1968: The Year That Shaped a Generation

War. Assassinations. Riots. This dramatic program examines the turbulent political and social landscapes of 1968 by combining dramatic archival footage and interviews with many key participants, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, Senator Tom Hayden, Barbara Ehrenreich, Carlos Fuentes and Pat Buchanan. 1968 marked the high crest of student protest all over the world and the backlash that ensued. In one sense, it was a year of repression and defeat. Bombing escalated in Vietnam, police crushed the student insurrection in Paris and massacred students in Mexico City while the Soviet government smashed the peaceful reforms movement known as Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. Yet, looking back, these causes and insurgencies succeeded - at least in certain respects: The antiwar movement eventually compelled the U.S. Congress to cut funding for the Vietnam War; student protests led to the French government's overhaul of the country's antiquated educational system; and dissident playwright, Vaclav Havel, endured to become president of an independent, democratic Czech Republic.
The late legendary news correspondent and anchorman Walter Cronkite hosts this retrospective on one of the most tumultuous years in history. Individual sections spotlight topics such as Vietnam, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., student revolts and the '68 presidential campaign and election.