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SOURCE  "Field of Dreams", 1989

Context: Protester giving speech to ban the author's books which were published in the 60s because of too much racism etc. For these words one of the audience members rose up and counterattacked the protestor by elevating the positive sides of the author.

Annie: he was talking about love and peace and understanding. l cherished his books, and l dearly wish he had written more. Maybe if you had experienced even a little bit of the '60s, you might feel the same way, too.

Protester: I experienced the '60s.

Annie: No, I think you had two '50s and moved right on into the '70s.

I didn't understand last counter punch given by Annie.

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2 Answers 2

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Adding this for P.E. Dant just so that we can mark this answered. His answer was indeed wonderful:

Annie says that instead of experiencing the 60's, the protestor lived through the 60's as if they were a repeat of the 50's. The implication is that the protestor was not a part of the cultural upheaval that took place during that decade.

I would also add that this particular comeback / saying is not an uncommon phrase and would be immediately understood by many older Americans.

The 50's were understood to be a very civil, ordered, and now old-fashioned decade. A "Man's" role was understood. At home, the Father's word is law. He works 9am to 5pm every day while mom stays quietly at home with the kids at home and never, ever questions anything. Any action to break away from this pattern was unheard of and deeply frowned upon.

The 60's were a decade of challenging the social normal, of experimenting, of learning. New music, drugs, rock and roll, challenging the government, etc.

With this background, you can see that Annie is indeed accusing the Protester of being extremely inflexible, possibly racist, hide-bound, and not able to cope with changing times. It is a very strong statement to make against the protester.

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Annie thinks that the protestor lived throughout his 60' as though it were the 50'; he hadn't really seen the 60' the way the 60' had been. He skipped the 60' straight into the 70'.

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