AllMovie

In New York City in the late '60s, all sorts of dramatic and splashy social protests were going on. Colombia University was taken over by its students, and the entire city public school system was shut down, while Mayor Lindsay dithered over allowing neighborhood school boards to have more control. In Chicago, police bashed protestor's heads at the Democratic National Convention, which nominated political insider Hubert Humphrey to run for President. This black-and-white documentary follows a group of white, middle-class high-schoolers who are caught up in the protests of the day. They are against the Vietnam War, against racial discrimination, and against "the establishment" generally. They favor "the revolution," the Black Panthers, and much that is perceived as radical. They are shown playing together, engaging in political rap sessions together, and putting out pamphlets and making newspapers to hand out. These kids appeared on television, briefly. During the film, they are also shown being arrested at a protest rally together. After a brief release in 1971, this documentary was shelved until 1987, when it was re-released with a short "where are they now" epilog.