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I had surmised that Bettina and Mario had their reasons for not participating. I anticipated that it was perhaps something "personal", although I suppose it cannot get much more personal than this, especially when principled leftists are concerned. But I am nonetheless very disappointed at the decisions that Mario and Bettina made, or were compelled to make, individually and collectively. This film turned out to be very well received and quite acclaimed; aside from that, it became one way of bridging the gap between the generations and attaching some sympathy to the 60's and the causes thereof, something that is still so sorely absent. Aside from that, people on the left continue to do many things out of principle that have very unfortunate, if explainable, results. In this case we could have had Mario and Bettina on the record. Of course it always remains a question as to how the filmmaker would have used any interviews. And if it is truly the case that the filmmaker would not use any interview with Bettina for reasons stated, that is truly scandalous, for it itself robs successive generations the chance to hear from an original and important voice; turns out two important voices consequently. All in all, it continues a pattern of leftists' being trapped in and by the 60's - in personality disorder terms psychiatrists call this being schizo-typal -left with an inability to escape a kind of self-possessed insularity -not to say leftists are necessarily like that -more the 60's itself became that - insulated and isolated and incapable of ever meeting up with the rest of history - trapped in a kind of bottle - of the "establishment's, the media, law enforcement and the older generation's making. We are still unable to even connect with one another very frequently or effectively. Every other imaginable grouping has access to its membership, except sixties' leftists, except here and here. There is still no cohesive, coherent body of evidence reinforcing the worldview of this unique and significant part of the 20th century. Such a film may have put into perspective a few important anecdotes that may have helped bridge a bunch of different gaps, if it had been completed efficaciously. One can hardly blame Bettina as the choice it seems was taken out of her hands, much in keeping with our experience during the 60's and Mario was compelled to make his own choice independently. But I remember my excitement when first seeing the opening scene of Berkeley in the Sixties and I was really looking forward to seeing one of my cultural heroes, in Mario, speak. That he did not do and now I can finally know why, years after his death. For the record though, I wish leftists could do their level best to ensure that our experience makes it to the record somewhere, somehow, that we do our level best to overcome the many impediments we have had to deal with over the years, to make sure that what we thought we were doing and why we thought we were doing it, becomes known. And shame on the filmmaker if he made his "creative" decisions for the reasons Bettina iterates. What a disservice and what a wasted opportunity. Worst of all, he ruined it for the rest of us. Thanks to Roxanne and Bettina nonetheless. Stephen Block Montreal
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