Neoconservatives, the architects of the War on Terror, are the political version of Jason in Friday the 13th: You can never bank on them being completely dead. They just hide under a log until the next funder appears.
The neocon media tribune, the Weekly Standard, did indeed fold recently. In no time they had a new voice: The Bulwark, edited by former Weekly Standard and current NBC/MSNBC contributor Charlie Sykes, with Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol listed as “editor at large.”
The Bulwark features a quasi-Soviet realist title font,...
The neocon media tribune, the Weekly Standard, did indeed fold recently. In no time they had a new voice: The Bulwark, edited by former Weekly Standard and current NBC/MSNBC contributor Charlie Sykes, with Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol listed as “editor at large.”
The Bulwark features a quasi-Soviet realist title font,...
- 1/14/2019
- by Matt Taibbi
- Rollingstone.com
Film review: 'Arguing the World'
As the four subjects of this stimulating documentary discuss the politics and ideologies of 20th century America, "Arguing the World" takes on an air of fantasy. Surely these men live in an alternate universe in which people can make a difference through the sheer intellectual force of their ideas.
Joseph Dorman's film, now receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum, is about four men who grew up together in New York, attended City College in the 1930s (which, the film makes clear, was the lower-class equivalent to Harvard) and went on to careers as some of this country's most distinguished cultural and political theorists. Each started as a social radical, enthralled with the possible future of Marxism, but they ultimately diverged in wildly separate directions. Irving Kristol became a figurehead of the neoconservative movement; Nathan Glazer became a critic of liberal social programs; Daniel Bell modified his positions but stayed true to his liberal roots; and the late Irving Howe remained a faithful leftist. The film chronicles the intellectual journey taken by each of these men, who started as friends but later became bitterly divided.
"Arguing the World" is, as one would imagine, an often-static documentary relying primarily on talking heads, but these are heads than certainly can talk. It is also fascinating in its delineation of ideologies adapting with the times and altering relationships. As the men assume their various roles in intellectual life -- writing books, advising presidents, founding magazines like Public Interest, Commentary and Dissent -- their once-close friendship inevitably suffers, though each remains respectful of the others. Ultimately, the film is most valuable for its evocation of a now-unimaginable time when ideas mattered.
ARGUING THE WORLD
First Run Features
Director-screenplay-producer: Joseph Dorman
Executive producer: Arnold Labaton
Associate producer: Gail Segal
Editor: Jonathan Oppenheim
Photography: Peter Brownscombe,
Barrin Bonet, Wayne De La Roche, Boyd Estus
Music: Adam Guettel
Color
Running time -- 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Joseph Dorman's film, now receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum, is about four men who grew up together in New York, attended City College in the 1930s (which, the film makes clear, was the lower-class equivalent to Harvard) and went on to careers as some of this country's most distinguished cultural and political theorists. Each started as a social radical, enthralled with the possible future of Marxism, but they ultimately diverged in wildly separate directions. Irving Kristol became a figurehead of the neoconservative movement; Nathan Glazer became a critic of liberal social programs; Daniel Bell modified his positions but stayed true to his liberal roots; and the late Irving Howe remained a faithful leftist. The film chronicles the intellectual journey taken by each of these men, who started as friends but later became bitterly divided.
"Arguing the World" is, as one would imagine, an often-static documentary relying primarily on talking heads, but these are heads than certainly can talk. It is also fascinating in its delineation of ideologies adapting with the times and altering relationships. As the men assume their various roles in intellectual life -- writing books, advising presidents, founding magazines like Public Interest, Commentary and Dissent -- their once-close friendship inevitably suffers, though each remains respectful of the others. Ultimately, the film is most valuable for its evocation of a now-unimaginable time when ideas mattered.
ARGUING THE WORLD
First Run Features
Director-screenplay-producer: Joseph Dorman
Executive producer: Arnold Labaton
Associate producer: Gail Segal
Editor: Jonathan Oppenheim
Photography: Peter Brownscombe,
Barrin Bonet, Wayne De La Roche, Boyd Estus
Music: Adam Guettel
Color
Running time -- 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/9/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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