Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004)

Directors:

Deb Ellis
Denis Mueller

Release Date:

18 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The life and times of Howard Zinn: the historian, activist, and author of several classics including "A Peoples History of the United States". Archival footage, and commentary by friend, colleagues and Zinn himself. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Narrator (voice)
Howard Zinn	...	Himself (archive footage)
Daniel Berrigan	...	Himself
Alice Walker	...	Herself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Noam Chomsky	...	Himself (archive footage)
Daniel Ellsberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Hayden	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Silber	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marian Wright Edelman	...	Herself (archive footage)

Runtime:

USA:78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Quotes:

[first lines]
Zinn, Howard: We grow up in a controlled society, where we are told that when one person kills another person, that is murder, but when the government kills a hundred thousand, that is patriotism.

Soundtrack:

Down

An outstanding presentation about an uncommon man

Traditional American History textbooks describe the American Revolution as a glorious revolt against tyranny, and the resulting government as a beacon of democracy for the rest of the world. In Zinn's A People's History of the United States, he provides evidence that the revolution served the interests of an elite ruling class, and the resulting government was in many ways as tyrannical as the government it replaced.

By telling history from the point of view of the oppressed, Zinn has transformed the way history is taught in American classrooms. In this cinematic exploration of his life, it becomes clear that he has lived his life in accordance with his principles.

The movie makes excellent use of interviews with important leaders -- Alice Walker, Marian Wright Edelman, Tom Hayden, Daniel Berrigan and others -- to tell about Zinn's influence as a leader against Jim Crow laws in Georgia, as a primary leader of the Peace Movement during the Vietnam War, as a union activist at Boston University, and as a leader in the anti-War movement during the Iraqi conflict.

If you're not familiar with Zinn's writings, you will be inspired to read about him after watching this movie.

Highly recommended.