“Monkey Business” was more than a pop song about the 1925 Scopes Trial…it was also an apt description concerning its origin. After reading about the ACLU's (American Civil Liberties Union) offer to support any teacher challenging Tennessee's new law against teaching evolution, a media-savvy New Yorker working in Dayton convinced civic boosters that having such a trial in town would be an economic windfall. When their “victim,” John Scopes, agreed to be arrested for using the state-approved biology textbook, the little town not only made a few dollars but landed on the national map; the long-term consequences, however, were quite unintended. Dubbed the "trial of the century," the case featured Progressive/fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and atheist Clarence Darrow for the defense in what would become the quintessential case of traditionalism vs. modernity and faith vs. science, with ramifications that are still being argued today. Narrated by Linda Hunt, filmmaker Christine Lesiak's American Experience-aired documentary serves up an excellent narrative combined with archival images, scholarly interviews, and the reminiscences of a charming elderly woman who was a child eyewitness at the trial. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)
Monkey Trial
(2002) 90 min. $19.98 ($49.95 w/PPR). PBS Video. Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7806-3823-9. Volume 17, Issue 5
Monkey Trial
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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