Shouting Fire: The Edge of Free Speech HBO Documentary
The first amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that Congress will make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," but the fact that the Bill of Rights protects free speech doesn't mean that everyone likes it. Expressing controversial or unpopular opinions has sometimes caused people to be silenced by others, and in the wake of the 9/11 terrorists attacks, some Americans have found that speech isn't always as free as they'd imagine. Shouting Fire, a riveting exploration of the current state of free speech in America is crucially relevant. Interweaving historical cases-The New York Times' fight to publish the Pentagon Papers and the Nazis' insistence on marching in Skokie, IL. among them-with contemporary free-speech battles, the film documents the way both the Right and the Left have lashed out in fear. We think of First Amendment rights as inviolable; but in fact, they're profoundly vulnerable. Prominent First Amendment attorney--and the filmmaker's father-Martin Garbus, leads us through this perilous landscape and wisely warns, if we don't fight for our freedoms every day, we will lose them.
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