52docs / 4 - Librarians win wars too

I did it. I finally broke up with the company that wasted all that money buying and distributing a piece of fluff to curry favor with a demagogue. No amount of next day delivery can forgive this crime against the word documentary infomercial.

If last week’s film showed us how far authoritarian regimes will go to control the narrative, this week’s reveals the battle for young minds in a country where you can seemingly unironically shout for liberty out of one side of your mouth and call for books to be banned or even burned out of the other.

Warriors come in all shapes and sizes but who would’ve thought the front lines of the culture wars would have to be defended by school librarians?

It seems almost quaint to be fighting about individual books when perhaps the bigger threat is the extraordinary consolidation of the publishing industry, or obsequious tech bros, or media manipulation but by holding their values high and their heads even higher the librarians who lose jobs and face death threats in this film offer a powerful reminder that courage is contagious.

Essential viewing for teachers, parents, readers, critical thinkers, believers in democracy, and anyone with a passing interest in local politics.

Might pair well with a rewatch of Manufacturing Consent.

Review

The Librarians is in theaters in the US and due to be shown on PBS February 9th. In the UK you can watch for free on the iPlayer.