Rock Me on the Water: How 1974 Changed Hollywood’s Politics Forever, with Ronald Brownstein

Pop Literacy

In 1974, Los Angeles crackled with astonishing creative output: movies such as Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Shampoo, and Nashville; seminal albums from Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and the Eagles; and the TV series All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and M*A*S*H. Not only were these great works of art, but they also signaled a major shift in Hollywood, from ignoring the political upheaval of the previous decade to reflecting the progressive values a huge, new, young audience of Baby Boomers demanded.

This is the story captured by two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Ronald Brownstein in his new bestseller Rock Me on the Water: 1974, The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics. We talk to Brownstein about the importance of such works as All in the Family, Chinatown, and Jackson Browne’s “Rock Me on the Water”; the lasting cultural legacy of 1974; and why anyone who cares about politics should be paying more attention to pop culture.

Resource Links:

• Rock Me on the Water by Ronald Brownstein
• Rolling Stone: The ‘70s
• Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
• Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted
• The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch