Moyers & Company — Season 1, Episode 7: Where Movies End and Politics Begins

Episode synopsis

This weekend’s Moyers & Company starts with a compelling Bill Moyers Essay: Is it fair for parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children on the basis of religion or philosophy? Bill weighs the value of personal liberty versus the greater public health. Next, film historian and culture critic Neal Gabler joins Bill to discuss how representations of heroism in movies shape our expectations of a U.S. president, and how our real-world candidates are packaged into superficial, two-dimensional personas designed to appeal to both the electorate and the media. As a result, says Gabler, we never get to the true pressing questions and issues of America. Finally, Bill has a moving conversation with acclaimed poet and Poetry Magazine editor Christian Wiman about how finding true love and being diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer reignited his religious passion as well as his creative expression.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1On Winner-Take-All Politics
• E2Crony Capitalism
• E3How Big Banks are Rewriting the Rules of Our Economy
• E4How Do Conservatives and Liberals See the World?
• E5Economic Malpractice and the Millennials
• E6Decoding the Campaigns
• E8Moving Beyond War
• E9Standing Up For Democracy
• E10Gambling With Your Money
• E11An Optimist for Our Times
• E12The Case for Old-School Faith & Politics
• E13Big Money, Big Media, Big Trouble