Guerilla: Taking of Patty Hearst on pBS

[KurtNYC]

Wow! What an amazing story on so many levels and nobody can evoke the atmosphere of the late 60s and early 70s like Oliver Stone.

Truth really is stranger than fiction and the whoel matter gave most people their first exposure to the theory of the Stockholm Syndrome. It also seemed to be one of the first incarnations of the modern version of a media circus -- Winnebagos parked in front of the Hearst's.

Stone seems to have a great sense of how to tell a story even if he has to be locked into some facts and the timeline of the events. The comedy of the Hearst family's disbelief and then compliant actions, the way over the top rhetoric of the SLA tapes, the glassy-eyed Hearst at the end talking about her happy childhood.

Worth catching if you missed it.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guerrilla/

[bertha katzenengel]

1. No! Fashion has changed!

Name that film.

Thanks for the heads up, Kurt. I will catch it!

[ronnykmarshall]

9. Serial Mom

[Susang]

13. "Suzanne Somers!"

"This is my BAD SIDE!!"

[David__77]

2. I believe Hearst honestly joined the SLA.

I don't think she was "brainwashed," because there's no such thing as "brainwashing." People was be won to certain points of view, but the coercion of the SLA was certainly less pervasive and penetrating than the coercion of simply living exposed to the culture of the USA every day. If there's "brainwashing," then she was first "brainwashed" by her privileged family and society, then by the SLA and then again by family and the culture.

[KurtNYC]

4. She comes off kind of empty headed

but I believe the Stockholm Syndrome is a real phenomenon. Even with that factored in, it is hard to tell how much she is playing along just to survive versus how much is Patty Hearst being a spoiled rich girl having a moment of infamy and a walk on the wild side (albeit 'a walk' not of her chosing).

[DinahMoeHum]

5. Yeah, I was 18 years old at the time, and when I read that she

never read "Citizen Hearst" or seen the movie "Citizen Kane", my reaction then was "uh-oh, what an asshole"

Since then, of course, given all she went thru, my cynicism softened and I felt sympathy for her.

:shrug:

[ronnykmarshall]

11. I humbly disagree.

I also think that at the bank robbery they (the SLA) had their guns on Patty.

[Mizmoon]

3. I would like to take a moment to adress my username

I have wondered when and if anyone would ask me if I selected "Mizmoon" to honor one of Patty Hearst's kidnappers. I did not. I just like the name.

I was totally convinced by her book and believe that she was just trying to survive. I think her kidnappers were thugs and criminals, not revolutionaries at all.

I'm not sure anyone cares, but I wanted to say it since the opportunity came up.

[In_The_Wind]

7. it is nice to clear the air about user names sometimes

I care.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. In addition to the PBS site, there is one done by the family

of Myrna Opsahl, the woman killed in that bank robbery near Sacramento:

www.myrnaopsahl.com


It includes the statement her oldest son gave at the sentencing for the remaining SLA defendants (pdf form - scroll down)

[Reverend_Smitty]

8. I watched it last night

it came on one of those cable PBS stations around 2am. I'm not old enough to remember this first hand and so I was vaguely familiar with the story. With that said it was such a strange chapter in American history and the documentary was fascinating.

[ronnykmarshall]

10. I wish I would have seen it.

I was glued to this story when it was going on.

[miss_kitty]

12. It's on DVD

and your PBS affiliate may have it scheduled for re-airing at a weird time...It's also known as Neverland: The taking of Patty Hearst. I can understand why the name was changed.
It was really good. And if you keep in mind that MKUltra shit was going on at Vacaville-you get a whole new slant on the thing...
Here's a link to the transcript:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guerrilla/filmmore/pt.html