The Sixties

Gr 7 Up—Each of the 10 episodes in this three-disc documentary series uses a combination of archival news footage, current day commentary, and personal accounts to explore this transformative decade. Making an appearance are: television hosts smoking at their desks as they interview starlets, breaking news of the U-2 incident, footage from the Zapruder film, Neil Armstrong, Woodstock, and Betty Friedan, but this list just scratches the surface. Viewers may be familiar with iconic '60s topics, such as the Beatles and the Vietnam War, but this program also features names perhaps less known to millennials: Yuri Gagarin, Walter Cronkite, and Barry Goldwater. Political topics are particularly well handled, and the ample popular cultural references will keep even fidgety students tuned in. Some of the segments, such as on the musically centered British Invasion, are upbeat, while others ("The Times They Are A Changin'") are more somber and cover gay rights, women's liberation, the struggles of migrant farm workers, and the rise of conservatism. (A few incidents of "love in" nudity are digitally blurred.) Clearly identified tracks allow targeted playing of any pertinent eight- to 10-minute section. Eight episodes are between 40 to 45 minutes each, and two ("The Assassination of President Kennedy," "A Long March to Freedom") are two hours.