A documentary on the series of televised debates in 1968 between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley.
I am a bit confused by the use of John Lithgow and Kelsey Grammar for voices, but I suppose if you have to get anyone, you may as well get them. I don't know about Lithgow, but Grammar is a well-known conservative, so he is probably a fan of Buckley.
The film addresses homosexuality indirectly and I find it interesting that for the most part Vidal's sexuality is not a concern. It did not seem to hold him back. The film even briefly addresses Buckley's alleged homosexuality, which surprised me. Was he really gay as some have alleged, or was it the accent? (I suppose if we take his misogynist miniskirt comment at face value, he was straight!) According to the film, 1968 was the solidification of "identity politics" and the modern parties. I suppose that is true in many ways. More often people point to 1980, as this is when the religious aspects became so much bigger. With Nixon, the conservative party still had a number of things about it that today might be considered liberal. But if not 1980, then 1968 probably really did make a difference.
I am a bit confused by the use of John Lithgow and Kelsey Grammar for voices, but I suppose if you have to get anyone, you may as well get them. I don't know about Lithgow, but Grammar is a well-known conservative, so he is probably a fan of Buckley.
The film addresses homosexuality indirectly and I find it interesting that for the most part Vidal's sexuality is not a concern. It did not seem to hold him back. The film even briefly addresses Buckley's alleged homosexuality, which surprised me. Was he really gay as some have alleged, or was it the accent? (I suppose if we take his misogynist miniskirt comment at face value, he was straight!) According to the film, 1968 was the solidification of "identity politics" and the modern parties. I suppose that is true in many ways. More often people point to 1980, as this is when the religious aspects became so much bigger. With Nixon, the conservative party still had a number of things about it that today might be considered liberal. But if not 1980, then 1968 probably really did make a difference.