Rebels With A Cause

Rebels with a Cause chronicles the movements for social change of the Sixties that began with the civil rights movement and culminated with the angry protests against the US war in Vietnam. Told through the eyes of SDS members, the film is about far more than SDS. Its about the values, motivations, and actions of a generation that lost its innocence but gained a sense of power and purpose. Its about a decade that changed America. Students for a Democratic Society, the largest and most influential student organization of the 60s, was a uniquely American movement that grew and evolved in response to the times. At its peak in 1968, SDS had over 100,000 members and 400 chapters but in 1960 there were just a few dozen members, inspired by the civil rights movement and initially concerned with equality, economic justice, peace, and participatory democracy. Then came the war in Vietnam, and SDS grew rapidly as young people protested the destruction being wrought by the US government and military. Although most activity focused on the war, SDS members were also involved in organizing in local communities around economic and social issues, were early activists in the womens movement, and helped start many of the counter-institutions that flourished in that period and since. As the war continued to escalate, polite protest turned into stronger and more determined resistance and rage and frustration increased all across the country. At the same time, the government, led by the FBI, mounted a concerted effort to destroy SDS and the antiwar, civil rights, and womens movements. SDS died in 1970, but the movement and the spirit of SDS lived on. See what worked and what did not!