Sounds of Cinema continues its Independence Day tradition of celebrating freedom of speech with a look at movies that were censored, banned, or controversial. The 2022 edition of this program will do something a little different and focus on controversial films of 1971 and 1972.
In the late 1960s and early 70s American culture and the motion picture industry underwent significant shifts. Image and topics that had been impossible to put on screen were suddenly realizable and filmmakers took advantage of the new freedoms. Quite often influenced by current events including civil rights protests, assassinations, sexual liberation, and the war in Vietnam, these filmmakers channeled the chaos and violence and uncertainty of the world around them and expressed it on the screen. Between 1971 and 1972 an exceptional number of films incited legal fights and raised questions of permissiveness and artistic responsibility. A few of these titles remain controversial today. This episode of Sounds of Cinema will take a look at some of those controversial films from half a century ago.
Sounds of Cinema’s controversial films special will air on Sunday, July 3rd at 9am on 89. 5 KQAL FM in Winona, MN and at 11am on 89.7 KMSU FM in Mankato, MN. Listeners outside the broadcast area can still hear the show via live streaming from each station’s website or on your mobile device using the TuneIn app.
Remember that the two most recent episodes are archived on KMSU’s Sounds of Cinema page.