Moyers & Company: Where Do Movies End and Politics Begin? (Enhanced DVD)

Bill Moyers interviews Neal Gabler who wrote the book entitled, "Life The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality." Gabler’s opinion is that life imitates movies and political campaigns seem like movies. Politicians try to paint a picture of themselves as movie heroes. More than having certain points of view on the issues, they need to be articulate, and handsome or attractive. However, unlike sports events, after elections are over there is no certain winner because the public remains cynical of the fakeness of the political contest. Gabler describes how Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney present themselves and compares great actors to great politicians. He talks about the movie "Ides of March," which shows the politics behind religion. Gabler concludes that the public has lost perspective because public opinion is so strongly influenced by media saturation and the principles of entertainment. Popular culture certainly has a huge impact on political culture. American presidents are cast like movie heroes in a two-dimensional way that appeals to the masses and it easy to present in the media. Politicians are superficially packaged for entertainment value. Bill Moyers ends the program with his discussion of the comparison between the need for personal liberties in opposition to the importance of the greater public good. He wonders if freedoms are taken in areas where they cause more harm than good. He gives the example of parents who do not get their children vaccinated based on religious or philosophical beliefs and questions how many will become ill because of this trend.

Moyers & Company: Where Do Movies End and Politics Begin?

• Enhanced DVD
• ISBN: 978-1-62102-982-3
• Run Time: 28 Minutes
• Copyright Date: 2012
• CC