Welcome to Riotsville, U.S.A., a fictional town built by the U.S. military in response to the mounting militancy of the late-1960s protest movement, and a desperate attempt by the nation’s rulers—politicians, bureaucrats, and police—to win the war in the streets.

Using actual footage from these “Riotsvilles” where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder, in addition selections from nationally broadcast news, director Sierra Pettengill connects the stagecraft of “law and order” to the real violence of state practice and militarization. Recovering an obscured history whose effects have shaped the present in ways both insidious and explosive, Riotsville, U.S.A. (Sierra Pettengill, USA, 2022, 91 min., DCP) is a poetic and furious reflection on the rebellions of the 1960s and the machine that worked to destroy them.

3CT fellow Allyson Nadia Field will introduce the film.

Presented by 3CT and the Film Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture and the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity

This event is free and open to the public, and registration is recommended. Please email us at ccct@uchicago.edu if you require any accommodations to enable your full participation.