14/07/2024
Nicole Lampert in the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, hooks up with Daniel Sackheim, the Jewish producer of several episodes of the X Files about the dangers to democracy posed by extremism in the United States, and particular, with respect to the far right and its embrace of conspiracy theories. Daniel says "there is a passion, an obsession with conspiracy theories in the States and they are dangerous to the point where they are costing reputations and even the lives of innocent people. I am sort of amazed by what I perceive to be a level of gullibility on the part of a large section of the American people who, if they are told something, however crazy, believe it.” He goes on "There is this very, very vocal right wing in the States – a Christian evangelism – and they are pushing their narrative very hard, which will cause problems for anyone who is not Christian. What is odd is that the US has become more conservative as a country not less." Mr Sackheim also notes "we are seeing that in a country which prides itself on the notion of the First Amendment and freedom of speech, books are being banned in libraries and classrooms. It is a very unsettling time.” Many of the books targetted by right wingers have been books on diversity, race and LGBTQIA+ themes, according to recent research by the American Civil Liberties Union. "I think people in the television world are scared of controversy. If you look at some of the very impactful films of the Seventies and Eighties – from The Rocky Horror Show to Last Tango in Paris – they wouldn’t make those films today, they are way too risky. “Anything dealing with sexuality, race, they don’t want to make those films now. They are nervous about it. It is no wonder that we are retreating into escapism and seeing so many superhero films.” concluded Mr Sackheim.
