What Is Democracy? (2018)

What Is Democracy?: Directed by Astra Taylor. With Astra Taylor, Silvia Federici, Eleni Perdikouri, Harrison Preddy. This documentary examines the philosophy behind the concept of Democracy, from ancient Athens to modern Greece and the American Civil Rights movement.

“This documentary asks the perfect question for our times. What IS democracy? And, as an aside, how does one make it happen?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe answers suggested by various experts are far from obvious. There are many deep insights, and no particular partisan slant (though fascist xenophobes will probably disagree). This is a film about the basic concept of democracy – literally, u0026#39;rule of the people.u0026#39; However, it does also delve into the ways that democracy is failing us at this crucial moment in history. Some of the u0026#39;artisticu0026#39; passages could have been trimmed, but they do prove worthwhile within the overall composition.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a film everyone should see. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option. As stated in one of the filmu0026#39;s framing quotes (from Plato): the penalty for failing to rule ourselves is to be ruled by those even less qualified.”