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HOWARD ZINN: YOU CAN'T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN Send This Review to a Friend
A model activist, Howard Zinn is a man who has worked his entire life on the side of the underdog in quest of making the United States a better place. He’s still at it in his 80s, and co-producers and directors Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller have made an engrossing and illuminating documentary tribute to him. Matt Damon provides a well-articulated narration.
Zinn, a professor—he has taught at Spellman College and Boston university--and author of numerous books, speaks for himself in the film, but the makers have also interviewed numerous others who enlarge upon the portrait. They include Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden and Alice Walker.
What a varied life Zinn has led! In has not been in an ivory tower. He comes from a poor childhood in New York. He worked as a shipyard labor organizer. He served in the Air Force in World War II and recounts his later thoughts about having impersonally dropped bombs on people he could not see.
Zinn’s activity in the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam protests are recounted, as are his encounters with authority. His many books include “A People’s History of the United States” and “Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal.”
Mostly, what comes across is a portrait of a dedicated, wise, congenial man who is a valuable citizen, mentor and intellectual rolled into one. The film, which as any good biography does, reflects the era of its subject. It is timely in view of the various issues addressed and the pressing problems with us today. We could use more Howard Zinns. A First Run Features release.
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