Out of Print

Narrated by Meryl Streep, director Vivienne Roumani's documentary explores the challenges of preserving written information in the digital age. Touching on the history of reading and writing from its Mesopotamian roots up through the invention of the world-changing Gutenberg printing press and on to contemporary times, Out of Print combines graphics, vintage newsreels, and interviews with educators, cognitive scientists, teens, and others, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, CNN and New Yorker legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, ebook company CEO Jane Friedman, and author and lawyer Scott Turow. While noting the ways in which the digital revolution has brought monumental benefits—including the promise of universal access, and the comparative ease of self-publishing—the film also looks at attendant downsides, such as the fragile, ephemeral nature of digital text; the fact that companies (such as Google) can monopolize the market; and how information overload is affecting young people (a few interviewees brag about not reading). One of the more sobering comments here is indie bookseller Fred Bass's observation that “a couple of generations down may not even know what a book is.” Sure to spur discussion, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Williams-Wood)