The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s May 1, 2009

Event: “The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of 16mm film from perhaps the weirdest, most self-indulgent decade ever- the 1970’s. Swept in with the hippies and out with the punks, the Me Decade, like herpes, just won’t quite go away. Films and clips include “Mister Mike’s M*nd* Video” (Color, b&w, 1979), a purposely tasteless, hilarious and offensive spoof of the 60’s shock documentary which neatly wraps up the end of the decade, “Trends: The 70s” (Color, 1979), a documentary overview of the decade before it could be filtered through years of revisionism, “Drugs: Use Or Abuse” (Color, 1971), a drug-scare film that is more comedy than deterrent. Plus lots of wild, weird clips, promos, commercials, trailers and a few surprises- all from the custom van, polyester, swinging roller-disco decade!
Date: Friday, May 1, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s”
At Oddball Films

On Friday, May 1st, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present “The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s”, a program of over the top, self-indulgent film from 1970’s. In retrospect, so much of the imagery, expression and attitude of the times seems drug influenced and channeled: the early part of the decade was still clearly under the influence of psychedelics, whilst the end seems rambling and aggressively cocaine-fueled. Sad, actually, but fun to watch from the smugly informed and enlightened present!
Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Mister Mike’s M*nd* Video” (Color & b&w, 1979, 60 mins.)
Conceived by SNL writer Michael O’Donohue as a spoof on 1960’s shock documentaries and intended to air on television, it was deemed too over-the-top and offensive by network executives. Dada-inspired bizarre vignettes of swimming cats, laser shooting bras, cult of Jack Lord churches and more weirdness, anti-comedy and subversion feature SNL staples Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner. Cameos include Debbie Harry, Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder, Teri Garr and more. Eventually released as short feature film where it became a midnight-movie staple, the origin of this print is a mystery and contains slugs for commercials. Could this be the original program intended for late night TV in 1979?

“Trends: The 1970’s” (Color, 1979, 30 mins.)
This 1979 documentary takes a look back at the major trends of the decade, including the hippie scene, drugs, streaking, the war in Vietnam, the gas crisis and more. Documents the rise of punk but strangely has barely a mention of disco…

“Drugs: Use Or Abuse” (Color, 1971)
If you missed the recent program “Scared Straight: Drug-Scare Films”, here’s your chance for a little taste: this 1971 short covers the “gateway” drugs from huffing glue to reefer and pills.

Plus- Super-rare clips from an amazing early 70’s TV show of psychedelic pop bands (with some mind-bending visuals), one-of-a-kind footage of roller-disco and skateboard action in mid-70’s San Francisco, TV show promos (The Richard Pryor Show, Man From Atlantis), film trailers, commercials and more!

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro and Victoria Theatre.

Official Website: http://www.flarerecord.com