Why moralize upon it? : democratic education through American literature and film / Brian Danoff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danoff, Brian, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--History and criticism.

American literature.

Motion pictures--United States--History.

Motion pictures.

United States.

History.

Ethics in literature.

Ethics in motion pictures.

Democracy in literature.

Politics in literature.

Politics in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

viii, 133 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Lexington Books, 2020.

Summary:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared that?the greatest duty of a statesman is to educate." The central claim of 'Why Moralize upon It?' is that it is not only statesmen who can help educate a democratic citizenry, but also novelists and filmmakers. This book?s title is drawn from Melville?s?Benito Cereno.? Near the end of this novella, after he has put down a rebellion of enslaved Africans, the American captain Amasa Delano claims that?the past is passed,? and thus there is no need to?moralize upon it.?Melville suggests, though, that it is crucial for Americans to critically examine American history and American political institutions; otherwise, they may be blind to the existence of injustices which will ultimately undermine democracy. Danoff argues that novels and films play a crucial role in helping democratic citizens undertake the kind of moral reflection that they must engage in if they are to not only preserve their political community, but also render it?forever worthy of the saving,? as Abraham Lincoln put it.

ISBN:

1498573622

9781498573627

OCLC:

1144951232