07/02/2008
A documentary worth watching (free)
Yesterday I mentioned the site freedocumentaries.org and the fact that they have, uh, free documentaries you can stream or download. I wanted to put in my two cents on a film I hadn't seen before but think is quite good, with one or two minor reservations.
Orwell Rolls In His Grave is a film about the state of the press in the US. Despite a somewhat overhype-y reliance on readings from Orwell's 1984, a narrative that wanders from specifics about the press to a lot of general left-wing issues, and way too much use of hovering, ominous strings in the soundtrack, there's a great deal of excellent material.
Much screen time is given over to interviews with Charles Lewis, Mark Crispin Miller, Bernie Sanders, Robert McChesney, and Mark Lloyd, among others.
While some of the specifics are dated - the film was made during the Republican destruction of the remaining media ownership laws that prevented Murdoch and Clear Channel from buying every outlet in sight, thanks to then-FCC chairman Michael Powell - the issues are completely relevant today, and it's a treat to see these media analysts given a heap of camera time to explain their views.