In 1970, thousands of young people thought of themselves as agents of change. They wanted to restore America's democratic vision; they wanted to end the war in Vietnam. This is the story of one collective — their successes and failures, and what they do and think fifteen years later.
"Released in 1985 but filmed early in the first Reagan administration, The Collective: Fifteen Years Later has special poignance–and renewed relevence today with the Occupy Movement–as a portrayal of unabashed political activism... Reflecting on both the excitement and the disappointment of their political engagement, informants are, by turns, candid, rueful, and idealistic; they're unsparing in acknowledging their own mistakes both in analyzing and in organizing against a structure of oppression centering on, but extending beyond, militarism and neocolonialism." – Chris Wellin, "Documentary Film, Teaching, and the Accumulation of Sociological Insight: The Work of Richard Broadman", Teaching Sociology (2013)