In March and April of 1982, PBS aired one of the most controversial documentaries of the decade. The film series was filmed here in Middletown, USA - Muncie, IN.
Dr. Warren Vander Hill, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, along with colleagues Dwight Hoover and Joseph Trimmer, took part in the Film series as a research and founders of the project.
"Middletown was an idea of a study of people's attitudes towards there jobs," said Vander Hill.
Almost 20 years after the airing of only five of the six films, Vander Hill spoke to the Association for Life Long Learners Tuesday at Assembly Hall in the Alumni Center about the films and his experience with it.
This film series was directed and produced by Peter Davis, winner of several Emmies and Academy Awards for past documentaries such as "Hearts and Minds" and "The Selling of the Pentagon."
After receiving a large grant from the National Endowment for Humanities, the team contacted Davis asking him to film the series.
They began by filming the 1979 Mayoral election between Democratic James Carey and Republican Alan Wilson. This film was titled "The Campaign."
Following "The Campaign," the team focused on leisure and went into Muncie Central to film a Basketball game between Central and Anderson. "The Big Game" featured the rivalry between the two schools focusing on the coaches and a key player from each team. The film took a twist when the coach suspended four players from the game for violating a New Year's Eve curfew.
Adding to the series was "Community of Praise," a look at religion for the view point of one family, "Family Business," a pizza place owned by journalism professor Howie Snider, with threats of submerging, and "Second Time Around," the story of couple who had divorced then remarried.
The last film in the series was never aired on national television because of the serious issue which were brought to the surface.
"Seventeen" named the Middletown Film Series "controversial." This film about education focused on senior Lynn Massie and her circle of friends in school and out of school. Davis pulled this film out of the series because if it were to be air, then several segments would have been cut. Sections include clips of interracial dating, under age drinking and smoking marijuana.
"'Seventeen' took on a life of it's own," said Vander Hill. "It's been shown at international film series all over the world, with 'banned film' written all over it."
These films can still be seen on video from Bracken Library. Also at Bracken is a short film called "Middletown Revisited: A Year Later."
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