Other American Voices 2002
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Thomas Kufus
Directed by Corinna Belz and Neil Hollander
VHS, color, 52 min.
Jr. High - Adult
American Studies, Communication, Human Rights, Journalism, Law, Media Studies, Political Science
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Scott S. Smith, Nazareth College, Rochester, NYIf you believe that democracy flourishes only when all points of view are freely expressed, then Other American Voices provides a much-needed response from the liberal and dissident side of the spectrum of American political discourse to the conservative and mainstream ideology that has dominated the media and the political process in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001. However, if you agree with Fox New Channel’s description of itself as “Fair and Balanced,” then you may want to view this program only when medicated, in restraints, or both.
Other American Voices is basically a series of vignettes of articulate and measured “talking heads” interspersed with footage of Ground Zero and the associated clean-up efforts. The participants are: Amy Goodman (Radio Host, Station WBAI, New York City), Noam Chomsky (Institute Professor, MIT), Asif Ullah (War Resisters League), Richard Deats (Editor, Fellowship), Beth K. Lamont (American Humanist Association), Carmen Trotta (Associate Editor, Catholic Worker), Katrina vanden Heuvel (Editor, The Nation), Gerald Lefcourt and Joshua Dratel (both of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers).
The technical quality of the program is excellent. The material is very current (comments by the participants indicate that the interviews were conducted about a year after the attacks of 9/11), is appropriate for all age groups over Junior High school level and, by providing a perspective that is not generally represented in the mainstream media, would be useful in presenting information directly or in eliciting class discussion. My one quibble is with the Ground Zero footage that is interspersed throughout the program. Ranging in duration from a few seconds to almost two minutes, this footage (during which the audio consists of the ambient sound of the scene, thus interrupting the interviews) actually comprises almost 30% of the video’s 52 minute running time. Scenes that surely are meant to lend grounding and importance to what is being said by the participants instead become intrusive and distracting.