I could go extremely in depth on this topic, but that would be way too long. However, I want to touch on a few topics on why I think it was the best decade.
During the 1970's we hadn't yet heard of crap like "Political Correctness" and America was actually a Free Republic and things were much different. On the tube we had such now classic programming as "All In The Family", "Good Times" and many more that you couldn't do today.
TV was also made up of game shows and a lot of stations ran old movies, especially horror films. There were many horror hosts across the nation including Seymour, Dr. Paul Bearer, Sammy Terry and the one I grew up watching, Bob Wilkins from the Bay Area in California. These guys kept an entire generation of kids enthralled with their movies and dry humor and again, this is something that does not exist anymore.
Of course there were many independent TV stations around that didn't have hosts, but ran tons of monster movies on weekends and sometimes during the week as well. It was heaven for monster movie loving kids and adults everywhere.
Back in the 1970's as well there were things called "Made For TV" movies and during this decade some of the best horror films ever made were created for the tube including "The Night Stalker", "The Night Strangler", "Trilogy Of Terror", "Norliss Tapes", "Crowhaven Farm", "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark", "Killdozer" and so many more. Heck, we even had a gothic Soap Opera that started in 1966 and ran until 1971 which was "Dark Shadows".
"The Night Stalker" and "Night Strangler" were so popular that they spawned a short lived series called "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", which is my all time favorite show from that decade. Yes, television had so much to offer back in the day. Today it's nothing but "reality" garbage and boring crap in general. The ONLY saving grace in TCM.
Music was also very creative with hundreds of great songs and groups as well as the greatest radio show ever created to keep track of all the fits, American Top 40 hosted, of course, by Casey Kasem. I have always been obsessed with that show and still am to this day. The show debuted on July 4th, 1970 and I listened to it for about 19 years until the music died in 1989.
Turning on your AM radio filled the room with such groups as Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Bay City Rollers, Rolling Stones, The Who, Donna Summer, Thelma Houston and the list is endless. During the decade of the 70's music changed from a lot of soul music in the early part of the decade to country rock and pop during the middle and, of course disco closed out the era.
The simple fact that there were so many various musical styles is that there was creative freedom to do what you wanted because there was a huge audience for everything. People were individuals back then and we had true artists who made great music that still lives to this day.
Modern "music" is soulless garbage about killing, sex and rape. Rap is crap and that is all I will say about that.
Movies got no better than in the 70's. Again, there were hundreds upon countless hundreds of horror films, black action films, exploitation films and more coming out at this time. Why? Because movie makers were creative and not shut down by PC idiots and these insane activists we have today.
I can't possibly list every film made during that time but some of the films that will always stick in my mind include such films as "The Exorcist", "Cotton Comes To Harlem", "Death Race 2000", "Frogs", "Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster", "Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Woman" (aka Werewolf Shadow), "Hollywood Boulevard", "Boss Nigger", "Lady Cocoa", "Halloween", "Heaven's Gate" and so many more.
There wasn't an idea filmmakers would not touch. George Romero showed everyone how it should be done with both "Martin" and "Dawn Of The Dead". However Romero wasn't the only director making gold back in those days. You also has a little film about a killer shark that became one of the biggest hits ever in 1975..."Jaws" made by Steven Spielberg.
There were literally thousands of bizarre horror films made all over the world and the most came from Spain and Italy. We had werewolves, vampires, mummies, flesh eating zombies, cannibals, witches, blind dead and much more. Almost all of these films contained some gore, lot of beautiful women and a bit of nudity to spice things up. These of course are long lost on films made today.
These films came out in droves and I tried to see as many as I could. The political spectrum was different for every country at the time, but most countries had the freedom and even encouraged film makers. This too is no longer the case.
In 1977 "Star Wars" came out and that was the death knell for creative film making of any kind. I remember telling friends and family that very thing. I entered the movie making business in 1979 and I saw first hand how corporate stupidity and the public's appetite for mediocre garbage destroyed what I loved.
Yes, the 70's will never come back, but I feel so lucky to have been around at a time when creativity and originality was encouraged. Sadly today movies, music and TV are cookie cutter garbage appealing only to bottom feeders and creative thinking is shut down at the public school level. If this weren't true I firmly believe we would still be having good horror films made in this country.
Times change, but not always for the better.
As a small addendum to this little speech, let me add this. I was speaking to a friend about movies the other day and he was surprised that I owned a copy of "Barn Of The Naked Dead" which is one of my favorite films. I told him and I will tell you folks, what other decade but the wonderful 70's could you have movies about turkey monsters, women in prison being tortured, women being trained as animals, black vampires, masked wrestling superheros, man eating beds, vampire women in leopard skin bikinis, and so much more.
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