Medium Cool
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Medium Cool is a 1969 film directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster. Verna Bloom and Marianna Hill are also featured, and Peter Boyle has a short scene as an owner of an indoor shooting range. Peter Bonerz, who became well known during the 1970s as Dr. Jerry Robinson on The Bob Newhart Show, can also been seen in this film as the character Gus, Forster's sound man.
The title comes from Marshall McLuhan's work in which he described TV as a "cool" medium. The "cooler" the medium, "the more someone has to uncover and engage in the media"<ref>Marshall McLuhan<ref> in order to "fill in the blanks."<ref> The movie questions the role and responsibilities of television and its' newscasts.
The story, although centered on a fictional plot, was filmed during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and includes a substantial amount of footage of the convention and of the accompanying riot. The director explained that he planned principal photography to coincide with the convention, expecting that a riot would occur, which it did. The film is therefore regarded as one of the first American productions in the cinéma vérité style of filmmaking.
The film uses music from the early Mothers Of Invention albums by rock musician Frank Zappa, and the music during the opening credits is performed by guitarist Mike Bloomfield.
References
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