A+Block's+-+Annotated+Videography+of+the+Me+Decade+1970s

=In the 1970s, according to Wolfe, it was all about "me". . . .=

For each entry you make, be sure to fill out the space next to each of the prompts.

 * ** Added by: ** (your name)
 * ** Title of the entry ** : (refer to the themes & topics in the "Me Decade" by Tom Wolfe)
 * ** Description of the content: ** (be sure to preview the whole piece you link us to. Use 2-3 sentences that describe what the viewer // will see // if they select this one, as well as how it relates to our discussion of the "Me Generation")
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** Year, at least. More precise if possible.
 * **Link:**


 * ** Added by: ** Samuel Shih
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Popular disco music
 * ** Description of the content: ** This video is a compilation of the "best hits" of the 70s and contains numerous disco songs. This relates to the Me generation, because it shows one of the very popular fads of the time which was disco music. Also, if you listen closely to many of the lyrics, they are encouraging to the "Me" individual, or just plains radical and most likely the result of a major revolution of lyrical composition. For example, from 5:51 to 6:13, the video is playing a very well known song: Y.M.C.A. The lyrics for the part of the song that is shown are, i t's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. They have everything that you need to enjoy, You can hang out with all the boys ... It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. For the full lyrics, see http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/y-m-c-a-lyrics-village-people/33e3d31bddce747748256df20009b2a5.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** Throughout the 70s.
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzlNpttvVM
 * **comments for improvement by Hilly:** now that changes have been made, these lyrics are not very indicative of "Me" messages in songs.


 * ** Added by: ** Sophia Liu
 * ** Title of the entry ** :Religion (cult)
 * ** Description of the content: **In October of 1996, the members of the Heaven's Gate cult begin preparing for a mass suicide that they've been promised will take them to the "next level." The cult began in the early 1970s. Heaven's Gate members believed that the Earth was about to be recycled (wiped clean, renewed, refurbished and rejuvenated), and that the only chance to survive was to leave it immediately. Members of the cult combined Christian doctrine with the concept of evolutionary advancement and elements of science fiction, particularly travel to other worlds and dimensions. On March 19, 1997, Applewhite, the founder of this cult, claimed that a space craft was coming. He convinced 38 followers to commit suicide so that after their deaths the UFO could take their souls to another "level of existence above human."
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** October 1996
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh35j2S68DQ
 * ** comments for improvement by Hilly: ** Since there is not coverage of the origins of this group in the 1970's, find some details about the group's origin (be sure it fits into the 1970s 'explosion of weird groups') and put that in the description area above. Write so that the viewer sees the group from start to finish, with the video acting as the 'last chapter' of the group's existence.


 * ** Added by: ** Bob Teoh
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Religion (cult)
 * ** Description of the content: ** This is an Tom Cruise's interview on Scientology. In it he describes the ideas and concepts behind Scientology. He also gives some interesting insights on why he joined the cult in the first place. Scientology was one of the emerging micro-religions that came out of the 1970s and was created by L. Ron Hubbard. The religion appealed to people during the 70s because it sought to free people of the "limiting effects" of painful memories. Through special types of counseling (that requires large sums of donations), scientologists aim to cure themselves of numerous emotional problems, which is a theme found in many "Me" religions of this decade. The methods and ideals are still present today, since the Church of Scientology still attracts many members.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** 70s to present
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0


 * ** Added by: ** George Tsai
 * ** Title of the entry ** :Primal Scream Therapy
 * ** Description of the content: **Actors reproducing a primal therapy session, which are a form of psychotherapy used to help treat past trauma. The method used was to try and bring and the pain and then to re-experience it and express it during the session, which as shown in the video sometimes ended in (primal) screaming and crying.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** Throughout the 70s (reproduced by actors in the video)
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1OPghQnS9w&feature=related
 * **comments for improvement by Hilly:** Since this video is an enactment of the therapy and is modern, try to find a video from the time period, or, even better, a video where a teacher is explaining the therapy (perhaps one of the actual primal scream groups that Wolfe refers to in the essay. Write in the description enough background from the Wolfe essay that links this therapy, clearly, to the 1970s 'trends' that were spreading.


 * ** Added by: ** Samuel Shih
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Scientology in the 70s
 * ** Description of the content: **In this interview of head Scientologist Mike Rinder, the topic of using celebrities to try and spread scientology is brought up to him, and he openly denies that they have such intentions (even though at that time, there was a so-called "celebrity center" for scientology, and an ex-scientologist said there was a list of celebrities to try and convert).
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** May 15, 2006
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqKA3w6T2U
 * **comments for improvement by Hilly:** see the comments above on Bob's entry. You need to find video that covers the 1970's cultural developments of these subjects. If you found a video that gave the history of Hubbard and Scientology, including the 1970's, it would be relevant to this project. The content here is modern.


 * ** Added by: ** April Wu
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Ingmar Bergman's film, //Scenes from a Marriage//
 * ** Description of the content: **Tom Wolfe's "Me Decade" essay refers to // Scenes from a Marriage // as "one of those rare works of art that succeed in capturing a certain mental atmosphere in fictional form". This movie is about a couple who grows tired of each other because of their inability to communicate, and their relationship ends in a divorce. This scene depicts Marianne's realization that she longs for freedom and expresses her frustration towards always following social conventions but not following her dreams. This clip shows the "great awakening" of women, which was one of the possible reasons why the divorce rates skyrocketed during the 70s.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** 1973
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSGHmotMLzU


 * ** Added by: ** April Wu
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Interest in ethnicity in the 70s (not mentioned in Wolfe's essay, but mentioned in the book)
 * ** Description of the content: **As an effect of the "Me Decade", people began turning inward and exploring one's cultural identity. Many Americans then realized that their ethnicity was something to be proud of, and this new interest in ethnicity began seeping its way through politics and popular culture. This Coke advertisement reflects this interest. The advertisement shows a diverse group of people (Caucasians, African Americans, Asians etc.) singing in unison about love, peace, and how Coke IS the real thing!!
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: **1971
 * **Link:** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfU17niXOG8


 * ** Added by: Kevin Su **
 * Title of the entry: James Randi exposes Uri Geller and Peter Popoff
 * ** Description of the content:A famous Israeli psychic, Uri Geller, during the 1970s was a great interest to the people in the ESP movement. His performances convinced people all around the world that he possessed special or paranormal powers. In the video Geller goes on the Tonight Show during 1973 starring Johnny Carson. Johnny, a amateur magician himself, was skeptical about Uri Geller’s powers so he invited James Randi. James Randi, the man talking in the video, has a job of debunking paranormal and supernatural claims. As one of his earliest cases, he shows how he proved Geller wrong and exposed him and his tricks to the rest of the world. **
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: 1973 on the Tonight Show **
 * **Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9w7jHYriFo **

> "Stoned Love", written by Kenny Thomas of Detroit and produced by the incomparable Frank Wilson, the record became a World-wide smash hit for the Supremes. It was number one on the R&B Charts during Christmas Week 1970 and remained on the Pop Charts for 12 consecutive weeks.
 * ** Added by: ** Tammy Chen
 * ** Title of the entry ** : "Stoned Love" by The Supremes (70s original mv)
 * ** Description of the content: ** The African American R&B band The Supremes singing in 70s vogue dressing style (afro head and sparkly clothing). Video also shows typical 70s music style.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** 1971, Mary Wilson,Jean Terrell and Cindy Birdsong show
 * **Link: []**


 * ** Added by: ** Tammy Chen
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Levi's Commercial 1970
 * ** Description of the content: ** This is 70s Levi's commercial in clay-motion that turned out to be a popular way of video production today. "Designer jeans" eventually became so popular that in the mid-1970s that Calvin Klein® jeans were garnering $12.5 million per week. Abroad, American jeans (especially Levi's® jeans) were in such demand that in Eastern Bloc countries they became an underground standard of currency. Blue jeans invented by Levi Strauss soon became icon of American culture.
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** 1970
 * **Link: []**


 * ** Added by: ** Chris Duxbury
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Spiritual Groups: Psychic Phenomena
 * ** Description of the content: ** This is the trailer to the 1976 documentary called "Amazing world of Psychic Phenomena." The trailer shows some interesting spiritual things happening like pictures or audio recordings of ghosts and talks about how they are going to explore to see "whether or not men's mind really does have control over matter." (Video) "The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London in 1882." (Wikipedia: Parapsychology) Research increased throughout the 1970s. It probably appealed to people during the "Me" decade because "it was but a small step from there to the assumption that all men possess a //conscious energy// parallel the world of physical energy." (Wolfe's Me Decade Essay) The research for psychic phenomena started to decrease in the 1980s. " After 28 years of research, Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR), which studied psychokinesis, closed in 2007." (Wikipedia: Parapsychology)
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: ** 1976
 * **Link:** []


 * **Added by** Jamie Hung
 * **Title of the entry**: self help groups
 * **Description of the content:The film is about the journey of counterculture icon Stephen Gaskin from the early movement in Haight-Ashbury to his famed teachings called "Monday Night Class" to his co-founding The Farm in Tennessee. **
 * **Date the events took place:** not sure..........
 * **link:** @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdOdLEVU54o


 * ** Added by: Christina LaBolle **
 * ** Title of the entry ** : Self Help Groups
 * ** Description of the content: In this video, David Lynch, a filmmaker talks to a group of students about compassion, awareness and sympathy of other's suffering. Lynch tells the group a example about on a plane, you put your mask on first before you help others put theirs on. By this example, Lynch tries to explain to the group that you must experience compassion and really be 'in it' before you can go out and really do something for people. **
 * ** Date the events in the video are taking place: 1971 in Maharishi University of Management **
 * **Link: []**