The new documentary ?Chicago 10? is a film that deals with events of the 1960s, but this is not your parents? primitive, regurgitated memory of those golden days. Yes, you will find drama and walk away with some history lessons. However, this is not a historical documentary in the fashion you may be accustomed to. By juxtaposing animation, archival footage and a refreshing soundtrack ? including the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine ? filmmaker Brett Morgen achieves his goal of reconstructing the events that encompassed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, an event filled with poetically dramatic clashes between protesters and police. ?Chicago 10? reinvents the documentary, pushing boundaries and ferociously presenting the trials of the ?Chicago 7.?
In a phone interview with The Badger Herald, Brett Morgen candidly expressed insight into his new film that was very well-received at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.
BH: What is your approach to making movies?
BM: I think style should be a reflection. The subject matter should dictate the style of the film, which is why none of my films look alike. I try to dive head-in. I try to make films that become a personification of the subject. I am very committed to pushing non-fiction as far as I can and challenge the audience, and challenge the audience?s notions of what is and what isn?t a documentary. I consider my movies to be more modern-day mythology than they are documentaries.
BH: Did you ever protest during your collegiate years?
BM: Yeah, I went to a couple protests. Personally, you know, I think protesting is an individual thing. There is a million ways to protest ? as Abbie [Hoffman] says in the movie, ?It?s how you live your life.? You know, the way I?ve protested over the last few years is making this film. So I?ve used my work to speak for me.
BH: The way in which you combine animation and archival footage with contemporary music is amazing. How did you come up with this blend?
BM: I didn?t want to make this a historical documentary. I wanted to make a movie. You know, too often, historical documentaries play out like academic lectures. What I want to do with ?Chicago 10? is create a theatrical experience, something that was kinetic and alive and vibrant and energetic. I didn?t feel there was a need to make another movie about the ?60s. I basically wanted to take all of this imagery and iconography of the ?60s and present it in way that would be free of nostalgia and mold and (would) allow the audience to experience one of the greatest spectacles of the 1960s in a very visceral and exciting way.
BH: Do you feel that your choices in music, specifically the use of Black Sabbath?s ?War Pigs? in the ?Take the Hill? sequence, captures this mystical power that music plays in film?
BM: In ?Chicago 10,? the music was used to bring the events of ?68 into focus. The thing is, the music of the 1960s has become? clich?. Once protest music gets appropriated by Madison Avenue, and it?s used to sell SUVs and Volkswagens, then it?s sort of lost its meaning and its impact. This isn?t a film that?s really about [baby] boomers, nostalgia. It?s a movie in which I took the images and iconography of the 1960s and appropriated it to a story that I wanted to tell today. I wanted the soundtrack of my life. A lot of the choices were rather intuitive. We looked at some rather shockingly evil footage of National Guards prowling in the shadows of Lincoln Park at night with tear gas and tanks, and instinctively the first thing that crossed my mind was ?war pigs.?
BH: How did it feel to open Sundance in 2007?
BM: That was a terrifying experience. It?s ? a lot of pressure because you are setting the tone for the festival. You have an audience filled up of 350 filmmakers, 350 film critics, 400 buyers and a bunch of corporate sponsors, so it?s unbelievably intimidating to walk onto that stage. But it was pretty electric. We got a standing ovation when we were there, and it was really exciting, one of the highlights of my career.
BH: How will ?Chicago 10? resonate with young viewers?
BM: First and foremost, one of the things I like about ?Chicago 10? is it?s an entertaining film, but it?s got substance to it, and that?s sort of rare in movies today. There is no singular message of ?Chicago 10.? What the film is trying to accomplish is to take these events and present them in a way that feels fresh and bold and audacious and allows the audience to experience something that predates them. I think each member of the audience can draw their own conclusions. ?
For me, when I watch the film, I ask myself when I see this film, ?Am I doing enough?? How far am I willing to go for my beliefs? I don?t think the film is saying people need to go into the streets, to get their heads bashed in a protest. And I think today protests have gone viral and whatnot, but it?s a fascinating window into a time that really predates, that hopefully predates anyone on your campus, of the student body.
?Chicago 10? opens today at Sundance Cinemas in the Hilldale Mall.
