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Independent Lens

American Denial

  • Episode aired Feb 23, 2015
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
29
YOUR RATING
S16.E10
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  • E10
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Independent Lens (1999)
  • Documentary
Follow the story of foreign researcher and Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal whose study, An American Dilemma (1944), provided a provocative inquiry into the dissonance between stated beliefs as ... Read allFollow the story of foreign researcher and Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal whose study, An American Dilemma (1944), provided a provocative inquiry into the dissonance between stated beliefs as a society and what is perpetuated and allowed in the name of those beliefs. His inquiry in... Read allFollow the story of foreign researcher and Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal whose study, An American Dilemma (1944), provided a provocative inquiry into the dissonance between stated beliefs as a society and what is perpetuated and allowed in the name of those beliefs. His inquiry into the United States racial psyche becomes a lens for modern inquiry into how denial, cogn... Read all
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
29
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Llewellyn M. Smith
  • Writers
    • Janet Patterson
    • Lois Vossen
  • Stars
    • Michelle Alexander
    • Danielle Allen
    • Mahzarin Banaji
Top credits
  • Director
    • Llewellyn M. Smith
  • Writers
    • Janet Patterson
    • Lois Vossen
  • Stars
    • Michelle Alexander
    • Danielle Allen
    • Mahzarin Banaji
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos6

    Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens (1999)

    Top cast

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    Michelle Alexander
    Michelle Alexander
    • Selfas Self
    Danielle Allen
    Danielle Allen
    • Selfas Self
    Mahzarin Banaji
    • Selfas Self
    Joel Blanco
    Sissela Bok
    • Selfas Self
    Vincent Brown
    • Selfas Self
    Khyvon Bruton
    Jesse Christensen
    • Gunnar Myrdalas Gunnar Myrdal
    Christopher Conway
    Tom Fahey
    Safiya Fredericks
    Safiya Fredericks
      Peter Frumkin
      Kaj Fölster
      • Selfas Self
      Kani Givens
      Joshua Gregory
      Charles Hughley
      Walter Jackson
      • Selfas Self
      Alex Jesus
      • Director
        • Llewellyn M. Smith
      • Writers
        • Janet Patterson
        • Lois Vossen
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

      Storyline

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      Follow the story of foreign researcher and Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal whose study, An American Dilemma (1944), provided a provocative inquiry into the dissonance between stated beliefs as a society and what is perpetuated and allowed in the name of those beliefs. His inquiry into the United States racial psyche becomes a lens for modern inquiry into how denial, cognitive dissonance, and unrecognized, unconscious attitudes continue to dominate racial dynamics in American life. The films unusual narrative sheds a unique light on the unconscious political and moral world of modern Americans. Archival footage, newsreels, nightly news reports, and rare southern home movies from the 30s and 40s thread through the story, as well as psychological testing into racial attitudes from research footage, websites, and YouTube films.

      Hear from experts historians, psychologists, sociologists and Myrdals daughters all filmed directly to camera. Witnesses work to exhume unconscious feelings Americans have about themselves and others. Fascinated by the Myrdal question, the films experts reflect on it with emotion and intellectual rigor. At the core of their inquiry: How to reconcile individual feelings and thoughts with the bedrock values of our democracy?
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        • Documentary
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      Details

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      • Release date
        • February 23, 2015 (United States)
      • Production companies
        • ITVS International
        • String and Can
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

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