week 1.

The idea of blogging wasn't the most appeasing internet phenomenon to me. But, as I collected my thoughts for the first week of our 70's film class, most of the negative feelings seemed to fade away.

We began our first class with a clip of Richie Haven's emotionally charged Freedom from the Woodstock documentary. Several times I've seen this and never does it not resonate something to me. His voice, his passion, his eyes that never break open, him being lost in his music with millions of fans watching as he belts out 'freedom.'

The first film we watched was one that was released at the birth of the 70's decade. Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces starring the young Jack Nicholson. It wasn't until the third act that i really began enjoying this film. After I accepted the nature and form of it did I like the ending. It followed the typical 1970's film criteria- internal struggle of main character, an anti-hero as the protagonist, less than climactic, a slice of life and an ambiguous ending. It wasn't until I let go of all notions to modern movies did i appreciate this film for what it was. I LIKE 'unhappy' endings, endings that don't wrap up the story in a nice little package where the guy gets the girl and bluebirds sing joyous tunes outside the window as the two lovers lay holding each other in perfect, eternal harmony.