Written by Eric Holder, University of Georgia, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Public Relations department head, the Peabody Awards
ATHENS, Ga. — From the courageous leadership of George Washington to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic, the films and programs featured in this year’s Reel-to-Reel Film and Discussion Series all deal with some aspect of “The Path to Power.
The series is cosponsored by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Center for Humanities and Arts, George Foster Peabody Awards, and the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection. All the screenings, to be held on Tuesdays in October, feature Peabody award-winning programs and notable entrants. A short discussion follows each screening at 7:00 p.m. at the Seney-Stovall Chapel on North Milledge Ave. (behind the Varsity).
Reel-to-Reel 2003 kicks off on Tuesday, October 7, with the A&E; original movie, “The Crossing” (2000 Peabody Awards winner), starring Jeff Daniels. The film recalls George Washington’s legendary evening attack against the British Army’s German mercenaries on Christmas Eve 1776, which changed the course of the Revolutionary War. Dr. Allan Kulikoff, UGA’s Abraham Baldwin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, will lead a discussion on constructing government.
Tuesday, October 14, will feature “It’s the People, Stupid” (1998 Peabody Awards entry), a “60 Minutes” segment that discusses political polling and the “selling” of political candidates, and “Vote for Me: The Political Education of Maggie Lauterer” (1996 Peabody Awards winner), which follows a first-time political candidate for Congress as she learns the harsh realities of the campaign trail. Paul Stekler, “Vote for Me” producer, will facilitate a talk on campaigning.
Three Peabody Awards entries will be shown on Tuesday evening, October 21. “Indecision ‘96” is a series of humorous public service announcements shown on Comedy Central featuring former presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford and former vice president Dan Quayle. “So You Want to be President” (2000) is a Biography Channel Close-Up that features former presidents and candidates discussing their aspirations and the personal tolls of a presidential run. “The Bush White House: Inside the Real West Wing” (2002), a special shown on NBC, provides a look inside the daily workings of the Bush White House. The theme for the discussion, led by Robert Rhudy of the university’s School of Public Administration and International Affairs, is governing.
The 2002 Peabody Awards winner “Bringing Down a Dictator” closes out the film series on Tuesday, October 28. This PBS documentary brings to light the year-long anti-Milosevic campaign waged by Serbian resistance in partnership with pro-democracy and human rights groups that played a significant role in the dictator’s defeat in October 2000. Jack DuVall, director of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, will conduct an open forum discussion.
Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, go to http://reeltoreel.vinsoninstitute.org, or contact Ann Allen, 706-542-6221, allen@cviog.uga.edu; or Noel Holston, 706-542-8983, nholston@uga.edu.
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