"The loneliest feeling in the world..." (clip from the film Inherit the Wind, 1960)

[ChicagoRonin]

What's going through my mind amid all these conservative attacks on "woke" education, CRT, LGBT rights, etc.

The battle then was evolution, but not much else feels different.

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Come to think of it, evolution is still part of the fight in some states.

[Grins]

1. A great line early in the clip!

“They’re using you as a weapon against your own people.”

Spoken by Rachel, defendant Burt’s fiancé and the daughter of firey minister.

The “your own people” said a lot.

Love this play and movie. Used to read it every year along the “The Crucible.”

[thucythucy]

6. Hi Grins!

See my post below on "The Crucible."

Like I said, I admire the play, but as history it's mostly bunk. It's distressing to think that for so many Americans "The Crucible" is pretty much their entire introduction to the tragic events of that era.

[NewHendoLib]

2. Powerful. And - we get to see Darren Stevens away from Bewitched!

[LastDemocratInSC]

3. The American right-wing is a shrinking demographic

and they know that their era of dominance is at risk. They can no longer rely on elections to deliver what they consider to be the natural order of white Christian males at the top and everyone else fighting for the scraps that remain in the middle and at the bottom.

They will abandon our democratic foundations to retain their privilege and power. Democracy was useful to them for a while but their grip is weakened by the growing pluralism of our 21st century nation. Their world has always been authoritarian with enforced behaviors and perspectives but they are more likely now to hammer down any nails that stand out. Diversity won't be tolerated. That's the lesson Bert learned in the movie.

[markie]

4. "loneliest feeling in the world"

ironically, we are in the majority of those who believe... only we may be in the minority of those willing to give up something to fight for what we believe

[thucythucy]

5. While I admire both this movie

and the play on which it is based, its history is rather faulty.

For a better understanding of the actual events, I recommend this PBS documentary:

https://www.pbs.org/video/scopes-monkey-trial-v9oaxa/

Similarly, since "The Crucible" was mentioned in another comment, I want to point out that Miller also took huge liberties with the actual events of the Salem Witch Trials, with the result that he has as the root cause at the bottom of it all a jealous woman seeking revenge on the lover who spurned her. To prop up this border-line misogyny Miller has to raise the age of this person. In fact his villain was, at the time of the events depicted by Miller, all of eleven years old and her "co-conspirator" was eight. By laying so much of the guilt on these children Miller gives us easy scapegoats and says nothing about the oppression of women and girls in the "New England" of that time.

For a genuine history of the trials I recommend Richard Weisman's Witchcraft, Magic and Religion in 17th Century Massachusetts, or better yet, Carol Karlsen's The Devil in the Shape of a Woman.

Fictional representations of historical events can cause real damage, even when the intentions are good.

Like I said: love the plays, hate the history.