Notable films that came out in the 1960s include “Psycho,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “Mary Poppins.” But what film best embodies the 60s — or any decade, for that matter?

Beginning tonight — with the screening of “To Kill a Mockingbird” — ASAP will show a classic film (one for each decade since the LSC’s construction) every Monday and Wednesday night for the next three weeks as part of the ongoing efforts to celebrate the LSC’s 50 year anniversary.

The chosen films include “To Kill a Mockingbird” (60s), “Grease” (70s), “Back to the Future” (80s), “Toy Story” (90s) and “Men in Black III” (2000s).

The series, which is free to all students, faculty and Fort Collins community members, focuses less on challenging the viewer than it does on appealing to a wide audience, according to Amana Ammishaddai, one of the ASAP film coordinators.

“The idea behind this film series is to celebrate the LSC’s 50th Anniversary, so we thought that more popular films from each decade would be appropriate,” Ammishaddai said.

“As a film co-coordinator, my favorite part is seeing how many people we have reached
through marketing, as well as providing an event that several individuals can enjoy,” said Amy Luhrs, another ASAP film coordinator.

As for attendance at the screenings, Ammishaddai said that it’s hard to know how many people will turn out.

“It’s hard to predict a specific number of people that will come, especially since the tickets are free,” Ammishaddai said. “But we’re hoping to get a pretty good number of students, faculty and the Fort Collins community since this goes hand-in-hand with celebrating the LSC’s 50th Anniversary.”

Other LSC 50-year celebrations include balloon, caricature and magician artists on the plaza, a speech from Blane Harding and a time capsule display. The celebration culminates in an anniversary party in the LSC Main Ballroom on Oct. 5.

For David Vest, a history and appreciation of film professor at CSU, the choices for the Film Series don’t embody the spirits of the decades they represent.

“With exception of Mockingbird, none of these films will provoke thoughtful discussion or challenge the viewer…and even ‘Mockingbird’ is pretty tame after all these years,” Vest said.

“Films capturing the zeitgeist of the decades that provide grist for fun discussion over dinner afterward might include: ‘Easy Rider’ (60s), ‘Annie Hall’ (70s), ‘Do The Right Thing’ (80s) and ‘Pulp Fiction’ (90s),” Vest said.

“If the audience feels good about the event, I’ll feel good about it,”  Ammishaddai said.