Democratizing the Screen: 'Cinematizing' and 'Musicalizing' Social Justice, Politics, and the Vote

Abstract

In a digital ‘new media’ era with a global pandemic shuttering theaters and necessitating remote (rather than in-person) political conventions, the screen itself has been democratized as citizens stream media on YouTube, Roku, Twitter and cell phones Films and media—from Hollywood cinema to independent films, political campaign video ‘mini-movies’ and social media—have harkened back to the civil rights era to ‘cinematize’ and ‘musicalize’ the quest for social justice and the effort to further democracy Legend and Common reprised their Oscar performance of “Glory” from the film Selma to honor Lewis at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, streamed on YouTube from the Fox Theater in Atlanta https://www youtube com/watch?v=nPBi88v7adM Barack Obama, the first African-American US president, paid homage to civil rights marching with Lewis to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Selma [11] Links: John Legend and Common perform “Glory” from Selma at the Oscars: https://www youtube com/watch?v=H9MKXR4gLjQ Jaime Harrison 2020 online Twitter ad https://twitter com/harrisonjaime/status/1312491386009202691 Barack Obama 2007 Iowa Jefferson Jackson Speech https://www youtube com/watch?v=tydfsfSQiYc John Legend and Common reprise “Glory” from Selma at 2020 Democratic National Convention to honor John Lewis: https://www youtube com/watch?v=nPBi88v7adM Biographical Note Dr Sheri Chinen Biesen is Professor of Film History at Rowan University and author of Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), Music in the Shadows: Noir Musical Films (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), and Film Censorship: Regulating America’s Screen (Wallflower/Columbia University Press, 2018)