Description

A series every young person should see. This stimulating seven-part series shows what has happened to our culture over the past 200 years and how we view life today. The implication for our future and your life are enormous and unavoidable. Winner of the World Medal at the New York Festival.

#1: "Breaking the Past" shows that when a culture abandons its religious traditions, it must find something strong enough to replace those traditions to give people a sense of meaning. This episode compares Enlightenment thinkers to Romantic thinkers and also looks at the revolutionary ideas of the 20th century artists and writers including Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and Johnny Rotten.

#2: "Where Are We Going?" examines the 20th century's search for answers to questions such as "Where do we come from?," "Where are we going?," and "Who are we?" Some key people and films featured in this episode include Charles Darwin, Michelangel, Jim Morrison and "Blade Runner."

#3: "Children of the Machine" explores the relationship between culture and technology through the works of Ernest Hemmingway, Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali, and films including "Batman," "Nosferatu" and "Blue Velvet."

#4: "The Lost Generation" describes how, with its moral base shaken, an American generation began seeking alternatives to Western Capitalism. Some of the key people and films featured include Albert Einstein, Margaret Sangor, Billy Haley and the Comets and "Citizen Kane."

#5: "The Fat Dream" recounts how many people, unable to make sense of the destruction from war, began seeking an escape through spectator sports, music, gambling, drugs, alcohol and sex. Key personalities and films in this episode include Joseph McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and "Rebel Without a Cause."

#6: "The Winds of Revolution" shows how the youth movement of the 1950s escalated into a rebellion against traditional values in the 1960s. This was accented by politicized musicians such as Bob Dylan and films including "Easy Rider," "Bonnie and Clyde" and the Beatles' "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band."

#7: "The Narcissistic Culture" explains how much of America's culture, in a desperate search for absolutes, began turning to weight loss, sex advice and religious television. Some of the key people and films featured include Robert Mapplethorpe, The Sex Pistols, "The Big Chill" and "Forrest Gump."