Spin (1995 film)

This article is about the 1995 film. For other uses, see Spin (disambiguation).
Spin
Directed byBrian Springer
Written byBrian Springer
StarringAl Gore
Bill Clinton
Barbara Bush
George H. W. Bush
Pat Robertson
Larry Agran
Narrated byBrian Springer
Release date
  • 1995 (1995)
Running time
56 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Spin is a 1995 documentary film by Brian Springer composed of raw satellite feeds featuring politicians' pre-appearance planning.[1] It covers the presidential election[2] as well as the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the Operation Rescue abortion protests.[3] Spin is a follow-up to the 1992 film Feed, for which Springer provided much of the raw satellite footage.

Summary

Among other things, the film captured an 'open mic' discussion between Larry King and George Bush about sleeping pills,[4] King talking about how he "changed the world", and Pat Robertson making homophobic comments in-between takes.[5]

The film also documents behind-the-scenes footage of Larry Agran, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for president. As covered in the documentary, the media generally ignored Agran during his candidacy. The media did not report his polling numbers,[6] even as he met or exceeded the support of other candidates, such as Jerry Brown. Party officials excluded him from most debates on various grounds, even having him arrested when he interrupted to ask to participate. When he managed to join the other candidates in any forum, his ideas went unreported. He was excluded in photographs with other candidates.[7]

Reception

Stephen Holden of The New York Times described the film as "a devastating critique of television's profound manipulativeness in how it packages the news and politics".[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Holden, Stephen (1995-10-06). "CRITIC'S CHOICE/VIDEO; Festival of an Art for Life's Dirtier Nooks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  2. ^ LOOKING AT NOISE, A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN SPRINGER - Open Assembly
  3. ^ SATELLITES OF CYNICISM: 2024 ELECTION SPECIAL - Spectacle Theater
  4. ^ "Curse of the open mic". Bbc.co.uk. 2001-01-29. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  5. ^ "Spin". Time Out. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  6. ^ SPIN (Brian Springer, 1995) on Vimeo
  7. ^ Media Burn Archive