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How were the 1970's politically?

ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
in General Discussion Posts: 1,984
Just to make a separate thread to my 80's thread. While I wasn't alive at the time, from research and stories, I gathered that the 70's was a rather tumultuous decade of political corruption and ineptitude. Of course the biggest story was the 1974 Watergate scandal that culminated in Richard Nixon resigning the Presidency. Only a year later, here in Australia, we also got something unprecedented - our Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed by the Governor General. Internationally, the end of this decade also saw some big names (Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, etc.) come to power. This was also Leonid Brezhnev's era as a major world leader (in the early 80's, he was just a figurehead before he died), and Mao Zedong passed away in this decade as well.

As with the 80's, what do we think about these people, or the events they were involved in? You can discuss your country's politics specifically, or international politics. You might even want to discuss another country's politics.

Comments

  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    @Birdleson - Seemed like US Presidents after Nixon were pretty lax. What did Ford even do? All I'm aware of is him pardoning Nixon, him falling down the stairs, and his election blunder.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited May 2016 Posts: 1,984
    @Birdleson - Yeah, I was never impressed with Ford. But then again, he wasn't exactly given everything on a platter. Nixon's resignation was unprecedented and I believe Watergate was an immense shock to everyone, so given the circumstances, and Ford's paltry two years, I think we should just be happy that he didn't make any major blunders. But he obviously wasn't good enough to be re-elected (not even close, I believe), so I don't believe he deserved anything more than his two-year term.

    But what do I know, I wasn't alive at the time and certainly wasn't living in America.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Ford.... then came Carter. Nixon showed you could do illegal shit & get away with it... so Carter was sabotaged during the Iran hostage thing. Brainless Ronnie became the puppet later (see: Iran-Contra). The 70's set the stage for the military industrial complex to rule. Lose in Vietnam but win new & more lucrative contracts (Vietnam was about contracts after all). Cheney is still laughing all the way to the bank. And MK-ULTRA is STILL regarded as some sort of myth.
    All ages are the same, it's only love that makes any of them bearable.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,589
    Not to sabotage this thread with a "Bond-centric" post, but it would be interesting to study the Bond films of the 70s, even up to FYEO, as a response to the political times--though I'm sure someone has done so already. I stated in another thread that the five Watergate burglars (who were wearing suits and ties) were once described as all thinking "they were James Bond."

    Some random thoughts:

    Star Wars has often been viewed as a post-Watergate political statement.

    Stephen King is on record as saying his novel Salem's Lot was influenced by Watergate.

    Furthermore, people forget that global terrorism came of age in the 70s, not 9/11. Munich was a case in point.


  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Yes to @chrisisall and @Birdleson. Again. :)
  • bondsumbondsum
    edited May 2016 Posts: 3,334
    @TripAces, TMWTGG used the 70's Energy Crisis as a subplot (McGuffin) with Bond sent after the Solex Agitator, a device that can harness the power of the sun and perhaps solve the Crisis. I have no idea what happened to this Solex Agitator? It clearly didn't work.

    LALD also has political connections as screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz thought it would be daring to use black villains, as the Black Panthers and other racial movements were active at this time in the early 70's. One could say at the time of writing the screenplay that the drugs subplot was down to President Nixon's “war on drugs" with his mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants which were all part of the politcal backdrop in the USA. Though these connections were always kept tenuous as not offend and keep the studio from being drawn into political dogfights which could damage the movie at the BO.
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