NBC’s
miniseries
‘The 70s’
remembers
more than just
pet rocks and
bell bottoms
by examining
the social
changes that
took place
during those
turbulent
years
By Joe Walsh
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s unusual that a made-for-TV movie
boasts solid acting, a compelling story and
impressive cinematography. But NBC’s lat
est miniseries “The ’70s” does just that.
Following last season’s highly rated
miniseries “The ’60s,” MTV meets the His
tory Channel once again in this chronicle of
a tumultuous decade as experienced
through the lives of four friends.
Throughout the decade, the four experi
ence everything from the Kent State mas
sacre to the Watergate scandal. Through the
characters, we see how the key moments of
the decade changed not just their lives, but
the entire nation. We relearn the history of
the decade that saw three presidencies, Wa
tergate, the end of the Vietnam War, the rise
of the women’s liberation movement and
the first Earth Day. Only this history lesson
is told through a personal perspective.
The story begins at Kent State University
in 1970, where the four attend college. After
witnessing the killing of four fellow stu
dents by Ohio National Guardsmen, the
four friends go their separate ways.
Guy Torry (“American History X”) is Dex
ter Johnson, a young man who joins the
Ohio National Guard to avoid Vietnam. He
moves to L.A., where he falls victim to racial
profiling and consequently gets involved
with the Black Power movement.
Brad Rowe (“Wasteland”) plays Byron
Shales — a bright, upper-class young man
with a promising future in law. After getting
caught up in the Watergate scandal, Byron
struggles to sort out his political ideals.
Amy Smart (“Varsity Blues,” “Felicity”)
plays Byron’s sister Christie. It quickly be
comes evident that Christie’s innocent
homecoming queen image is nothing more
than a facade masking her drug addictions.
She dabbles in modeling and dancing with
moderate success, but even her triumphs
(grabbing a spot as a bikini-clad Martini
an
Girl) seem to be regarded as failmmsJm/
increasingly visible women’s mc&xJBit.
Vinessa Shaw (“Eyes Wide^ppft”) is
Eileen Wells, a middle-class young woman
with conservative values who is in love
with Byron. At Barnard College, she meets
Wendy (Laurel Morgan), her radical femi
nist roommate and slowly begins to rethink
her long-established values.
Having graduated, Byron heads to law
school in New York. Eileen transfers to
Barnard to escape the memories of Kent
State and get closer to Byron. Soon after,
Christie drops out and moves to New York
to pursue modeling. Dexter, ashamed of his
role in the Kent State shooting, moves to
L.A. where he buys and restores an old
movie theater and meets Yolanda (Leslie
Silva), who steers him toward the Black
Power movement.
Not long after Eileen’s move to New York,
Byron gets a job offer to work for the Nixon
reelection campaign in Washington D.C.,
and accepts. That’s when Byron gets used
by Washington bigwigs and finds himself in
the middle of the Watergate scandal. We
watch as Byron loses faith in American pol
itics, symbolic of the effect Watergate had
on the psyche of the entire country.
Fresh out of college with a degree in visu
al arts, Eileen heads out into the job market
only to crash into the barriers of a still-sexist
society. She applies for several art design
positions, but is only offered secretarial
jobs. Through Eileen, we see the feminist
movement not just as some nondescript rev
olution, but as a change in thinking that af
fected the lives of individual women. But
through Christie, we see another female’s
perspective during the rise of feminism. As
a model, she depends on sexism and is not
quite ready to embrace the movement.
After moving to L.A. where he is con
fronted by a fascist police force, Dexter be
comes actively involved in the Black Power
movement. Through his trials, we are al
lowed a fresh perspective on racism in the
70s.
Besides placing a new personal spin on
old political and social issues, “The 70s”
weaves in an entertaining depiction of pop
culture during those times. We see how the
proliferation of television united the coun
try. Via television’s commonality, trends in
music, clothes and ideas became universal.
Also brilliantly woven into the film is the
music. With songs such as Donna Summer’s
“Hot Stuff,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s
“Fortunate Son” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s
Going On,” the soundtrack features not only
the pop hits of the times, but also the songs
that really captured the feel
ing of the nation.
But while most modern
recreations of the ‘70s overdo
it (“Dazed and Confused,”
“That ‘70s Show”), “The
‘70s” brilliantly portrays the
decade as it was, rather than
how it is remembered. As the
costume designers of the
miniseries found, it can be
challenging to separate mem
ory from reality, because the
extremes are remembered
the most. These become
stereotypes. It’s true that
polyester, hip-huggers and
platform shoes were popular
in the ‘70s — but only in the
mid-‘70s. NBC’s miniseries
pays close attention to these
details, creating a realistic
sense of the decade.
Where other ‘70s movies
miss, “The ‘70s” hits with
precision. 1 hough it often seems like a bit of
a Forrest Gump rip off, “The ‘70s” is a fresh
illustration of a turbulent decade that is too
often remembered only for its pet rocks and
bell-bottoms.
all photos courtesy ot NBC
The stars of “The 70s”
are (above, l-r): Brad
Rowe as Byron Shales;
Vinessa Shaw as his love
interest, Eileen Wells;
Guy Torry as Dexter
Johnson; and Amy
Smart as Byron’s sister,
Christie Shales.
(below) The NBC promo
tional poster combines
some of the most im
portant moments of the
1970s into one striking
image.
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