week 7 woodstock by Allison Veire
Having now watched this movie I have an entirely different view of the festival of Woodstock as well as the persona of the people that attended it. From my view I had always thought that the generation of young people that attended Woodstock had it all figured out in a sense. Considering the events of the previous year, it seems the young had much to protest about and made their presence heard in many ways for example, at the democratic convention in which they were greeted with a 12,000 man police force. But one year later at Woodstock, a couple was interviewed and described its attendees as “very lost� and further saying, “everyone is here looking for an answer when there isn’t one.� It seems this lack of answers is what draws them to the music.
Keeping this idea of being lost in mind, it’s not hard to find a place where it is reinforced through the music. Bob Dylan’s song Blowin in the wind is a perfect example of this persona. Although it was recorded 6 years earlier, its ideas were still very much alive. Its lyrics only beg more questions and no answers, “the answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.�