Damn Fine TV/Film
1968 was definitely the year of the filmmaker. It was an unprecedented time that gave directors the freedom to explore their wildest dreams and darkest nightmares through distinctly unobstructed views. The names who define this period prove that every genre has a place at the table, every idea a home. By no means complete, this …
We chase riddles hoping to find some sense of answers about the mundane and the spectacular. Whether it’s through our entertainment, education or life experiences, there’s an underlying hope that somehow we can understand the mysteries that have alluded us for centuries. Do we ponder the unknown or embrace enigmas? Audiences in 1968 had such …
Sometimes a film is just a film. It may be hard to define or an absolute oddity, but the spectacle’s entire substance is unadulterated sugar for the senses. The ‘60s were littered with celebrations of sight and sound that indulged in this form of pure escapism. They were genuine guilty pleasures that encompassed a good …
Relationships have a way of saying more about a person than they’ll ever care to admit. Everyone needs these mortal connections to thrive, but sometimes the individual bonds make life perfectly unsettled. Nothing sums this up better than the peculiar friendship of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison. Both men find unusual inspiration in each other, …
Monstrosity is in the eye of the beholder. While some see their cruelest fears brought to life in grotesque creations, others find a welcome connection with the most disgusting impulses. 1968 had its fair share of monstrous visions that straddled harsh realities and unrelenting imaginations. These vicious manmade creatures invited glimpses into the darker aspects …
Beautiful nightmares dwell in the unconscious recesses of desires unfulfilled and fears realized. Horror gives viewers a way to wade through those delusions with careful audacity. The experience entices the meek and excitable alike to tread into otherwise shunned emotional pieces, especially when it comes to despair’s shadows. 1968 had a tight grasp on turning …
Sex is a timeless influence that both confounds and enthralls the human condition. In the 1960s, its power loomed large over society’s changing attitudes. There was an intoxicating collective brew that was bubbling to the surface and hitting an inescapable fever pitch. Females roared with a desire to be heard and appreciated. Free love attempted …
Anti-heroes have a way of holding a mirror up to their audiences. Whether a viewer likes it or not, these less than perfect creations reflect society’s true identities over the all too common unattainable ideals that accompany any decade. 1960s cinema was grappling with these imperfections, as filmgoers and filmmakers alike stared into a void …
Every person reaches a point in their life where dreams of escape drown out the world’s troublesome symphonies. Be it today's terrible news or fears for a worrying tomorrow, humanity seems to find refuge in a myriad of fantastic and forlorn places. The times were no less complicated for 1968’s brave souls. Faced with an …
1968 was all about the loss of innocence. From two tragic assassinations to the Vietnam War, it was an earth-shattering time for a generation that grew up believing the squeaky clean world awaited them. Suddenly, hitting the street to protest meant more than sitting by the TV watching sanitized fantasies. Maybe that’s why The Monkees …