#007 Patreon Episode 2 The Manson Murders
Explicit content warning
08/10/20 • 10 min
The Manson Murders are captivating, not just because of the shocking nature of the crimes or the involvement of actual Hollywood celebrities.
They are also a metaphor about the end of the 60s, a bleak reminder that movements are as much about the people in them as they are about the ideas they espouse.
A dark undercurrent ran through the Sixties that goes completely against the narrative of “Free Love,” one that turned women into objects of a movement that was meant to liberate them.
The story of the Manson Murders is about the disaffected women of America during a time of social upheaval finding something they thought they could belong to.
They were Orphans, runaways, and rebels, teenage girls and young women living at the margins of society. This was a time of “dropping out,” literally leaving society to find a more personal, transcendentalist experience.
What that often meant was ignoring all traditional familial structures, and when that happens, people tend to fall through the cracks.
That’s true with Dianne “Snake” Lake—author of Member of the Family—and Squeaky Fromme and plenty of the other members of the family.
One of the ironies of the freedom associated with the late Sixties is that people still nevertheless fell victim to the need for an authoritarian figure, someone whom they thought they could trust and put all their faith in.
That is, ultimately, the story of Charles Manson and young women and men who made up his family.
This is just a slice of that story, and I hope I tell it well.
Sources:
The Manson Murders are captivating, not just because of the shocking nature of the crimes or the involvement of actual Hollywood celebrities.
They are also a metaphor about the end of the 60s, a bleak reminder that movements are as much about the people in them as they are about the ideas they espouse.
A dark undercurrent ran through the Sixties that goes completely against the narrative of “Free Love,” one that turned women into objects of a movement that was meant to liberate them.
The story of the Manson Murders is about the disaffected women of America during a time of social upheaval finding something they thought they could belong to.
They were Orphans, runaways, and rebels, teenage girls and young women living at the margins of society. This was a time of “dropping out,” literally leaving society to find a more personal, transcendentalist experience.
What that often meant was ignoring all traditional familial structures, and when that happens, people tend to fall through the cracks.
That’s true with Dianne “Snake” Lake—author of Member of the Family—and Squeaky Fromme and plenty of the other members of the family.
One of the ironies of the freedom associated with the late Sixties is that people still nevertheless fell victim to the need for an authoritarian figure, someone whom they thought they could trust and put all their faith in.
That is, ultimately, the story of Charles Manson and young women and men who made up his family.
This is just a slice of that story, and I hope I tell it well.
Sources:
Previous Episode
#006 The Vandyland Murders Part 1 l Sarah Des Prez
Sarah Des Prez was a freshman at Vanderbilt University on the night of February 1, 1975. She wouldn't live to see dawn the next day, and her death became one of Nashville's most infamous unsolved cold cases.
The Vandyland Murders series will focus on the murders of Sarah Des Prez and Marcia Trimble in the winter of 1975, two murders that would have many suspects but few leads over the following 30 years.
Music City Murder is THE true crime podcast about Nashville, TN, and every episode explores the history behind the city as well as its most gruesome murders.
Visit the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/musiccitymurder
Rae and Review the Podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-city-murder/id1516215460
Next Episode
#008 The Disappearance of Marcia Trimble / Part I
This is the first episode in a multi-part series about the disappearance of Marcia Trimble. Nashville, in 1975, was a much different place than it is today, and the disappearance of Marcia Trimble really changed the way parents and adults thought about the freedom they gave their kids. It is a true crime story worthy of a series, and I'll try to do it justice over the next few episodes.
Check out the Rolson McKane series on Amazon!
Boogie House is the first in the series, and you can get it on Amazon or at Parnassus Books in Nashville.
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