American Experience just aired a Reagan doc:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/reagan/
It can even be viewed online at this time. Wonder how it compares to
Jarecki's.
Best,
Cathy
Catherine H. Michael
Communications & Legal Studies Librarian
Ithaca College Library
Gannett Center 1201, 953 Danby Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
phone: 607-274-1293
http://comlaw.wordpress.com/
On Feb 16, 2011, at 4:11 PM, Kristin Cooney wrote:
Hello there,
I have been asked by one of our clients to assess the interest level
in the educational market for the new documentary about Ronald
Reagan. The film just premiered at Sundance and has been getting
wonderful press (NY Times, Colbert Report, etc) and reviews. More
information about the film is listed below. I am wondering how
interested you all would be in acquiring this film for your
libraries? It seems that this film uncovers footage and a side of
the president that hasn't been seen before…but I wonder – is the
educational market just too saturated with films related to Reagan?
I appreciate any thoughts you have about this! Thank you for your
time.
EUGENE JARECKI’S REAGAN, DEBUTING FEB. 7 ON HBO, EXPLORES AN ICONIC
AMERICAN PRESIDENT
A glamorous leading man with the common touch, a dedicated “Cold
Warrior” who helped negotiate the most sweeping accords in history
with the Soviet Union and a staunch proponent of smaller government,
Ronald Reagan remains an enigma even to many of his closest advisors.
A fresh examination of the fascinating paradoxes surrounding the
man, the myth and his legacy, Eugene Jarecki’s insightful
documentary REAGAN follows the 40th president’s rise from small-town
lifeguard to revered architect of the modern world. This textured
study investigates how Reagan’s homespun political vision fueled a
seismic career, one whose reverberations still shape American life.
Balancing the conflicting versions presented by colleagues,
historians, supporters and family, while combining archival footage,
never-before-seen interviews and the words of Reagan himself,
Jarecki assembles a rich portrait of a contradictory figure who spun
his movie stardom into political gold and became the leader of the
free world.
Tracing his subject from small-town boyhood to heady Hollywood days,
Jarecki discovers a man whose offhand amiability masked a steely
resolve. When his acting career faltered after World War II, Reagan
reinvented himself, first as president of the Screen Actors Guild,
then as a pitchman for products ranging from cigarettes to laundry
soap. He eventually landed the role that would send him down
another path, as official television and corporate spokesperson for
General Electric. Reagan’s travel on behalf of the company to small
towns around the nation provided him with a unique political
education as he gave speeches and mingled with GE’s workers. The
one-time FDR enthusiast and supporter of the New Deal gradually
abandoned his liberal roots for more conservative pastures.
By the 1960s, his transformation was complete. Standing beside
archconservative Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee for
president, Reagan became a charismatic voice for conservatism in
America. As the civil unrest of the era exploded nationwide, Reagan
rode the white, working-class backlash all the way to Sacramento and
two terms as governor of California.
Reagan’s willingness to allow the National Guard to confront
demonstrating students with tear gas and attack dogs earned him a
reputation as a tough traditionalist. The support and admiration of
the so-called “silent majority” buoyed his unsuccessful campaigns
for the presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976, and in 1980, he
topped the GOP field to run against and beat incumbent Democratic
President Jimmy Carter.
Once in office, Reagan proved more pragmatic than dogmatic. After
campaigning for lower taxes, his administration raised taxes in six
of the eight years of his presidency. Regardless, his charm and
affability won the hearts of the American public, which
overwhelmingly reelected him in 1984.
He denounced the U.S.S.R. as an “Evil Empire,” demanded that the
Soviets “tear down the [Berlin] Wall” and authorized the ambitious
Star Wars Initiative to keep America militarily dominant. But at
the same time, Reagan was engaged in negotiations with Mikhail
Gorbachev that resulted in a sweeping agreement to reduce their
nuclear arsenals.
His administration was rocked by the Iran-Contra affair after it
emerged that arms had been sold in exchange for hostages and then,
against the will of Congress, the proceeds had funded Nicaraguan
“freedom fighters.” REAGAN takes an in-depth look at the scandal,
which almost derailed his presidency, offering details on the
president’s role and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger’s
refusal to turn over cabinet meeting notes.
Jarecki also explores how Reagan’s personal beliefs aligned with his
public policies and finds that this stalwart symbol of conservative
family values was also quietly open-minded on social issues.
Since Reagan left office in 1989, his name has become a mantra for
Republican politicians seeking credibility, symbolizing a return to
traditional values and a strong stand in the culture wars against
liberal “elites.” But the truth, as Jarecki reveals, is far more
complex.
Others featured in the documentary include former White House chief
of staff James A. Baker; former White House senior advisor Pat
Buchanan; former White House speechwriter Peter Robinson; Arthur
Laffer, economist and architect of trickle-down economics; former
CIA operative Frank Snepp; Ronald Reagan Legacy Project founder
Grover Norquist; son Michael Reagan, who works to keep the legacy
alive; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frances Fitzgerald (“Way
Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold
War”); official biographer Edmund Morris; Annelise Anderson and
Martin Anderson, co-authors of two best-selling books about Reagan;
author Will Bunch (“Tear Down This Myth”); author Lou Cannon
(“Reagan”); author Thomas Frank (“What’s the Matter with Kansas?:
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America”) and journalist Dan
Rather.
--
Kristin Cooney
kris...@rocofilms.com
ro*co films educational
80 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 5
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-6471 x203
(415) 332-6798 fax
www.rocoeducational.com
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of
issues relating to the selection, evaluation,
acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current
and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It
is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for
video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between
libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and
distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control,
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and
distributors.
