This Moment: The Blog - Jessica C. McWade, Ed.D.

Hartford - Raoul Peck’s film, “Orwell: 2+2=5” is a frightening reminder of the destructive power of authoritarianism, especially in its reliance on lies, degradation of education, diminution of journalism, otherization, and the withering of civilizational norms. With these (and other) conditions present, eventually enough people believe or pretend to believe that 2+2 does actually equal 5. The title borrows from Orwell’s “1984,” of course, but the real horror is that the current U.S. administration seems to want to join the 2+2=5 dream team with Russia, China, Hungary, Iran North Korea, and Turkey. The film is a must-see to remind ourselves how far we are falling and what we could lose in the process.  The Haitian filmmaker Peck was nominated for an Academy Award in 2016 for “I Am Not Your Negro” documentary based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript for “Remember This House.”