Experiencing Interruptions?

Fragile Paradise

Opening a Senate investigation of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in March 1968, Sen. J. William Fulbright described what was taking place across the country as a “spiritual rebellion” of the young against a betrayal of national values. The war in Vietnam was coming home. In Bennington, Vermont a cultural storm was brewing as newcomers arrived during the late 1960s. At its center were the schools. Fifty years later, photos and ideas from this video helped to inspire an exhibit in 2019 at the Bennington Museum.

  • Greg Guma
    Director
    Greg Guma
  • David Putter (Guitar and Vocals)
    Music
  • Greg Guma
    Writer
  • Moonlight in Vermont (John Blackburn & Karl Suessdorf)
    Music Track
  • Credo in US: Cage Music for Piano & Percussion (Ars Ludi Percussion Ensemble)
    Music Track
  • I Got a Line on You (Randy California, Ode Music)
    Music Track
  • Greg Guma
    Piano solos
  • Greg Guma
    Photos
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 21, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Greg Guma

Greg Guma grew up in New York City and moved to Vermont in 1968. Since then he has been a newspaper journalist, magazine editor, college educator, public administrator, community organizer, federal projects director, bookstore owner, self-taught historian, and CEO of the Pacifica Radio Network

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Director Statement

Like other young progressives and hippies, I moved to Vermont after graduating from college. “It was 1968 and I was fairly traumatized by what was going on during my final semester,” I told an interviewer for Stratton Magazine decades later. “The war, the election of Nixon, the protests, the assassinations. Like a lot of people, I wanted to flee the violence and try to find better values in a less complicated environment.” Soon after arriving I found a job as a reporter and photographer at The Bennington Banner where I chronicled many of the historic changes taking place in the state. “I was one of only two reporters, so I was exposed to many aspects of society,” I explained. “I watched the culture war unfold.” Through memories and some of the photos I took at the time, this documentary explores some of what I experienced.