Our Politics in Film Series kicks off this Sunday, October 2 at 3pm with a free screening of the cinematic masterpiece, A Face in the Crowd. Director Elia Kazan and Screenwriter Budd Schulberg, best known for their collaboration on On the Waterfront, brought Schulberg’s short story to the big screen in 1957, a time when the impact of television on the American zeitgeist was just starting to be understood.
The film tells the story of Lonesome Rhodes, an overnight media sensation whose irreverence taps into the national populace and earns him the name “The Demagogue in Denim.” Rhodes’ cult of personality catapults him into politics, an evolution captured deftly by Kazan’s kinetic camera movements and in your face camera compositions that elevate Andy Griffiths stunning performance with artistic mastery. As we stand in the midst of the 2016 election, media outlets such as The Washington Post and CNN have made the connection between Lonesome Rhodes and Republican candidate Donald Trump. See for yourself this Sunday