As she demonstrated in her earlier documentaries Zizek! (VL-7/06) and Examined Life (VL Online 3/10], filmmaker Astra Taylor is not afraid to tackle large issues, but like those films, this one is also rather diffuse and opaque. What Is Democracy? begins with Marxist scholar Silvia Federici discoursing on Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s 14th-century triptych of frescos The Allegory of Good and Bad Government before moving on to clips of conversations with other scholars, including Berkeley political theorist Wendy Brown and Princeton philosopher/activist Cornel West, who talk about the praise and criticism directed at democratic rule since the time of Plato and Aristotle. Philologist Efimia Karakantza of Patras University describes how ancient democracy actually worked, noting the contrast between the random selection of officials by lot that prevailed in Athens and the election of representatives in modern quasi-democratic states—where the will of voters can be blithely ignored, as Greek politicians did during the recent debt crisis. Taylor also includes observations by ordinary people—an ex-con barber, park-bench sitters, activists at neighborhood organizational meetings—who give their views on how the system of representative democracy operates in America (virtually all find it unsatisfactory). Taylor, who was active in the Occupy! Movement, clearly gravitates toward the conclusion that the problem with modern democracy is that it basically serves as a smokescreen for control by a global economic elite rather than rule by the people in any true sense. Extras include deleted scenes, an interview with the director, and a film screening Q&A. A thought-provoking film that offers no clear recipe for improvement, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
What Is Democracy?
(2018) 107 min. DVD: $29.95 ($349 w/PPR from www.kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 4
What Is Democracy?
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