1968 Exhibit and Play

In the beginning of February I had the pleasure of going the Minnesota History Museum to see the 1968 exhibit as well as the accompanying play. I had the pleasure of experiencing these events in depth because my professor was the curator of the exhibit and the director of the play came and spoke to my class. I loved the exhibit, as did many people- as was made clear to me by how busy it was the two times I went. It was tons of fun and, to give you a scary look into my childhood, reminded me of my youth. (Yes, I am only 20, but I grew up on Hawaii 5-O, The Monkees, and Brady Bunch reruns as well as frequented the home my father grew up in, which had not changed much over the years.) The exhibit had many items I recognized from my life and I felt nearly as nostalgic as the baby boomers that surrounded me, who each spurted memories they were reminded of by each new display. The memories shared by those experiencing the exhibit tied seamlessly into the exhibit its self as a welcomed addition. It all gave me a warm-fuzzy feeling.

The accompanying play, 1968: The Year that Rocked the World, was put on by The History Theatre. The play was made up of seven different scenes, tied together by the announcement of events and Vietnam War body counts between the stories. I found the standout scenes to be the two opening ones.

"Welcome Home" by Reginald Edmund

"Welcome Home" was about a Vietnam vet come home from the war and haunted by the events and loss of his friend, a service dog. Next was "Go Up Together," a scene about two African American workers, picketing for their rights and debating crossing the line. Both scenes were dramatic scenes with an emphasis on relationships and conflict, both internal, external, and social.

One scene I found detracted from the play was "Smith & Carlos." This scene broke up the show in an abrupt way as actors pretended to be a WCCO news anchor, cameraman, and audience member being interviewed about the impact the 1968 Olympics had on his life. The scene felt like an abrupt awakening from a dream you were rather enjoying, as the house lights were turned up and the cast interacted with the crowd. I also found this scene to be condescending and a bit alienating to younger people. As the young news anchor interviews the older black man about 1968 she is portrayed as a complete idiot with no concept of the past. When the man says he wore an Afro in those days her response, “You mean your hair?” was delivered in an obnoxious style rivaling that of Paris Hilton. If that was not bad enough, when the man mentions The Black Panthers the girl has no idea who they were, something our generation learns in elementary school. That was just too much for me! Ugh! The one contemporary young person shown in the play was a twit who could have fit in on MTV. That disappointed me a little. However, the rest of the scenes were well done and I appreciated the play over all.