The People Speak

The documentary takes up American history. Its source is the books of Howard Zinn. The account looks at struggles over war, class, race and the rights of women. The form of the work is out of the ordinary. Actors come on stage and read texts aloud. What they read are letters, diaries and speeches. The texts belong to ordinary people. Among them are dissenters, rebels and forgotten names. The recording was made before a live audience. Music is part of the performance too. Matt Damon reads from the Declaration of Independence. Morgan Freeman reads the words of Frederick Douglass. Marisa Tomei, Sean Penn and Viggo Mortensen appear in Howard Zinn and Chris Moore’s American documentary of 2009.