[The withdrawal of the film "The Blackboard Jungle" at the Venice Film Festival]
Friday, September 16, 1955
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This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.
Seldes speaks about the compulsory withdrawal of the film "The Blackboard Jungle" from the Venice Film Festival by Clare Booth Luce. Seldes strongly states his opposition to this type of censorship. He also dismisses many of the arguments for why this film should not be shown internationally - chiefly that foreigners will not understand that the circumstances presented in the film do not represent the United States generally. All movies, he notes, must make some generalizations.
He goes on to discuss the current times lacking protest, this, he believes is dangerous. Twenty years earlier was a time of protest, and Seldes speaks highly of these times.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 70708
Municipal archives id: LT6376
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Gilbert Seldes
About The Lively Arts
Gilbert Seldes discusses big-thinking issues in art from his characteristically populist perspective.
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