|
|
Freedom Action of the Week
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k
------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Mary Lou Seymour. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this
and other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
October 16, 2002
Liberty themes in film and on TV
Last week we talked about spreading the liberty "meme" through
music. This week, let's continue our work on creating a culture of
liberty by spreading the word about liberty in film and TV.
Let's face it: the average person nowadays simply doesn't read
many books. But they do watch TV and movies and rent videos.
When doing this type of general cultural outreach, films, TV shows
and videos are a powerful tool.
Libertarian and anti- government themes have always been
relatively popular in the film world. Back in 1998, the staff of the
Orange County Register picked "the top 20 libertarian films,"
including classics such as "A Man for All Seasons," "The
Fountainhead," "Casablanca" and the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup"
as well as more contemporary films. Since 1998, of course, there
have been several notable additions to this list, such as "Lord of
the Rings" and "The Patriot."
Miss Liberty's Film & TV World has a "Libertarian Video Store"
with a listing of videos available for purchase on EBay, updated
weekly, links to other sources for libertarian oriented films and
videos, and, best of all, a weekly email newsletter with news on
upcoming films, videos and TV broadcasts. You can also buy Jon
Osborne's book "Miss Liberty's Guide to Film and Video: Movies
for the Libertarian Millennium," which includes reviews of over 250
libertarian films.
Even in the vast wasteland of network TV shows, occasionally a
libertarian-themed show slips under the radar. This years sci-fi hit,
Joss Whedon's "Firefly," which airs Fridays on FOX at 8PM (7PM
CST) is set 500 years from now, in a future where the "Alliance"
has just been victorious against the "Independents" in a galaxy-
wide civil war. Captain Malcolm (Mal) Reynolds, a defeated
"Independent" soldier who opposed the unification of the planets by
the Alliance, commands a small transport ship, Serenity. Serenity
and its crew flies to the border planets, many of which are barely
inhabited, because they want to stay away from the Alliance and
below its big radar, for legitimate transport and salvage runs, as
well as more entrepreneurial endeavors. The title song, "Ballad of
Serenity," is unabashedly libertarian.
Most of us are familiar with John Stossel's investigative pieces on
ABC, which more often than not concentrate on government abuse,
stupidity, or the evils of regulation. Last summer's "Just Say No,"
on the failure of the War on Drugs, is only one example of
Stossel's excellent work at getting libertarian themes into the
mainstream.
For an "Objectivist investigative TV news show" that's in the
development stage, check out FreeNation TV. This is one you can
get in on the ground floor and help make it a reality!
The tools are "out there." It's up to us to help spread them to
others. Of all the "arts," TV depends the most on ratings; if we
want to see more "Firefly"-type shows, and if we want ABC to
continue giving Stossel the go-ahead on his liberty-oriented pieces,
we need to make sure the word gets out about these shows. Miss
Liberty's email newsletter is a good way to keep up with what's
coming on the air; check it out weekly and pluck a few "hot items"
to send to your own lists and forums and to tell your friends and co-
workers about. The goal is to get your "water cooler gang" at work
talking about "Firefly" and Stossel (instead of "Cops" and Jay
Leno, for example.)
For another way to keep "in the know," there's the Libertarian
Culture e-mail list on Yahoo!, where you can discuss art, music,
cartoons, movies, TV, etc. and the Arts & Humanities forum on
Liberty Forum.
As well as disseminating info to your own lists and friends about
upcoming films and shows, you may want to take it a step further.
You can purchase videos at low cost (see Miss Liberty's video
store) and place them in your public library, school library, or even
in local video stores for rental. Or, for an even larger step, think
about producing a "Liberty Hour" on public access TV, where you
can either show films that are out of copyright, or have a "liberty
culture" show where you discuss films, videos, music, art, etc. For
info on getting into "public access programming," see the
resources at the Alliance for Community Media.
One final note for any budding film makers and writers out there:
don't forget to apply for a "Film & Fiction Scholarship" from the
Institute for Humane Studies. Deadline is January 15, 2003, and, it
could mean a $10,000 scholarship for you, and, a promise to the
rest of us that libertarian themes will continue to be developed in
our culture, with the hope that someday, they will be the
mainstream.
Til next week
For Freedom
Mary Lou
P.S. BTW, in last week's column, I asked libertarian music makers
to send me info on their songs for sharing with the list. Steven
Schub -- singer for "the world's greatest (and only) Objectivist Ska
Band sent in a link to The Fenwicks site, and, songwriter Mickey
Olsen sent in his song "I am an Eagle". Check em out, these are
great!
Links
o The top 20 Libertarian films
http://www.free-market.net/rd/260991619.html
o Miss Liberty's Film & TV World
http://www.free-market.net/rd/582174210.html
o "Miss Liberty's Guide to Film and Video: Movies for the
http://www.free-market.net/rd/551937721.html
o Firefly
http://www.free-market.net/rd/264982013.html
o Summary of John Stossel's "Government War on Drugs Fails"
http://www.free-market.net/rd/515127007.html
o FreeNation TV
http://www.free-market.net/rd/883862419.html
o Yahoo "Libertarian Culture" discussion group.
http://www.free-market.net/rd/266152146.html
o Liberty Forum: Arts& Humanities
http://www.free-market.net/rd/489082959.html
o Alliance for Community Media
http://www.free-market.net/rd/267492239.html
o IHS Film & Fiction Scholarships
http://www.free-market.net/rd/269072350.html
>From last week
o The Fenwicks
http://www.free-market.net/rd/265340680.html
o "I am an Eagle"
http://www.free-market.net/rd/270202517.html
o Action of the Week archive:
http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Please forward and copy freely, and include the following:
The Freedom Action of the Week is a feature of Free-Market.Net
http://www.free-market.net/features/action/
Opinions expressed are purely those of our writers and editors.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and other lists, click to:
http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
To support the Action of the Week and other activities of FMN
and The Henry Hazlitt Foundation, please make a tax-deductible
donation now:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
, founded in 1995, is now a part of ISIL.
 |