I love this old commies music, and look forward to seeing the documentary. But he IS an old commie.
NOT-SO-SECRET SEEGER
"Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" is opening at the Tribeca Film Festival, the creation of Robert De Niro, who also is the creator of the tremendous real estate values attached to the greater Tribeca neighborhood. The blurb below from the festival's publicity alludes to the film, made by Jim Brown, as a "social history" about "one of this country's most compelling forces for change." All well and good.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, a documentary directed by Jim Brown. World Premiere. Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen are two of many who attest to Seeger's importance in this compelling documentary that is more than a simple biography. Using new interviews, archival footage and home movies, Brown presents a social history through the life of one of this country's most compelling forces for change and, arguably, the most significant folk artist of our time.
But I bet that the Communist Party doesn't appear in the film, and the Communist Party was a big part of Seeger's life and Seeger a big part of the party's life, as well. The paradox of a loyal, no, fervent Communist being seen as a force for freedom and justice still escapes some over-age lefties. And it is incomprehensible to the young. Alas! Still, "If I had a hammer..." or "Kevin Barry" or even "The banks are made of marble, with a guard at every door" sounds strange coming out of the mouth of someone who was loyal to Comrade Stalin, who murdered more people than Adolf Hitler and whose only competitor was Chairman Mao to whom old Peter also was faithful. Maybe George Soros will suggest that Pete Seeger go through a de-Stalinization process. |
