No, not Bob Dylan. (He's for later in the month.) Today's trip into the past involves those people who panicked when they saw a hippie. Get a gander at this epic: Brink of Disaster, from 1972. A very good year, as I recall. Browse this movie. If you watch the whole thing, you're a history masochist.

This movie warns of the impending destruction of Western Civilisation by campus radicals. Time travel is involved. It is awful. This 'educational' fil-um was produced by Searcy College, a religious institution in Arkansas. Which is more shocking: the amount of drivel being spouted in this film, or the fact that Johnny Smith is smoking in the library? (And that there are ASHTRAYS?) They only seem to object to cigarettes if they're 'funny'.

The appearance of John's Minuteman ancestor from the stacks is particularly poignant. Or something. Why can't these radicals realise that everything in the Fifties was perfect? Why do they have to go and mess it all up? And of course, the Minutemen were fighting so that June Cleaver would one day have all the best household appliances. . .

On a related note: 'Up with People' was a similar movement, trying to make sure that conservative ideas were identified with the Founders – rather than those awful hippies. Here's a sample of their work. The song is intended to pre-empt the notion that modern-day radicals were in any way like those rebels of yore. Think of the Tea Party Movement, and groan.

Was there really rioting in the streets? Well, yeah, I reckon so. Here's what it looked like in 1967. Heavy, man. 125,000 marchers and five arrests? Well, it's relative, isn't it? To 'Up with People', that might look like serious opposition.

Buffalo Springfield summed it up best. Paranoia strikes deep.

You may not imbibe any wisdom from today's film and clip offerings. But at least you can get some costume ideas for your next Sixties party.