In the mid-1970s — amidst the disastrous end to the Vietnam War, the political crimes of Watergate, the disillusionment of the idealism of the 1960s, and a disintegrating industrial economy — America confronted the past.
It was well past  time to reckon with imperialism and inequality. But, as historian Rick Perlstein notes, the US “is a nation that has ever so adored its own innocence, and so dearly wishes to see itself as an exception to history.” So rather than face the darkness, the US instead turned towards hysterical spectacle. There were tall ships in NYC, parades, fireworks, television specials, and endless sponcon memorabilia and commercial grift. There were also anti-corporate protests, right-wing evangelical Christian fear mongering, and ultimately, when the dust had settled, a Congressional Investigation into purported attempts to “steal the Bicentennial.”
Told through a dizzying array of archival footage and objects that reflect the shifting POV of the film, from propaganda to resistance, the film is an archival excavation of the dark pageantry of America’s 200th birthday party and a portrait of the libidinal economy of the United States—the desires, drives, and delusions that define a society.

Archives: Crucial to telling the story of the U.S. Bicentennial is representing its vast scope: every state (and most cities) held Bicentennial celebrations across 1975 and 1976, as well as inspiring stunts (a failed transatlantic balloon crossing) and protests (an anti-corporate Tea Party in Boston Harbor) by private citizens and organizations. The archival footage will thus be drawn from a wide range of archives both public and private, accessing materials from the U.S. National Archives, state and county historical societies, university archives and local television news archives. It will also draw from object-based collections of commemorative items and kitsch, such as those held at Yale University and the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, and advertising and corporate archives, such as those of Shell Oil, who sponsored one-minute long Bicentennial Minutes videos that aired on CBS News from 1974 to 1976.

Sierra Pettengill

Sierra Pettengill is a filmmaker from Brooklyn whose heavily archival-focused work focuses on the warped narratives of American history. Her films have screened at MoMA, Lincoln Center, Sundance and Locarno Film Festivals, on the Criterion Channel, and in festivals and venues around the world. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a board member of cinema nonprofit Screen Slate. Her most recent film was Riotsville USA, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. She is in post-production on Argonauts at the End of History.