Notes on the film Commune (2005)

FREE LAND FOR FREE PEOPLE

Blackbear Ranch - 1968

The inhabitants of the commune wanted to leave mainstream American society - they did "not want to be an employee, or partake in consumer culture." They believed that the American government would be overthrown within 2 years.

Founders of the commune went to popular musicians (possibly Frank Zappa) that were making money from the countercultural lifestyle and asked them to help fund the purchase of the ranch in return. The property they bought had a wooden ranch with 80 acres of surrounding land, situated in a remote space in northern California.

One of the two founders, Richard Marley, attempted be gain control over the leaderless commune, which was growing rapidly in population through word of mouth. He wore an old military uniform and used a blackboard to write up the rules of the commune. The other residents ignored him, and he gave in after one day.

The CIA became suspicious of the ranch, suspecting that it was a training ground for militant hippies intent on invading Washington. Some of the people who lived in the commune at this time suspected that there were spies living there, reporting back to the CIA.

In 1972, a group who called themselves The Red Brigade overtook the main house at the ranch. They wanted to radicalise the politics of the commune, and created a number of rules to forcibly establish equality amongst those in the brigade. Personal possessions such as clothing were gathered in one space, and were made available to all members (but documentary footage indicates it was rarely worn). Monogamy was also heavily discouraged. To stop couples forming, the same two people could not sleep with each other more than two nights in a row. Monogamous relationships were seen as "bourgeois decadence". Nevertheless, couples did form, and tensions were caused within The Red Brigade over the encouragement of polyamory. One ex-resident describes the bizarre colloquial "murder over the orange juice" based on an apparently regular but highly specific occurence: one person would be waiting up late at night, drinking some orange juice, when their partner would return from having slept with somebody else. The resulting argument would inevitably involve the spilling of orange juice, hence "murder over the orange juice."

Drugs: generally used up immediately after arriving within the commune.

Police and a newly formed Drugs Squad raided the commune, mistaking a tomato patch for cannabis, and seized all the plants.

Numerous children were born at the commune, both men and women learned about midwifery and delivering babies. The opinion of having children at the commune was split between different residents, some believing that they were "incompatible with commune life." As a result, some of the original members left the commune, becoming "nuclear families", taking straight jobs based on the skills they learned within the commune.

The Shiva Lila cult moved into the main ranch house of the commune in the mid 1970s. The Shiva Lila were led by Gridley White, a man who worshiped children and travelled the world with his followers looking for the perfect place to raise them. The cult were accepted at first, but due to their ultra-radical beliefs about egalitarianism they were forced to leave the ranch. One particular incident involved one of the Shiva Lila cult members removing a bikini off a young child "and destroying it", claiming that it was a sexist item of clothing.

Again, the notion arises that enforcing equality through strict rules ends in a rejection. The Blackbear Ranch communalists claimed that they provided "free land for free people", but the Shiva Lila "were not free enough."

The ranch and land was signed into trust in 1987, reserving the property as a cooperative living space owned by its residents. The trust also stipulates that the space should remain in "ecological harmony" with its surroundings.

"Wanting to save the world could be a huge ego trip" - one commune member reflecting on his time at Blackbear.

Voting Procedures as outlined in the Black Bear Family Trust Document

Voting Procedures. Under this instrument the beneficiaries are entitled to vote on several kinds of decisions: requesting an accounting from the trustees under Paragraph 9, removing and replacing trustees under Paragraph 11, naming additional beneficiaries under Paragraph 15, and amending or terminating the trust under Paragraph 16.

a. Any group constituting one-tenth of the living beneficiaries 18 years of age or older may call for a vote by requesting any trustee in writing to hold an election.

b. Thereafter, the trustees shall give notice that a vote shall be held at Black Bear Ranch by posting a written notice prominently at Black Bear Ranch and mailing such notice by ordinary mail to the last known addresses of those beneficiaries 18 years of age or older not then residing at Black Bear Ranch. Such notice shall be posted and mailed no later than 90 days before a scheduled vote and shall include the current address of each of the trustees.

c. At the time mentioned in the notice, the vote shall take place. All beneficiaries 18 years of age or older shall be eligible to vote in person. Such beneficiaries may also vote by written proxy delivered or mailed to any trustee at his or her current address other than one subject to a removal vote under Paragraph 11, provided such proxy is received by the trustee not less than 30 days prior to the date fixed for the scheduled vote.

d. In order for a vote to be valid, those voting in person or by proxy must constitute at least one-fourth of the number of living beneficiaries 18 years of age or older who voted in the most recent previous vote (the first vote shall have as its quorum at least one fourth of all living adult beneficiaries), provided, however, that an election to designate a successor to a trustee who has died or resigned shall not require any specific quorum. A vote to abstain shall be deemed a vote.

e. A vote for the removal of one or more trustees, or for the naming of additional beneficiary or beneficiaries, or for requesting an accounting, or for the amendment or termination of this trust, shall succeed only by unanimous vote of those voting in person and by proxy, provided, however, that no trustee shall be entitled to vote in a Paragraph 17e election.

f. A vote for the election of a successor trustee shall be decided by simple plurality: the individual who receives the most votes shall become the successor trustee upon his or her acceptance.

Documentary, Subjectivity, and Nostalgia

The documentary failed to engage critically with the politics of the commune. Failed initiatives were passed by either completely, or dealt with in scant detail. The film is a nostalgic home-movie of the early years of the commune. Despite this, it does provide a fascinating insight into the pragmatism of the counterculture and how their ideologies could be realised within an autonomous social space. The super-8 footage shot at the commune gives a strong impression of what life at the commune was like - even if it just appear to only portray the happier memories.