Woodstock Can't Get There From Here

"Woodstock Can't Get There From Here" [ [http://davidmcdonald.blip.tv/#584999] ] is a film that was originally conceived by writer/director David McDonald in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

While observing those catastrophic events, and the reaction of the American public and media in the aftermath, Mr. McDonald was stunned by the seeming apathy and entropy of the American public, in particular, that of the American "left."

In his analysis of the situation, McDonald realized that there was, in fact, no more "left," in America, and that the society as a whole had abandoned its original goals of freedom and liberty.

"Freedom" had become nothing more than a byword for "free markets." And liberty...a completely subjective term for a supposed idea of America that no longer existed.

The original version of "Woodstock Can't Get There From Here" is a historical documentary that takes a look at the earliest individualists in America, those who happened to be based in the town of Woodstock, NY, and shows how those individualists, and their ideals, eventually led to the foundation of the "Woodstock Nation" of the 1960s.

David McDonald's film features sections on Byrdcliffe, one of America's first arts colonies, The Maverick, an even greater sort of commune, plus sections on Bob Dylan's arrival in town, The Band, and the artists of the 1940s and 1950s.

The original version of the film, originally released in 2005, was a metaphor for the rise and fall of the 1960s generation, and played to SRO audiences around the world.

David McDonald, however, was soon prevented from showing the original cut of the film, due to threatened litigation by parties well-associated with the Woodstock "brand."

Under legal duress, Mr. McDonald re-cut the film to eliminate the original film's somewhat negative world-view, and re-released the film in late 2006 as a celebration of alternative values.

In addition, David McDonald produced an ancillary film entitled "The Culture Wars," which took some of the original political commentary from the original film and changed its milieu, from a somewhat abstract view of the rise and fall of 1960s values to a more specific setting, the Memorial Day Parade in Woodstock in 2006, and the polarized opinions expressed by participants about the war in Iraq.

As of this writing, either one or both of the films have appeared at The Asheville Film Festival, the Ffilmic Film Festival in Wales, and at The Woodstock Film Festival.

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