Thank you so much for this Susie. The insight and perspective are a welcome balm on our fevered brows. I must say, it’s an honor to appear in any proximity to McMahon’s and Howard Brodie’s illustrations. It is also good to be reminded that we are children of violence, because we are Americans, and violence has come to us, come from us, one and all. Rennie Davis is the hero we must strive to deserve.
Did you see the 1987 made-for-cable (HBO) version? It's called Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8. I just looked it up and it turns out you can rent it for $2 on Amazon Prime! (I thought maybe it was too niche and was buried somewhere). I saw it when it first came out and loved it. If I remember right, almost every word comes from the transcripts (seriously lacking in immaculate decorum!) The cast is star-studded, with archive footage from '68. I'm going to watch it tonight to see how it holds up.
This is a great essay - and thanks for the Rennie Davis film review, which I hadn’t read. I was only four years old at the time, but my father ran Certron, the record company that released "Gagged And Chained (The Sentencing Of Bobby Seale For Contempt),” a two-disk “dramatic, historical re-enactment” of that event. My father had it among a shelf of albums beginning with early George Carlin and ending with late, late, late reel-to-reel tapes of Lenny Bruce. I remember putting it on the stereo once when I was 7 or so, expecting comedy and coming away with something so confusingly dark I had a lot of questions for him and mom.
And my dad was the only Jewish Republican in the entire city of Chicago, so no, not righteous exactly (he got better as he got older). When he showed me this album the first time it was to explain to me the concept of a "tax write-off."
Good stuff. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this Susie. The insight and perspective are a welcome balm on our fevered brows. I must say, it’s an honor to appear in any proximity to McMahon’s and Howard Brodie’s illustrations. It is also good to be reminded that we are children of violence, because we are Americans, and violence has come to us, come from us, one and all. Rennie Davis is the hero we must strive to deserve.
Did you see the 1987 made-for-cable (HBO) version? It's called Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8. I just looked it up and it turns out you can rent it for $2 on Amazon Prime! (I thought maybe it was too niche and was buried somewhere). I saw it when it first came out and loved it. If I remember right, almost every word comes from the transcripts (seriously lacking in immaculate decorum!) The cast is star-studded, with archive footage from '68. I'm going to watch it tonight to see how it holds up.
Def want to. What do you think of it?
Loved it back in '87. I'll let you know after I watch it tonight.
This is a great essay - and thanks for the Rennie Davis film review, which I hadn’t read. I was only four years old at the time, but my father ran Certron, the record company that released "Gagged And Chained (The Sentencing Of Bobby Seale For Contempt),” a two-disk “dramatic, historical re-enactment” of that event. My father had it among a shelf of albums beginning with early George Carlin and ending with late, late, late reel-to-reel tapes of Lenny Bruce. I remember putting it on the stereo once when I was 7 or so, expecting comedy and coming away with something so confusingly dark I had a lot of questions for him and mom.
Whoa, Glen, do you have a link where we could listen to it? Your dad sounds like a righteous guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtZcTwZLLUQ
And my dad was the only Jewish Republican in the entire city of Chicago, so no, not righteous exactly (he got better as he got older). When he showed me this album the first time it was to explain to me the concept of a "tax write-off."
Jon! Those sketches are 🔥!!
Great piece of writing, Susie!
I know you know that song: “Wasn’t That a Time”.