Decades that Defined Us

By 1960, the world had largely been rebuilt after the devastation of two world wars. It was the start of a brave new era, of increased wealth, cultural evolution and leveling of social classes. But, as this innovative documentary shows, it was also a time of political turbulence and violence. A mixture of news footage and home movies reveal a decade of extraordinary change and influence.

As the 1970s began, there was a stark division between East and West. America was fighting a losing war in Vietnam, while at home there was violence and protests. In the East, the Cold War raged as the American President made overtures to China. As this innovative documentary reveals, terrorism, the oil crisis, Watergate and more defined a decade that saw the West question its place in the world.

The turbulence of the 1970s had eroded the idealism of the 60s. The 1980s saw politics in the West shift to the right as conservatism and the free market took hold. In the East, a new Soviet leader unwittingly set in motion events that would reshape history. This era of computers, Chernobyl and the fall of the Berlin Wall ensured that by the end of the decade, the modern world would be born.