Shampoo

I enjoyed watching the film Shampoo. After watching the documentary about the 70's in class it made me really want to go out their and watch some of the films from the decade. Although Shampoo was set in the 60's it was actually made in 1975. When this occurs i think that films are typically made with a certain sense of retrospect. Often films looking back can appear idealised, but i do not think that this was typically the case with Shampoo.

I feel that the film managed to portray a real sense of what it was like in the 60's. Sexual liberation featured prominently within the movie and I can see how it may have appeared slightly shocking to a 70's audience. This film is defiantly aimed at the youth of America. This was the case with many films around this time. Old Hollywood was dying out, a new, fresh approach was taken, this involved fresh talent both on and of screen, resulting in a more youthful and modern audience.

I liked the fact that the film was given some social and political context by setting it during the political election in 68. I felt that it made the audience aware of the mood of America at the time, without focusing heavily on the politics and keeping the story focused on the characters and their intertwined relationships with one another.

Overall I did enjoy watching Shampoo, although it did come across as being slightly dated I feel that it defiantly faired better in time that some of the other movies from the 70's, such as Easy Rider for example which I watched last week. I think that the ending of Shampoo was interesting as it was not your typical Hollywood ending that an audience expects to see. It left me wanting more and it felt strange that none of the characters were left feeling happy at the end of the film.