YES! Three cheers, Noah, for your seeing the good in the Boomers, and in this movie I have long loved. I am one of those not-quite-redeemed Boomer hippies who did "follow his bliss" all the way, and I still resonate with the group gathered to remember their deceased friend. Yeah, hate and blame the Boomers, you younguns, but we tried stuff, we helped end a war, we broke new social ground that subsequent generations have enjoyed while they reviled us. Not all hippies sold out, and not all Boomers fit the stereotype—some of us still lead protests, social change movements, and wish for new movies about the complexity of being Hippie-Boomers-while-old.
all this and at least one more thing. we had hope. hope for that better world more free of racism, misogyny, and greed that we saw all around us. I didn't hate money then, but I sure didn't idolize it like a holy grail. at age 73, I'm still a dirty hippie, still working, and still poor, mostly because of giving away to those even more disadvantaged. hope is so much more difficult to hold onto now, but reading posts like these keeps the flame burning.
I love that I'm so young in this crowd. I'm a Boomer, and a late bloomer. But I'm not political. Never really have been. I mean, I vote, and pay attention to issues now; recycle; do all that shit everyone else does, or tries to do, but I'm not putting a sign up in my yard. That's what I mean by non-political. I don't give any political party my support. They're all crooks.
I was a Blue Collar worker. We always felt that when it came to politicians, you pretty well had to bend over and take it like a man. We were crass, middle-class, lower-class, junkie-wannabe's, who played with coke, speed, acid, and strippers, played with cocktail waitresses, and were groupies to our favourite bands.
But there were a few shining stars. A dreamer is always going to dream, no matter where he comes from - Trailer Trash or Snob Hill - the dreams are always going to be there. The beauty, and the artistry of THE BIG CHILL is the dialogue. There was something about it that resonated with the times - not that I'm going to remember a lot of that drug-addled haze - but the characters, and their stories, resonated. And then, if you were a complete nerd, a total movie nut, you'd point out character actors who were in one or two scenes; you'd say, I know her, she was in POLTERGEIST. And wasn't she in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS? And the women were all gobsmacked by Tom Berenger.
It was a movie, and a culture. Just before that, there was DINER, and people walked away talking about Mickey Rourke. Those guys in their suits may have screwed things up for everyone, but hey, shit happens. We all get to the end of the story at the same time: when it's done. The difference between them and us? We didn't care. Let them save the world, or the environment. Who gives a fuck about the Spotted Owl? The loggers. (Why do you think they carry rifles?) We didn't think about saving money, or investing it. Drugs cost money. But we liked THE BIG CHILL because we could relate.
As a boomer and ex-Ann Arbor person who's spent his career in public-interest work and loved The Big Chill (not least for the soundtrack), I thank you for your nuanced appreciation of my generation and that movie, which I loved. (It's also my understanding that a couple of the characters are based on people I knew there, because Kasdan traveled in adjacent social circles.)
Definitely an underrated movie. I'm 61 so I was much younger when i first saw it. I was not politically or community active when I was young, but am increasingly so as I've become older. Marriage, children, and career dominated my life beginning in my early 20s. It's really been in the last decade that I've become more active in community and political matters. Everyone has a different arc depending upon their circumstances.
Noah, I totally agree with you about this film. I'm exactly the age those boomers were when it was made. For me, the struggle between the urgency of political activism and the sheer pleasures of doing what I love is just as lively as ever -- and I'm still politically active; I can't help it. (But then I'm only 71, so, as you say, maybe I'm not old enough yet?)
Bravo for celebrating this film that manages to be so beautifully watchable, even without much of a plot. And that insists on how complicated it all is.
As a Generation X'er I didn't like this movie when it came out although I understand it now forty years later...the main problem is that most of the characters aren't really likeable and they did sell out for privileged lives while being nostalgic (or embarrassed) about their supposedly radical past. As Glenn Close's character said, it was mostly just fashion for them.
This movie has been my top ten for 35 years! Great article. Thank you for sharing your words, your passion with us, as I found them very moving and insightful. Became a subscriber here and now.
The Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) directed by John sales, provides an interesting juxtaposition to the Big Chill.
I love that movie (and pretty much anything by Sayles).
YES! Three cheers, Noah, for your seeing the good in the Boomers, and in this movie I have long loved. I am one of those not-quite-redeemed Boomer hippies who did "follow his bliss" all the way, and I still resonate with the group gathered to remember their deceased friend. Yeah, hate and blame the Boomers, you younguns, but we tried stuff, we helped end a war, we broke new social ground that subsequent generations have enjoyed while they reviled us. Not all hippies sold out, and not all Boomers fit the stereotype—some of us still lead protests, social change movements, and wish for new movies about the complexity of being Hippie-Boomers-while-old.
all this and at least one more thing. we had hope. hope for that better world more free of racism, misogyny, and greed that we saw all around us. I didn't hate money then, but I sure didn't idolize it like a holy grail. at age 73, I'm still a dirty hippie, still working, and still poor, mostly because of giving away to those even more disadvantaged. hope is so much more difficult to hold onto now, but reading posts like these keeps the flame burning.
😊
I love that I'm so young in this crowd. I'm a Boomer, and a late bloomer. But I'm not political. Never really have been. I mean, I vote, and pay attention to issues now; recycle; do all that shit everyone else does, or tries to do, but I'm not putting a sign up in my yard. That's what I mean by non-political. I don't give any political party my support. They're all crooks.
I was a Blue Collar worker. We always felt that when it came to politicians, you pretty well had to bend over and take it like a man. We were crass, middle-class, lower-class, junkie-wannabe's, who played with coke, speed, acid, and strippers, played with cocktail waitresses, and were groupies to our favourite bands.
But there were a few shining stars. A dreamer is always going to dream, no matter where he comes from - Trailer Trash or Snob Hill - the dreams are always going to be there. The beauty, and the artistry of THE BIG CHILL is the dialogue. There was something about it that resonated with the times - not that I'm going to remember a lot of that drug-addled haze - but the characters, and their stories, resonated. And then, if you were a complete nerd, a total movie nut, you'd point out character actors who were in one or two scenes; you'd say, I know her, she was in POLTERGEIST. And wasn't she in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS? And the women were all gobsmacked by Tom Berenger.
It was a movie, and a culture. Just before that, there was DINER, and people walked away talking about Mickey Rourke. Those guys in their suits may have screwed things up for everyone, but hey, shit happens. We all get to the end of the story at the same time: when it's done. The difference between them and us? We didn't care. Let them save the world, or the environment. Who gives a fuck about the Spotted Owl? The loggers. (Why do you think they carry rifles?) We didn't think about saving money, or investing it. Drugs cost money. But we liked THE BIG CHILL because we could relate.
As a boomer and ex-Ann Arbor person who's spent his career in public-interest work and loved The Big Chill (not least for the soundtrack), I thank you for your nuanced appreciation of my generation and that movie, which I loved. (It's also my understanding that a couple of the characters are based on people I knew there, because Kasdan traveled in adjacent social circles.)
Must be wild to watch for you!
Definitely an underrated movie. I'm 61 so I was much younger when i first saw it. I was not politically or community active when I was young, but am increasingly so as I've become older. Marriage, children, and career dominated my life beginning in my early 20s. It's really been in the last decade that I've become more active in community and political matters. Everyone has a different arc depending upon their circumstances.
Great point.
Noah, I totally agree with you about this film. I'm exactly the age those boomers were when it was made. For me, the struggle between the urgency of political activism and the sheer pleasures of doing what I love is just as lively as ever -- and I'm still politically active; I can't help it. (But then I'm only 71, so, as you say, maybe I'm not old enough yet?)
Bravo for celebrating this film that manages to be so beautifully watchable, even without much of a plot. And that insists on how complicated it all is.
This makes a lot of sense to me. Being British and not living in the US I can definitely say this is universal. Great write up!
As a Generation X'er I didn't like this movie when it came out although I understand it now forty years later...the main problem is that most of the characters aren't really likeable and they did sell out for privileged lives while being nostalgic (or embarrassed) about their supposedly radical past. As Glenn Close's character said, it was mostly just fashion for them.
This movie has been my top ten for 35 years! Great article. Thank you for sharing your words, your passion with us, as I found them very moving and insightful. Became a subscriber here and now.