1970 Filmmaker Captures The “Silent Majority“ Speaking Out. How Did They REALLY Feel

In 1970, Americans were split on whether the country should continue the Vietnam War. Both sides had extreme elements speaking on their behalf. In the middle, President Nixon coined the phrase “the silent majority“ to represent most Americans who did not protest or speak out but in his view, felt strongly patriotic about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Chicago filmmaker Chuck Olin went into his community to see how people felt. He and his team were surprised to find that “ordinary Americans“ weren’t as one-sided or as silent as the politicians had indicated in the press had assumed. The filmmaker used 16mm film and a separate audio recorder and just captured real people in real situations talking honestly. Superb documentary filmmaking.