Many who read this review won't recognize the name Pete Seeger."" But when an acoustic version of the folk music legend's ""Turn, Turn, Turn!"" begins playing over the opening scrawl of ""Pete Seeger: The Power of Song,"" even those of us too young to remember the man at his peak will feel the energy his work channeled into the folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s. While the film was made for those whose college years were filled with his music and his political activism, this documentary serves as an excellent account of cultural history that will bring out the inner flower child in 21st century college students.
The film traces Seeger from his origins as the son of a musicologist and a composer to his life today, living in upstate New York with his wife Toshi. Highlights include attending Harvard, his early ties to the Communist Party, becoming a member of a successful folk quartet ""The Weavers"" that was subsequently blacklisted in the '50s, and his body of causes and political beliefs, which are so vibrant they inspired a generation of followers. Seeger has worked against censorship amid McCarthyism, toward civil rights and for clean water and air, always singing to promote his causes. He not only inspired a revival of folk music through the '50s and '60s, but motivated the men and women of the day to work for change.
Undeniably, the music of Seeger is the one factor that will unify audiences. His songs permeate our culture, with credits including the aforementioned ""Turn, Turn, Turn!"" made popular in the '60s by the Byrds, ""Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"", ""If I Had A Hammer"" (co-written with Lee Hays) and ""We Shall Overcome,"" the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement. It's impossible to deny the cultural importance of these songs as poetic histories of the times in which they were written. Understanding Seeger's story is vital to understanding these songs and their relevance to ourselves and the people and artists who were inspired by them over the last 50 years.
Documentaries that gravitate around a cultural icon like Pete Seeger often fall into the trap of idolatry, worshipping the central figures of the film to please fans while omitting facts that may spatter marks over the perfect picture the filmmaker paints.
""The Power of Song"" toes the line here, with interviews from famous names ranging from Bruce Springsteen, to Peter, Paul and Mary, to Bob Dylan, to Johnny Cash, who all have nothing but good things to say about their idol. Director Jim Brown sidesteps the issue of over-praise by countering with the moments of Seeger's life that cast a pall on his patriotic reputation.
Seeger tells these less flattering elements of his life personally with humility and unapologetic charm. This should satisfy for those who fall in the leftist sphere of politics, but may not be enough for more conservative audience members to accept him as the patriot he makes himself out to be.
Bottom line, ""Pete Seeger: The Power of Song"" is a well-put together documentary, full of cultural and historical sources that paint a rosy but reasonably fair picture of the folk legend. Anyone who lived through his time, or wishes they could have, will love every minute.
