As a passionate advocate for truth and transparency, I find myself deeply disheartened by the recent events surrounding the delayed release of Errol Morris’ documentary, “Separated.” As someone who has spent years following the intricacies of the media landscape, this decision to postpone such an essential piece of journalism is nothing short of baffling.
Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris released a new film in select cinemas this month, inspired by journalist Jacob Soboroff’s book titled “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.” In keeping with Morris’ signature style, the movie combines archival footage, interviews, dramatizations, and music to narrate the tale of the family separation policy implemented during Donald Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2018, and its ongoing impact. Initially planned for television broadcast, with NBC News Studios involved in production since the start, and MSNBC securing distribution rights, the decision was made to postpone airing this timely documentary before the election. The focus of the election has been heavily on the border, yet the executives at NBC chose to delay its release.
The revised premiere date for “Separated” is now December 7th. However, this decision has drawn criticism not only from the filmmakers but also media personnel, even within NBC. Here’s Morris’ latest post from October 5, 2024:
According to reporter Oliver Darcy from Status, Rashida Jones, head of MSNBC, might have had an opportunity to broadcast the documentary in October. However, it’s been said that Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News boss and someone who is trying to convince Trump to join a debate before the election, was against airing the film until after the voting process. Darcy further explained this point.
Of course, it’s obvious that broadcasting a blunt documentary about Trump could make it less likely for him to appear in a debate hosted by the network during October. However, Stephen Labaton, head of communications at NBCU News Group, clarified on Monday that ‘the debate scheduling had nothing to do with the airing of this programming.’
The Media Manufactures Consent and Has an Agenda
As a movie reviewer, I must express that “Separated” is far from being the sole piece of art with an urgent political message that has been unjustly overlooked or suppressed for political motives. The latest film, “The Apprentice“, featuring Sebastian Stan portraying Donald Trump, has faced similar challenges. Both ABC and CBS declined to air promotional spots for the movie during various debates. Tom Ortenberg, founder of Briarcliff Entertainment, the film’s distributor, voiced this concern: “The Apprentice” is not being shown on television because it poses a political threat or due to behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
The lack of courage and boldness among decision-makers in Hollywood continues to astound us. Yet, amidst every challenge we face, it’s a joyous occasion for us to finally bring The Apprentice to cinema screens.
For “The Apprentice”, that initial issue was merely a small part of a larger problem caused by Donald Trump attempting to halt the movie’s release. It is said that he reached out to Dan Snyder, a supporter of one of the film’s financiers (Kinematics), asking them to withdraw their support, which raised doubts about its cinematic distribution. Fortunately, the film eventually saw the light of day on October 11, weeks before the election. It’s a shame that a similar outcome wasn’t achieved for Morris’ “Separated”.
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2024-10-30 07:01