Drexel Theatre Hosts Film Series Exploring Politics

As the 2024 election season enters high gear, the Drexel Theatre begins a new film series leading up to the election that examines how films and filmmakers have tackled political topics through the years. 

The film series, titled Voices: A Century of Political Cinema, will showcase a wide variety of films that brought the politics of their time to the screen. Voices is curated from a special edition of The New Republic magazine, titled “The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time.”

Each screening will be accompanied by commentary from a subject expert who will help guide the audience through the film's historical and cinematic importance.

“Whether as commentor, critic, or storyteller, a filmmaker is uniquely positioned to ask an audience to think about politics in a way that differs from the daily news cycle, and this feels particularly important in a national election year,” Friends of the Drexel Board Chair Jennifer Nelson Carney said. “We're pleased to screen a series of carefully curated films that we believe will encourage fresh discussions of important political issues.” 

The series opens with “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) on Tuesday, March 12, at 7 pm.

The guest speaker for the first film will be Michael Tomasky. Tomasky is the editor of The New Republic and the editor in chief of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. He was previously executive editor of The American Prospect and the founding editor of Guardian America. He is the author of Left for Dead: The Life, Death, and Possible Resurrection of Progressive Politics in America and Hillary's Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign. He lives outside of Washington, D.C.

“In these challenging times, our beloved theatre plays a unique role to stimulate dialogue, understanding and action,” said Drexel Chairman Emeritus Richard Stoff. “These classic, award-winning films address fundamental themes like power, influence, voting and human rights that transcend political history here in our country and around the world.”

The remainder of the schedule includes:

• Wednesday, April 10: “A Face in the Crowd” (1957)
• Wednesday, May 8: “Being There” (1979)
• Wednesday, June 12: “Milk” (2008)
• Wednesday, July 10: “The Great McGinty” (1940)
• Wednesday, Aug. 14: “Harlan County, USA” (1976)
• Wednesday, Sept. 11: “No” (2012)
• Wednesday, Oct. 9: “The Lives of Others” (2006)
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: “Wag the Dog” (1997)

(Films and guest speakers subject to change.)