We all love the movies, but have they become a cultural battleground? Critics love Nomadland but Thor packs in the audiences. Women Oscar nominees are a talking point. Studio heads (yep, Harvey) have been ousted. Coppola calls comic-book movies ‘despicable’, while Scorsese says they aren’t even cinema. Are the Hollywood days over, or are the movies as good as they ever were?
Is using words to influence others always suspect? What if it’s for a good cause? We look at the worlds of an advertising creative, a political speechwriter, and an advocate working to end HIV/AIDS. Are they so different … or is it in the eye of the beholder?
Over the past year, in particular, debates over climate and environment have divided many of us. In a shift from arguing to listening, we hear from a commercial farmer, an indigenous elder, and a convert to environmental action on what ‘the land’ means to them. What underpins their world view? Do they have common ground?
