Spring Break
Professor films past, present of hippie life
Documentary looks at 'ground zero' of Haight-Ashbury, former revelers turned 'conservative'
By: Aly Van Dyke
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: News
|
Professor Profile
Some call them flower children. Others refer to them as drug users or stoners. People of younger generations think of '69's Woodstock, of peace and love, of an old, hidden picture of a parent decked out in beads and a flower garland.
But was that really what the hippie movement was about? And where are the bell-bottom wearing, peace-sign waving hippies of the '60s today?
In a developing independent film, Beverly Seckinger, an associate professor and interim director of the UA's School of Media Arts, will answer those questions.
"The people I'm interested in are not the ones who had a little flirtation with the counterculture when they were 18 or 20 and then woke up one day and renounced it," Seckinger said. "The people I'm interested in never renounced that time in their life or the importance of it.
"I want to know more about their stories," she added. "Like who they were then and how they are still that person, all these years later."
Seckinger recently received a grant from the Arizona State Commission on the Arts to fund her film, which is projected to run about 30 minutes.
Seckinger began working on the film in 2006 while touring with the band The Wayback Machine, for which she still plays bass guitar.
The band plays music that attracts the dance scene started in the hippie movement - which is how she found out about some of the communities she features in her film.
One back-to-the-land community featured prominently in her film is in New Mexico.
"A lot of people moved there in the mid-'70s," Seckinger said, "in many cases because they had young kids or were about to have kids, and they wanted to raise their children in a very free environment."
The ages of people profiled in the film range from young children to people in their 60s and 70s, she said.
Policy on posting: The Arizona Daily Wildcat would like to offer readers an opportunity to voice their opinions and engage in community conversation. However, readers should refrain from personal attacks or advertisements in their comments. When a reader chooses to participate in the Daily Wildcat's online comments, they should be aware that all comments and postings do not reflect the views of the publication.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
olivefilm
J Mandell
posted 4/02/08 @ 3:51 PM PST
Excellent article. Thank you for highlighting the impressive work of faculty member, Beverly Seckinger, who is obviously multi-tasking in her devotion to students, the university and bringing education to the widest possible community through her engaging film work. (Continued…)
Post a Comment