollack, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. It doesn’t get better than that.
The film opens as Hoffman (D’Onofrio) while in hiding is talking to a reporter recounting his involvement with the movement. It starts when he’s helping African Americans register to vote and is beaten by a cop. Fast forward to him meeting his wife Anita (Garofalo) on a bus where he and his friend Stew Albert (Donal Logue) hold the passengers up with water pistols.
Anita is also interviewed by the reporter who believes that the government has better things to do than track down Hoffman. She then recounts their run-ins with the law, COINTELPRO and how deep the resentment of Hoffman is.
Rarely do I hear Phil Ochs utilized in movies. He’s one of my favorite artists of all times and I was very happy to hear him represented in a manner I believe he’d approve of. The entire movie was done in a realistic and careful manner that I appreciated. I loved the real footage that was shown while Hoffman states “Do you remember 1968? They killed the good guys as they were about to elect the bad guys….” It’s such a powerful and honest statement. I adore that generation. I get so revved when I watch stuff like this. I get angry at myself for sitting and watching and not doing anything. This is nearly 50 years later and I can taste how close the revolution actually felt for the protesters. I hate when people look at the counterculture movement as some drug-induced idiocy to disregard. It was well thought out, the risks were very real and when the Vietnam Conflict ended and the mindset of people didn’t change is it any wonder why revolutionaries like Ochs and Hoffman are no longer with us? Call it bi-polar or any other mental illness you want to, at the end of the day – I believe they died of rightful disappointment. What they gave their life for was dead. How do you live after that? Why would you want to?
Kevin Corrigan portrays Jerry Rubin, founding member of YIP and good friend of Hoffman. Though the two disagree on methods at times, the love and shared beliefs the two have is always apparent. In one scene, Rubin is being carried by protesters as he speaks against the war and starvation with such emotion and genuine heart. The next scene is a short black-and-white scene of military tanks and a “welcome to Chicago” sign on fire. In that quick transition the momentum and feeling of the film changes. That happens throughout. It’s a roller-coaster ride of wanting the change, believing in the change, feeling the beauty and connection between all of those in agreement, but on the flip – still seeing people die, the war going on, sabotage by government officials, denial of permits to protest without reason – the list goes on and on.
This movie does everything right and I’m glad that I watched it. It’s the kind of film that people who have a conscience need to watch. It’s like when I see this it gets me so angry. I don’t understand how Donald Trump gains popularity and how we can still be in such a similar fucking place. People are still being prosecuted for protesting. People are still being listened in on by the government, framed and detained without reason and when you bring it up there are still people saying “You’re paranoid.”
In the same breath that the government tells us that we can’t have something or do something because of national security, we’re told we’re free and it’s such doublespeak. As if having the choice of different brand toothpastes and stores to shop in equate to freedom. It doesn’t. The gap between rich and poor keeps growing. The top 1% has 20% of the overall wealth in America and we’re fed lies about how they achieved the American dream and we should applaud the ingenuity. It’s all bullshit but we go along with it – now more than ever. Where is the outrage that was so prevalent in the 60s? My guess is silenced by big pharma and brainwashing. When people care more about who wins a show like The Voice than who is elected in office, the disillusionment of the government is so high that we are basically admitting to being helpless and not wanting to fight to change it. Where is the fight? Where are the Abbie Hoffmans and the Jerry Rubins? Where did they go? And why the fuck am I a hypocrite who sits watching this movie rather than risking any personal harm to fight? If I protest I could get arrested, if I get arrested I’ll lose my insurance license, if I lose my license I can’t afford the house I’m buying. It’s the game and I lost, for now.
That said, movies like this need to be made. We need to remember the 60s and we need to learn from it. This film brought me to that place. The acting as can be expected is great all around. There are moments that are absolutely hilarious like when Hoffman and Rubin are in court wearing judicial robes and are ordered to take them off only to reveal police uniforms. Then there are moments that anger and frustrate. There are gut-wrenching scenes of real violence and re-inacted violence that at 5 AM are making me scream at my TV. Hopefully, I won’t wake up my husband, but it’s pretty easy to get pissed off when you see rights being trampled on.
Just watch this movie. It’s on Amazon streaming for free and just watch it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 10/10
