[lbo-talk] question for those who remember the 70s

[Dennis Perrin]

Dunno if this will help Seth any further (so many fine remembrances before 
me), but I remember the '70s very well, going from 10 in 1970 to 20 in '79. 
Unions still had some weight -- my best friend was a union steward for his 
assembly line at the Jenn-Air factory in Indianapolis. The average wage 
there was $18-22 an hour. Imagine that! The working class could actually 
afford decent things. Of course, the reactionary assault on workers was 
already underway, speeding up under Reagan. But I remember factory workers 
driving new cars, buying houses, taking paid vacations, living a decent 
life.

There was a lot more personal freedom as well. The culture was in 
transition, and this allowed all sorts of new and evolving creative forms to 
blossom. It was an inspiring time. It still feeds my muse, more so now than 
ever. I see these young comics who never experienced such openness and 
experimentation, and it shows. They are much narrower in focus, forced into 
narcissistic corners. There's a small club in NYC where I'm helping to break 
up this impasse, drawing on '70s examples, and it's starting to have an 
effect. All these kids need is permission. Humans don't change that much.

Yeah, sometimes I get too mystical about the '70s, but as I age and see the 
atomization and alienation around me, I realize what a golden age it was in 
many respects. Really the last time the culture was open to pretty much 
anything. Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused really nails the feel of 
that time. He got everything pretty much right. Nostalgia may be fascism, 
but if it is, it's fascism with a happy face and a shit-kicking soundtrack.

Dennis