Rough transcript from parts of the video (for some reason tumblr wouldn't let me post this when it was all indented for clarity):
Norman decided to strike back, using the tools that he knew best... He started with a series of TV commercials, urging people not to be so easily manipulated by charismatic religious leaders.
"So maybe there's something wrong when people, even preachers, suggest that people are either good Christians or bad Christians, depending on their political views."
Next, he produced a special called "I Love Liberty", celebrating the values he thought were most urgent to defend: equality, diversity, making sure the law protects and serves everyone, especially the most vulnerable...
...After that, Norman could see there was a lot more work to do, so using the attention from the ads and the special as a jumping off point, he founded a new organization to counter the forces of bigotry. He called it People For The American Way, and he made it his full-time focus, stepping away from the industry he helped shape, so he could devote himself to the cause...
...The timing was perfect, since Ronald Reagan had just been elected president, thanks in part to televangelists who ordered their followers to vote for him, and throughout the Eighties Republicans pushed hard to enshrine religious bigotry into law. For example, at one point Reagan nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Bork was a former Nixon sidekick who openly said that he wanted to roll back civil rights protections for minorities. In response, People For The American Way leapt into action, and they launched a campaign to oppose the nomination...
...Norman and People For The American Way mobilized across the country to contact their legislatures, and, sure enough, Congress rejected Bork's nomination, one of the few times that's happened...
...People For The American Way also led campaigns to stop groups from forcing schools to buy religious textbooks. When conservatives tried to ban library books with inclusive content, People For The American Way successfully filed lawsuits to stop them. They helped pass non-discrimination ordinances across the country, and in response to a rise of right-wing extremism, they created Right Wing Watch to expose hateful speakers, a tool that many people came to rely on...
...But for all the progress that's been made over the last few years, more recently, Norman has been seeing an alarming new trend.
"I'm not sure in my ninety-eight years I've seen another moment as worrisome as this."
In interviews today, Norman has described a level of intolerance that he hasn't seen in a long time. Now, he sees bigotry more emboldened than ever, with brazen displays of pro-Nazi sentiment. For all the times Norman says he's seen that ideology before, he has never seen it expressed so openly.
"...but I don't recall people in the streets and, uh, marching and, and showing hateful signs. You know, antisemitism, that, that worries me considerably now."
And you don't have to look hard to find conservatives targeting minorities, labeling them Enemies Of The Country, and calling for violence against them...
...But if there's any good news, it's that folks like Norman have first-hand experience dealing with times like these, and he has some ideas about how to respond. For one thing, he's revisited his most classic episodes about tackling bigotry, broadcasting them with all-new performers...
Now, obviously sitcoms alone can't single-handedly solve all the world's problems. But if there's anything that the decades of Norman's work makes clear, it's the power of laughter to help people see the world in a new way.
"Comedy can be an intravenous, you know, in one's arm. You're laughing and absorbing at the same time."
To introduce new ideas...
And to give people a vision of how to live together...
"...flying across the country at night, but I remember looking down for the first time thinking, 'Hey, it's just possible wherever I see a light, I've helped to make somebody laugh.'"
...It's had an immeasurable impact on the world: breaking down barriers that kept certain people from appearing on TV, exposing bigots for how ridiculous they truly are, and showing viewers what it looked like to confront prejudice head-on. So now he's starting his second century of making the world a better place, for everyone.
End transcript.
The video is about forty-four minutes long and that's a truncated transcript of the last ten minutes or so, but I encourage everyone to watch the full video. It is technically captioned, but with auto-captions, which aren't ideal but, lack of punctuation aside, seemed to be pretty accurate as I looked at them to type out the above
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My favourite part of watching international shows/movies is when it's a historical or time travel show and there's one of those moments where someone says something that's clearly supposed to be a big moment or reveal but as an outsider you're watching like "...Kay."
Two that come to mind for me are this South Korean time travel show where it's revealed that the thus far nameless warrior is Choi Young and I had to stop the show to google him. Turns out he's a major historical figure from the 1300s who helped found the longest-lasting dynasty in Korean history (lasted for 500 years!).
"Ooooh, okay. Yeah, I can see how that'd be shocking."
The second was in a show set during the American revolution and Washington says they're gonna "cross the Delaware".
My response was "??? I thought Delaware was a state."
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List of United States proposed television channels in 90′s (part 1)
Adam & Eve Channel (owned by Adam & Eve Communications) - pornographic movies and home shopping, launched in 14th February 1994
American Political Channel (owned privately) - political news and information and public policy programmings, launched in Autumn 1994
Americana Television Network (owned independently) - music videos related to jazz, country, gospel, documentaries and concerts, launched in 15th January 1994
Applause (owned by Parasol Media) - entertainment - launched in 1995
Arts & Antiques Network (owned by CYMA Productions) - entertainment, documentaries and arts, launched in 1995
ATN, The Automotive Television Network (owned by Global Television and Fidelity Capital) - motorsports, documentaries, news, home shopping, movies, music videos, launched in early 1995
ATV: Advertising Television (owned by Web Broadcasting Systems) - infomercials, launched in Q4 1994
Black Shopping Network (owned privately) - home shopping, launched in 14th May 1994
Booknet (owned independently) - news and movies, launched in mid-1995
Catalog 1 (owned by Time Warner and Spiegel) - home shopping, news, entertainment and lifestyle, launched unknown
Classic Music Channel (owned by Classical Broadcasting Co.) - music videos, launched in 1995
Collectors Channel (owned by EveryDay Productions) - talk-shows, game-shows, live music events and collector’s news, launched in late 1994
Cowboy Channel (owned by International Family Entertainment) - classic western movies, launched unknown
Cupid Network Television (owned by Capital Distribution) - adult home shopping, launched in 31st March 1994
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