Frontline - General Discussion

[piccadilly83]

On 12/7/2018 at 8:29 AM, Rap541 said:

And  - right or wrong - culturally communities in America look down on people who take advantage of social benefits if they are white.

Are you suggesting that culturally communities in America do not look down on people of color who take advantage of social benefits or that they look down upon them less?  If so, I suggest you reexamine the welfare queen trope.  The suggestion that poor white people who qualify for social welfare benefits don't take advantage of them due a sort of societal racial bias against their favor is completely out of step with my experience in American politics.

[Rap541]

12 hours ago, piccadilly83 said:

Are you suggesting that culturally communities in America do not look down on people of color who take advantage of social benefits or that they look down upon them less? 

Not at all. I was responding to the comment on how white supremacists tend to look not so "master race" due to their often obvious poverty and lack of education and touching on the reasons why they often don't see that they're in a similar, if slightly better position than the people of color they oppress.  That has nothing to do with the fact that people of color are routinely shamed for taking benefits. You're right - that's happening, likely even as I type this. 

But... that doesn't mean that there's been a system in place since the first white landowners began encouraging their poor white brethren to blame the equally poor and often more poor people of color for their troubles, all while working the system to make sure that the po' white trash stays well down the rungs of society. Looked at objectively, poor whites have far more common interests with people of color but this notion of "you're white so you *should* be doing better, why aren't you?" shaming and the way society encourages the blame to be placed on the people of color "taking" what the poor whites would otherwise receive (theoretically receive anyway) is a huge part of the problem.

Do note, this in no way means people of color aren't looked down on for taking social benefits. That's absolutely true - and if it's necessary to concede people of color have it the worst, I have absolutely no problem agreeing with that point.

[AuntiePam]

The Great Divide: Obama to Trump -- it's an eye-opener.  I'm a Liberal Democrat but I've voted locally for Republicans and Independents.  My husband is a Republican but has also voted off the ticket. 

I've had a hard time understanding what happened in 2016 and this documentary is just what I needed. 

I guess I don't have any profound insights about the doc, except that there are some profound insights to be had -- like how Trump felt that his legitimacy was being questioned, with the investigation into Russian interference.  It's ironic that he couldn't see that his Birther movement did the same for Obama.  It's sad that (apparently) Trump was prepared to be "presidential" from the beginning -- to tone down his rhetoric and try to appeal outside his base -- but was stopped by Steve Bannon and others. 

I'll probably watch this more than once -- there's a lot to digest, even though none of it is particularly complicated.

I'm interested in opinions of Trump supporters.

 

 

[AuntiePam]

This week's episode about the origins of the Food and Drug Administration was fascinating.  The documentary followed the work of Harvey Washington Wiley, a scientist who pioneered food safety.  This was necessary because of the change from agrarian to urban/industrial.  It was necessary for city dwellers to consume manufactured/processed food.  There were no regulations -- manufacturers could put anything they wanted into their products, and they did.

He started by organizing a "poison squad", volunteer federal employees (healthy young men) who agreed to eat only what Wiley provided.  He fed them adulterated food and recorded the results.  The men got sick from these experiments, but thankfully, none of them died.

Even if you're familiar with the time period, this was fascinating, and frustrating.  It seems that nothing has changed.  Corporations and big business had too much power in the 19th century, just as they do now.  Anyone who complains about "big government" and "too many regulations" should watch this.  If not for Wiley and others, we'd still have formaldehyde in meat.

 

 

[DanaK]

Frontline episode for November 9 2021: "Pandora Papers". About the recently leaked documents on the world of secretive financing by big wigs

Edited October 25, 2021 by DanaK

[kaygeeret]

so this show is not being updated?

[Bastet]

18 minutes ago, kaygeeret said:

so this show is not being updated?

There was a new episode this week (about the 2020 election lie and resulting insurrection) and another new one coming next month about Michael Flynn.

[DanaK]

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

There was a new episode this week (about the 2020 election lie and resulting insurrection) and another new one coming next month about Michael Flynn.

The new episode this week about election lies, "Lies, Politics, and Democracy", is the premiere of the 41st season. The Flynn one, "Michael Flynn's Holy War" will premiere October 18. "Putin's Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes premieres Oct 25

Edited September 9, 2022 by DanaK

[DanaK]

On 9/8/2022 at 9:17 PM, kaygeeret said:

so this show is not being updated?

FYI, I do a monthly highlights post of PBS programs in the PBS topic under Network Talk, including Frontline programs

[DanaK]

Nov Frontline: "Putin's War at Home", Nov 1

[IntrovertRed]

Just watched "Putin's War At Home".  Throughout the whole episode, I had butterflies because I was constantly worrying that the Russians showcased will be tortured or killed.  I am in awe of their bravery, but not gonna lie, a [huge] part of me wishes I could yell at them, "please go hide and be safe!"

[DanaK]

14 hours ago, KLJ said:

Just watched "Putin's War At Home".  Throughout the whole episode, I had butterflies because I was constantly worrying that the Russians showcased will be tortured or killed.  I am in awe of their bravery, but not gonna lie, a [huge] part of me wishes I could yell at them, "please go hide and be safe!"

I haven't watched the particular episode yet, but this is one of those things where you think why don't the people just rise up? But if there is strong repression by the government, it's not that easy. But the various Russians protesting have been very brave to do so in spite of the repressive pushback.

[DanaK]

For January 2023:

"Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus" (Israeli hacking tool used by governments to spy on citizens), 2 parts, Jan 3 & 10

"Putin and the Presidents" (how various US presidents misjudged Putin), Jan 31

[DanaK]

For February 2023:

"Ukraine: Life Under Russia's Attack", Feb 14

[DanaK]

For March:

"Age of Easy Money" (the role of the Federal Reserve's "easy money" policies from the "Great Recession" to the current rise in inflation), March 14

[DanaK]

For September:

"Two Strikes/Tutweiler" (2 stories, one about a West Point grad who got life in prison and the other about pregnant women in prision), Sep 5

"Putin vs the Press" (about a journalist's war on the Putin regime), Sep 26

[DanaK]

For October:

"The Astro's Edge: Triumph and Scandal in Major League Baseball", Oct 3;

"Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover", Oct 10;

"McConnell, the GOP & the Courts", Oct 31