December 14, 2009
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The People Speak
Last night The People Speak debuted on the History Channel. It was one of the most extraordinary movies I’ve ever seen. It is the History of the United States as we should have learned it in school. It shows who our nation’s heroes really are and to whom we really owe are thanks for all the freedoms we now enjoy.
I HIGHLY recommend it. I think it’s worth it for everyone to see. I don’t know when it comes on again but I will be sure to advertise it on here when I find out.
Comments (7)
I DVR’d it due to work. I think I’ll watch it now. Thanks for the reminder
I have goose bumps all over again watching the trailer
@ShamelesslyRed - There were many points that gave me the chills while listening to the whole thing. The early history stuff I found to be the most impressive. Howard Zinn is definitely one of the most interesting historians around.
Sadly, they’ve managed to divide the people today to the extent that everyone is still speaking, but there isn’t any coherence in what’s being heard. Rather than fighting the power, we fight each other. We’re on a slippery slope, and the cliff is only inches ahead.
@AOK4WAY - you’re absolutely right. One thing that saddens me greatly is the divisions between tea partiers and liberals, between libertarians and socialists, between christian activists and atheist/secular activists, between global peace activists and American peace activists, between immigrants and the middle class, etc. etc.
However, this is not that new. Power has always used a divide and conquer approach. During fights for worker rights for example a common practice was for businesses to hire Black workers as scabs to break the unions. This was not an accident. The point was to drive those groups apart to prevent them from organizing.
What is this exactly? A historical look at activism? That is what I gathered.
@DarthPatriot - basically. It’s inspired by Howard Zinn’s historical works A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Only this movie is not really your standard documentary or story. Instead it’s a lot of historical texts written by activists or pertaining to activists throughout the history of the United States. It’s the most dramatic of the texts Zinn compiled purposefully chosen so they could be reenacted verbally by famous and talented actors and performers in their own voice. Zinn has organized performances of this around the country and they’ve gotten huge acclaim and now they’ve made it into a movie.
It’s hard to describe the effect without seeing it. IT’s REALLY powerful.