Episode 9-
'Keep America Beautiful'
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How a riot in Manhattan reconfigured a New York exploitation classic – and American politics for half a century.
John G. Avildsen’s 1970 New York drama was originally titled The Gap, dramatizing the white-hot topic of the generation gap through the story of a white-collar businessman searching for his hippie daughter in New York’s seedy youth underbelly. But when it came out in that summer, its ad campaign focused on the supporting character of a loudmouth, bigoted hardhat, and it had also been retitled after that character: Joe.
In this episode, we’ll look at how the May 1970 “Hardhat Riot” in downtown New York City prompted not only that change, but a shift in electoral norms and party politics that continues to this day. And we’ll look at Milos Forman’s Taking Off, released the following year, which told a similar story of well-to-do parents searching for their hippie daughter in Gotham, but in a very different way (and with a very different outcome).
Our guests are author and historians Jefferson Cowie and Derek Nystrom, filmmaker Larry Karaszweski, and film writers Kristy Puchko and Zach Vasquez.
Original theatrical poster for "Joe" (1970).
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Still image from “Joe” (1970), directed and photographed by John G. Avildsen.
Original theatrical poster for "Taking Off" (1971).
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
Still image from “Taking Off” (1970), directed by Milos Forman, photographed by Miroslav Ondrícek.
The New York Times' front-page coverage of the hardhat riot (May 9, 1970 edition).
The New York Times profile of Joe Kelly, June 28, 1970.
SHOW NOTES
Audio from Joe, directed by John G. Avildsen. Currently available on Blu-ray and DVD, and streaming on several ad-supported services.
Descriptions of the Hard Hat Riot are primarily drawn from the excellent book The Hardhat Riot: Nixon, New York City, and the Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution by David Paul Kuhn, which you can buy here. We also used the New York Times’ original coverage of the riots, as well as this summary and analysis from the 50th anniversary.
The Joe Kelly profile in the New York Times is here.
Derek Nystrom was interviewed on August 24, 2021. He is associate professor of English at McGill University, where he teaches film and cultural studies. His essential book Hard Hats, Rednecks, and Macho Men: Class in 1970s American Cinema is available here.
Larry Karaszewski was interviewed on August 25, 2021. A screenwriter and filmmaker, his credits, alongside partner Scott Alexander, include “Ed Wood,” “The People Vs. Larry Flynt,” “Man in the Moon,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” and “American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.” He is also a contributor to Trailers from Hell and a Vice-President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You can follow him on Twitter at @Karaszewski.
Zach Vasquez was interviewed on August 24, 2021. He’s a film writer with bylines at the Guardian, Crooked Marquee, Crimereads, and others. You can follow him on Twitter at @zach_vasquez.
Kristy Puchko was interviewed on August 19, 2021. A film critic based in New York City, you can read her work at IGN, Crooked Marquee, The Playlist, and RogerEbert.com. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @kristypuchko.
Larry wasn’t kidding – the Joe Speaks album was a real thing. Feel free to buy it on ebay!
More information on the “real life Joe” case here and here.
Audio from Taking Off, directed by Milos Forman. If you want to see this one, you’ll need a region-free player.
Descriptions of Nixon pursuing (and acquiring) the white working class vote from the excellent Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class by Jefferson Cowie (which you can purchase here) and The Hardhat Riot by David Paul Kuhn.
The first Nixon clip is from his 1968 nomination acceptance speech; you can watch it here. The “great silent majority” speech can be seen (and read) here. The “Democrats for Nixon” hardhat ad can be seen here.
Jefferson Cowie was interviewed on September 21, 2021. The James G. Stallman Professor of American History at Vanderbilt University, Cowie is the author of several books, including Capital Moves: RCA’s Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor, Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class, and The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, The New Republic, andForeign Affairs, among other publications.
The George Wallace quote is from Stayin’ Alive by Jefferson Cowie.
Music:
Donnie Ozone - “Return of the Gucci Ghost”
Axletree - “The Hare in the Moon,” “Clothe the Fields with Plenty,” “Rheum”
Marc van der Meulen - “Cold, Cold Cemetary”
Mr. Smith - “Watch it, Questions”
Audiobinger - “Phony Luv,” “Brighton Ave”
Robert Farmer - “The Old Mother of Aziz”
Pedro Santiago - “Time (R)”
Insider - “Right”
Opening Theme:
Our opening theme features sound from the following films: Taking Off, Joe, Death Wish 2, Death Wish 3, Warriors, Midnight Cowboy, and Badge 373.