This week, historian Harvey Kaye joins the show for a boisterous discussion of the 1992 live-action musical Newsies. The group questions how it was possible for a major corporate studio like Disney to produce a movie about labor organizing in which police literally punch children in the face. They unpack how the film’s two main characters represent the dichotomy between labor “activists” and “intellectuals.” And Harvey regales the group with additional historical context about the Gilded Age, the Bonus March, and the “neoliberal turn” of the 1970s. In addition, Rivka and Frank discuss the potential Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike over the rates of minimum basic agreements and streaming residuals — and what it means for the future of film and television. The strike, which would include more than 10,000 writers and be the first such WGA action in 16 years, has the potential to shut down film and TV production nationwide.For next week’s movie, we’ll be watching V for Vendetta.This podcast relies on listeners like you to keep the show going. Go to MVCpod.com to become a supporter or leave us a tip. Supporters will also get access to The Lever’s premium content, including their exclusive newsletters, private podcast feed, e-books, and live events. MVC strives to live its values as anti-capitalist media and will not be selling traditional advertisements. Instead, we will be donating our ad space to progressive or leftist causes. If you’re part of an advocacy organization, mutual-aid group, a worker co-op, a political campaign, or some other org, and you are interested in promoting your work on MVC, you can email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.Follow us on Instagram and TikTok.You can also watch our full episodes on YouTube.A rough transcript of the episode is available here.Produced by The LeverArtwork by Rufus Paisley
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