BETHEL — On Thursday, PBS and American Experience presented their new documentary “Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation” at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which centered around the experiences that people had at the festival. The presentation was part of Bethel Woods year-long "Vibrations" series that celebrates the power of the 1960s and it's enduring legacy in today's culture.

Director Barak Goodman along with his production team strived to tell the story through the eyes of attendees in order to portray the “counterculture movement” accurately. Editor Don Kleszy and the filmmakers acknowledged the timeline of events and diligently framed the documentary around them, which includes what preceded Woodstock.

“Woodstock has become an iconic event in history,” Goodman said. There was an expectation that there would be a significant amount of violence at the festival because of the number of people, and Goodman highlights how Dairy Farmer Max Yasgur applauded the crowds for keeping the peace. “It's an important, especially right now, important reminder of what people are capable of,” Goodman added.

Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, Joel Rosenman, and John P. Roberts were given credit by Goodman as their choices heavily impacted the thousands of people who showed. From bringing the Hog Farm, who later went by “The Please Force,” in for security to communicating with the crowd throughout the festival, the issues that occurred, such as the lack of food, were quickly resolved.

“We came over the hill, and that is a euphemism for finding home,” Woodstock Attendee Steve Alexander stated. “We looked around and we saw a nation of people who looked like us and who were friendly like us,” he added.

“Not only was there no murder, there was no rape, no theft, no crime of any sort,” He recalls an incident where two men were arguing in the street near White Lake, and Alexander and his group surrounded the men and chanted “No war” until they stopped fighting and embraced one another. Alexander also points out how there was trust between people, and “there was no sense that someone was going to be a perpetrator.”

The political tension in the United States drove the “peace and love” message of the festival. Between the frustration of the Vietnam War, the social inequalities, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the anger that flooded the country sparked a desire for change in which many of those who attended Woodstock supported.

“The moment that we are living in right now is very similar to what preceded Woodstock,” Producer Jamila Ephron said. “Certainly the younger generation today has a similar sort of alienation,” she added.

Throughout the viewing of the documentary, audience members reminisced as the film played and clips showed lovers, friends, and strangers enjoying the festival. But can there be another Woodstock?

“The technology that we have today would have made Woodstock impossible,” Ephron said. At the festival, the only way the crowd received news was the stage, and most had no communication with people outside of the festival for the full three to four days. They only had each other, and Ephron states how that wouldn't be the case today. The experiences at the festival were so rich because the connection from person to person was not hindered by technology.

“The spontaneity was key to its magic,” Goodman said. “I think you can have these big expressions of generational alienation or desire for change, that's happening and will continue to happen,” he stated.

“Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation” will premiere for the public on PBS August 6 at 9 p.m. It is a documentary that is emotional for not only those who attended the festival, but also those who appreciate the underlying message of peace of love. “You can see that the spirit and the legacy really still lives on,” Bethel Woods CEO Darlene Fedun stated.