The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington is rolling out a special election season series entitled, “Dying in Darkness: Journalism, Politics & Truth in Film.” Curated by The Triplex’s creative director, Ben Elliott, the carefully selected series of films confront the fraught relationship between media, politics, and democracy with an evocative lineup that includes “The Parallax View,” “All the President’s Men,” “A Face in the Crowd,” “Medium Cool,” and “Wag the Dog.”
Elliott remarked that the series title was a play on the Washington Post’s motto, “Democracy dies in darkness.” He noted that this was “the first motto that The Washington Post adopted in their entire history,” and added, “It speaks to the ways that democracy can be endangered if truth and journalism are not part of the political process.”
The selection spans eras, providing Elliott with an opportunity to present movies that are eerily prescient today. In one such film, “A Face in the Crowd,” from 1957, Andy Griffith plays a drifter-turned-political manipulator. “It lines up exactly with the last ten years,” Elliott commented. In his view, films like “A Face in the Crowd” and “Medium Cool,” which blends fiction and documentary, offer uncanny echoes of modern populism and media manipulation.
By drawing on a wide array of films, Elliott intended to not just screen thought-provoking cinema, but to foster dialogue among the politically engaged community that frequents The Triplex. He said, “I think bringing people together to talk about all the different ways that we’re going through this time as a community is important, to make people not feel alone in it, and to hopefully still feel up for the fight of staying engaged.”
Elliott also emphasized the educational potential of the series, expressing hopes of partnering with local schools to draw in younger viewers. “I think there’s a real educational aspect to this,” he noted, suggesting that a dive into the narratives of the past could reveal much about contemporary political dynamics. “These aren’t stories that exist in a vacuum,” said Elliott. “These are stories that were inspired by real things and that still speak to our current landscape.”
“Dying in Darkness” opens Oc. 17 and runs through Nov. 3. Each screening will be accompanied by introductions from guest speakers, each providing additional context on how these films resonate with the current political landscape.
