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Show their pasts; a spate of guidebooks has inundated the market; and, of course, there was TV's Roots II. The quest is not so much for historical accuracy as it is for a positive selfdefinition and identity, derived from nai3 selectively calling up the past ("My forefather fought in the Civil War," " was the mayor of our town," or whatever) rather than from a rosy vision of the future ("We will be free, equal and affluent"). Such a trend, as this sociologist sees it, fits in well with the society of the '70's, which is less interested in achievement, progress and . . "making it," and more preoccupied with rediscovering a compelling sense of value. The comedy of the '70's is represented by Steve Martin: "You know. I'm a wild and craaaaazy guy ... the kind of guy who might like to do annna-thin... at anytime ... to drink champagne at 3 am., or maybe... at 4 am eat a live chipmunk ... or may be even . WEAR TWO SOCKS ON ONE FOOT " IntheWs, no one would ever have brought the house down with such clean, "white" humor. No alienation or need to be relevant. No political bite of a Mort Sahl or a Dick Gregory. No daredevil, penetrating abuses of a Lenny Bruce. Instead, it's a throwback to vaudeville, slapstick and the sheer fun of a Bob Hope or g . tj 2 c o o o O & c rc Signs of the times (from left): A scene from "American Graffiti," Steve Martin, and "Roots" Jerry Lewis. The turnback of the '70's reflects a "sentimental longing for days gone by, a feeling which finds its most visible expression in television shows set in the 1950's, revival of old Broadway musicals, a rage for the cheap oak furin the early niture mass-produce- d clothing styles that veer back to the 1920's or 1940's ... a run on Mickey Mouse watches ..." observed Anthony Brandt in The Atlantic 1900's, by Amitai Etzioni low dance and touching. Big bands and dressing up for tea parties, yet. A return to fraternities and sororities. The films Crease and American Graffiti. These are just some of the popular-cultursignposts of the '70's A long way from the "Rebellious '60's," much closer tcs the "Silent '50's" the epitaph for the current era might be the "Rehashing 70 s, a decade preoccupied with the past, a revival of the tunes, themes and togas of yesteryear And not a simple return, like resetting the doc k e Amitai Etzioni is proessor of sociology at Columbia University and director of the Center for Policy Research. He is currently a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C 6 PARADE JULY 22, 1979 once spring and summer have passed by; the earmark of the '70's is a prettied-up- , nostalgic turning back to selected attractions of past decades. Crease and American Graffiti, and TV's Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, are prime exhibits. High school boys compulsively preoccupied with "scoring" and with cars (no one anxious to succeed in business or worrying about college entrance exams in this bunch), girls obsessed with curlers, catching a mate, and the boys' cars (no women athletes, potential scientists or executives in the lot). Creased hair, in another era. was viewed as plain uncouth But in these highly popular movies and shows, and in their hit songs, that slice of America's past is served up with glowing affection and merriment. "What a 'su'' per' way of life we let slip away The catchword is revival. The death . of Elvis Presley, some might suggest, helped the revival of rock 'n' roll But the Beatles did not die; they just disbanded The '70's, to bring back their music, created Beatlemania, featuring a substitute band playing the old tunes with the old sound but without the vigor of the original cast Modern music is turning away from electronic sounds to older, more melodic and less disharmonious tunes. An affectionate account of Jewish New York in earlier decades, Irving Howe's The World of Our Fathers, was And the greatest TV aua dience of the decade followed an historical tale about American blacks and unleashed what might be considered the most symptomatic cultural movement of the '7()'s: the search for roots, for family chronicles Archives have since been flooded with Americans of all races digging up best-selle- r Monthly. The "retread culture" of the '70's was attacked as "a form of parasite, living off a parent body of past achievement" by Robert Brustein, director of Harvard's Loeb Drama Center, who sees it as a reflection of the current conservative mood. "A nation which always looked forward is now in the process of looking backward, with considerable longing for the real or imagined comforts of the past " Instead of venturing into new forms and themes, he laments, audiences of the 70 s seek the coiness of the familiar, "as if they wished to escape from contemporary difficulties into the more reassuring territory of the habitual and the known " continued |