of progressives if he didn't fight the Vietnam war.
I was drafted in one of his escalations. Every month it was another 30,000 troops added to the war. It was a very tough time for me to grow up in. The assassinations, the war, the riots, the changes in society being demanded by women and minorities. There were times it seemed like this country would implode on itself. I spent the years after my time in the war either drunk or high. I call it my lost 10 years.
I guess being one of the privileged white male class put me on the defensive no matter where I was.

and thus started the careers of Cheney and Rumsfeld and other criminals.

Bet we are close in age. The 1960s were my coming of age years. I must admit, I avoided the draft like the plague. They almost got me, but not quite.
I went to JFK's funeral, was in Memphis when MLK was killed. And with all that went on, I still feel I was born at the right time for me. The 60's-- the war, cultural and political changes, the music...went a long way toward shaping me and how I see things.

I was living in a safe bubble or so I thought. I was in civics class when they announced that JFK was killed. Just a year before we thought we were going to die in a nuclear war now the guy who saved us is dead. Then I was sent to war at 19. I could not vote or drink but I sure as hell could die for my country. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Then King was killed then Bobby. It seemed like all those we relied on would be taken. The riots and the cities burning made it all seem like we were coming apart.
I thought fuck this I'm getting stoned.

when I saw the news about JFK.
Then came Simon And Garfunkel, Jeff Airplane, Sgt Pepper.
I am white and had a pretty full beard then, and I was dating a black woman in Memphis. OHH, THAT was exciting. Spent a night in the tank at the Memphis jail.. That's another story..

I should have married her.

I like best your last line.

were going crazy with hate and fear. The war dragged on then Kent State! More college unrest students taking over their schools. Nobody would listen to us vets against the war. The March on Washington and the police riot in Chicago! Fuck that shit!

the process like him. He did the right thing with civil rights, the brave thing. I remember him with great affection. I hated the war and everyone got sucked into it. It is too bad that the good he did, the great vast good got buried in that sucking vortex.

He said that he is not going to get himself involved in the debate about LBJ because: 1) the LBJ character and scenes are not a prominent part of the film and that 2) the overall impact of the film on people leaving is not about LBJ. Tweety added, involving himself IN the debate, that to say voting rights was not important to LBJ was totally false. My having read CARO's volumes on LBJ so far (he's writing another one), things that happened wouldn't have happened when they happened without LBJ.

In the movie, LBJ says "I'm a politician, you're an activist" to King which seems right and fair on some levels.

I found it interesting how Caro went from disliking Johnson to showing respect for the man's talents and abilities.

Altho I still think LBJ was much more involved with Kennedy's death.
Hell, Caro spent 3 volumes telling us how manipulative LBJ was. and how so very desperate he was to become Pres. before he hit a critical age.

It was LBJ's passing of the Civil Rights Act that had such profound effect on the political landscape right up to today.

later paid the price. There is nobody around who has been willing to start out as low as he did and work-up that much, thereby learning the gritty intricacies of how the machine/beast works and therefore being able to make it work. His shenanigans were about to be exposed right around the time of the assassination, literally within weeks to being published, but then got squashed. Whatever else he was, his concrete accomplishments are second only to FDR.

Here is the link to Lawrence's video on the movie "Selma": Beautiful review of the movie

http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/selma--history--film-and-truth-381941315520

And we definately make saints out of our martyred.

The fact he was all too human made him great.

It makes them feel better about their own heroes

As are the martyred Kennedy brothers and Muhammad Ali. All were far from perfect.

I'm glad nobody's perfect. It shows they are real. I'm suspicious of people who appear to be flawless, because they are probably hiding something awful.

It was a powerful depiction of those tumultuous times. The relationship between MLK and Pres Johnson as portrayed in the movie was fascinating. MLK never backed down.

I'm doing the pre-Golden Globes crush of viewing nominated movies and actors. My favorite movie so far is "The Imitation Game."

It made Wallace even smaller.

BTW, a lot of Wallace's racism was tactical. He had lost his first race for public office when he ran as a racial moderate.


P.S. That scene where Dr. King comforted the grieving grandfather was epic as was the scene with Coretta King and Betty Shabazz.

MLK managed to light a fire under LBJ's ass and I enjoyed the scene where LBJ slapped down Wallace for his obscene clinging to segregation.

Good movie.

And Ray Donovan when I saw Wendell Pierce.

said something like 'i'll never get out-segged again'.

and he reportedly got more moderate again after he was shot and into retirement.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/peopleevents/pande05.html

interesting demonstration of how Machiavellian politics is.

folsom is a pretty interesting character for that era in the south:

Born in Coffee County in southeastern Alabama, Folsom was among the first southern governors to embrace integration and enforcement of civil rights for African Americans. In his Christmas message on December 25, 1949, he said: "As long as the Negroes are held down by deprivation and lack of opportunity, the other poor people will be held down alongside them".

Folsom was elected governor for the first time in 1946. He waged a colorful campaign with a hillbilly band, brandishing a mop and bucket that he said would "clean out" the Capitol...

...despite the paternity suit and other scandals that arose during his administration, he was easily elected to a second non-consecutive term in 1954. The Alabama Constitution at that time forbade a governor from succeeding himself, then a common provision in most southern states. Folsom was 6'8" and employed the slogan "the little man's big friend."

In 1958, Governor Folsom commuted a death sentence imposed on James E. Wilson, an African American sentenced to death for a $1.95 robbery...

In 1962, Folsom again ran for governor against his one-time protégé George C. Wallace, but he was defeated. A sardonic slogan emerged during that campaign, referring to Folsom's reputation for taking graft: "Something for everyone and a little bit for Big Jim." Folsom sometimes referred to "the emoluments of office" and once told a campaign crowd, "I plead guilty to stealing. That crowd I got it from, you had to steal it to get it.... I stole for you, and you, and you...."

Folsom ran again for governor in 1966...In the general election Lurleen Wallace handily defeated the Republican nominee, James D. Martin, a one-term U.S. representative from Gadsden.[11]

Folsom died in 1987 in Cullman. His niece, Cornelia Wallace, the daughter of his sister, Ruby Folsom Ellis, was from 1971 to 1978 the second wife of his former rival, George Wallace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Folsom

Of all the movies coming out now, this is the one I want to see, certainly one of the most important times in our history. I remember those times, but just barely, was completely blown away by the excellent Eyes on the Prize on PBS, though I recognize this isn't a documentary, so expect some exaggerations/inaccuracies.

I have read Taylor Branch's books on Dr. King so I know the exchanges have been altered for dramatic effect but the movie roughly adheres to the truth...

I'll keep that in mind, though I imagine they took some "dramatic license" to make it into a movie, compelling as this story is. Glad to hear that it wasn't too far from the truth...

English romanticist painter J.M.W. turner (1775-1852). Art critic John Ruskin considered Turner an artistic genius. Claude Monet admired his light filled works which are regarded as preface to Impressionism & Abstract art. Brushwork of brilliance, movement & mood were Turner's. His 'The Slave Ship' of 1840 was monumental. ~ I remember 'Eyes on the Prize', wonderful series; it should be re-run by PBS.~

I took a few courses in Art History in college and "The Seven Lamps of Architecture" was required reading. As for Eyes on the Prize, I may have been alive in the '60s, but that amazing series really opened my eyes. I also wish that they'd repeat it, especially now. I'd watch it again and it certainly deserves a whole new audience...

online states that it was re-run in 2010. Another showing of this classic is definitely warranted. I'll try to watch again online through PBS, Hulu or Amazon. Ruskin was a major thinker in the 19th century & contributor to art criticism, albeit the curious attack on Whistler's 'Nocturne' & lawsuit that bankrupted the American painter. Ruskin was also involved in political commentary & social justice issues which impacted the British Labor Party & late 19th cent. co-operative communities.~ There's a trailer for 'Mr. Turner' & interview with actor Tim Vall online.

'The Slave Ship', (1840) Turner's magnificent but controversial painting was exhibited to coincide with a London conference advocating for abolition of slavery worldwide, beyond the British Empire. Turner was influenced by Thomas Clarkson's writing, 'The History and Abolition of the Slave Trade' & his growing reaction to the Industrial Revolution's exploitation of workers & slaves. Ruskin thought very highly of the work.
The painting's subject is the horrific true story of 1781 aboard the British ship Zong. Another connection is 'Belle' (2013), a British film about a young woman of African & white heritage living in the home of Lord Mansfield, the English judge who decided the landmark verdict in the Zong case.

'Amazing Grace' (2006) the film portrays the decades long struggle to end the slave trade in Britain by MP Wilber Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffold), close friend Prime Minister Wm. Pitt the Younger (Ben Cumberbatch), Clarkson's abolition Clapham group, Equiano, a former slave & others. Wonderful film. Ben C.'s family was involved way back in the slave trade & sugar industry in Barbados which he's discussed with the press. In 'Twelve Years a Slave' he had a small part as the fair minded, religious planter. Outstanding actor. Nice to chat about art, history & film. (One of my profs was wild about Ruskin, Pugin, Poussin).

yet seen Selma, I am sure that I will appreciate what she has done. Some of the events about how the movie came to be made are remarkable in and of themselves. This time period is when I remember first becoming politically aware of current events, esp. since I was living in Georgia and going to public schools that were segregated until 1965. (ETA: As an army brat, I had gone to schools where the students came from all over the place. Then my Dad retired and we moved to the heart of Dixie!) I felt so so out-of-touch with the rest of my peers, and could not understand all the fear surrounding school integration. I could not understand the ignorance of some of the teachers either. I distinctly remember my world history teacher commenting on the death of Viola Liuzzo. It was a very mean, hateful remark: "she wouldn't have gotten killed if she hadn't gone down there..." and her tone seemed to imply that she should have stayed at home with her family.

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/08/375756377/the-sounds-space-and-spirit-of-selma-a-director-s-take

Again!

The press is already saying Taken 3 is going to trounce Selma. I am sadden by that. I don't have anything against Taken, but I have a problem with the American public choosing Taken over Selma which is an important historical part of our history.

Most major Oscar contnders don't open to huge numbers their first week at the box office, but they do tend to stay in theaters for a long time and can become very successful over time. Taken 3 will have a big opening weekend and then drop like a rock after that. Selma on the other hand will have a moderately succesful opening weekend, then it will have another good weekend when Oscars are announced, a great MLK Day weekend, then some more solid weekends in the leadup to the Oscars. There will also be schools that bring their students on field trips to the theater to see Selma, no schools will be going on field trips to see Taken. While Taken may win the opening weekend I will bet Selma will be more successful in the long run.

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2015/01/03/johnson-portrayal-in-selma-stirs-debate/

Published 8:10pm Saturday, January 3, 2015

By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

“Selma” the movie has received rave reviews from some of Hollywood’s most notable film critics, as well as Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Song.

Despite the positive reviews and the possibility of Academy Award nominations on the way, others are criticizing the film for its portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“This characterization of the 36th president flies in the face of history,” said Mark K. Updegrove, the director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Library and Museum, in a column for Politico. “In truth, the partnership between LBJ and MLK on civil rights is one of the most productive and consequential in American history.”

Updegrove and Joseph A. Califano, one of LBJ’s top assistants, are accusing the filmmakers of trying to portray Johnson as an antagonist against the Civil Rights Movement.

FULL story at link.

I didn't think LBJ was depicted as being necessarily bad, just reluctant and cautious.

I'm looking to it with great anticipation.