More than 50 years and 10 presidential administrations have passed since Orson Welles narrated Freedom River (1971). And while it shows signs of age, the animated film, a parable about the role of immigration, race, and wealth in America, still resonates today. Actually, given the cynical exploitation of xenophobia during this most unpresidential of presidential campaigns, you could say that Freedom River strikes a bigger chord than it has in years. That’s why we’re featuring the animation once again on Open Culture.
The backstory behind the film deserves a little mention. According to Joseph Cavella, a writer for the film, it took a little cajoling and perseverance to get Orson Welles involved in the film.
For several years, Bosustow Productions had asked Orson Welles, then living in Paris, to narrate one of their films. He never responded. When I finished the Freedom River script, we sent it to him together with a portable reel to reel tape recorder and a sizable check and crossed our fingers. He was either desperate for money or (I would rather believe) something in it touched him because two weeks later we got the reel back with the narration word for word and we were on our way.
Indeed, they were.
Directed by Sam Weiss, Freedom River tells the story of decline–of a once-great nation lapsing into ugliness. Despite the comforting myths we like to tell ourselves here in America, that ugliness has always been there. Xenophobia, greed, racism (you could add a few more traits to the list) are nothing new. They just tend to surface when demagogues make it permissible, which is precisely what we’re seeing right now. Fortunately, Welles’s narration leaves us with room to hope, with room to believe that our citizens will rise above what our worst leaders have to offer.
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