Films

There have been numerous films made that are of interest to libertarians, so whether you're politically libertarian, or just interested in ideas of freedom, like...

• individualism
• tolerance
• reason
• and personal responsibility

...you're sure to find movies that match your taste!

Why are you doing this? To help affirm libertarian values to libertarians and to spread libertarian ideas to non-libertarians. We all need that emotional fuel which seeing our ideas and vision projected in art provides. ... By reviewing and advertising films and TV of interest to libertarians, I hope to give fellow libertarians some additional strength of conviction and a sense of being a part of something great.

I have come up with a list of some films I've happened upon that I think are of particular interest to Austrians and libertarians. In addition to having some libertarian angle, (and I, by no means, am vouching for ideological purity in any of these films), I also selected for films that are generally high quality (critically acclaimed).

In a study of the 100 top-grossing films selected from Variety listings, researchers found that nearly nine out of ten business characters were portrayed positively before 1965, but two out of three were portrayed negatively thereafter. After 1975, the proportion of negative business characters rose to three out of four. Such films as The China Syndrome, Norma Rae, Silkwood, and Wall Street might serve as examples of this trend, in which antisocial or even criminal corporate behavior could be challenged only by the heroic actions of crusading lawyers and journalists or brave whistleblowers.

Fellow Inspiration Seekers: ... my list focuses more narrowly on films possessing some inspirational quality or uplifting element. Even the tragedies on my list have grand or idealistic aspirations, while the lighter-weight romances are, for all their fluff, wonderful emotional tonics.

Of the nearly two hundred libertarian movies identified and reviewed on this site, we picked just 25 as the best of the best. Evaluations were based primarily on libertarian content, but entertainment value and production quality were also important considerations. Additionally, an effort was made to balance subject matter so that no one topic was disproportionately covered. ... This list will evolve as additional libertarian movies are noted and reviewed.

I'm not going to discuss documentaries or educational films such as The Incredible Bread Machine, Waco: The Rules of Engagement, or John Stossel's superb ABC specials. Today's topic is libertarian movies from Hollywood — and there have been more than you might think. Shenandoah, a 1965 film ... Amistad (1997) ... The Castle was produced in Australia in 1997... in 1999 I also enjoyed The Winslow Boy ... So Big (1953) ... The Palermo Connection (1990) ... Pacific Heights (1990) ... My Beautiful Laundrette, made for British television in 1985.

The Golden Age of the cinema was the thirties and forties. It was then that we could delight in Gone With the Wind, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and The Lady Vanishes; it was then that we could enjoy the sophisticated wit of the Cary Grant-Katherine Hepburn movies and the hilarious farce of the Marx Brothers, as well as Mr. Old Curmudgeon himself, W. C. Fields. Indeed, by far the three best movies that I saw in 1972 were revivals from that better age. Two were from GBS: Major Barbara and Pygmalion ... And finally, the incomparable English film, The Importance of Being Earnest, perhaps the greatest motion picture ever made.

Unfortunately, that gets very, very confusing with stuff like the motion-picture rating system. What you have there is, at least on the face of it, a "voluntary" rating system put in because of government threats. I do blame the entertainment industry for a lot, because they could have hung tough and seen where the chips fell. But they didn't, because it's better for business, which is what they're supposed to be about. It's complicated, but what we have now is a situation where if you open a movie theater in a mall, you sign a piece of paper that says you can't show unrated, NC-17, or X-rated films.