On May 4th, the Triplex Cinema and Great Barrington Public Libraries will launch their “Banned Books on Film” series with Francois Truffaut’s 1966 adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic sci-fi dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451.”
Triplex Creative Director Ben Elliott says the theme came quickly to the collaborators once they sat down to see how to best pool their resources.
“This idea about a banned book series just kind of seemed like a natural fit, as far as, if we wanted to bring [people] together to kind of talk about books in the current political climate, talking about books and books that are censored, books that scare people and then kind of hearken back to both a scary past as well as have a real meaning in the present- It felt like a great fit for us," he told WAMC. "We went with ‘Fahrenheit 451’ as the first title in the series, just because it both often finds its way on demand book list, but is a book about book banning.”
“Bradbury's classic was very much inspired by the aftermath of Nazi Germany, a lot of social repression that was happening in Russia, and things that were real life, things that were actually happening, and so much research, so much vital information was lost during those periods, and so this is sort of like the meta," explained Jamie Nicholson, the head of adult programming for the Great Barrington Libraries. "This is not just we're talking about book bans themselves, but here it is in practical context of what book burnings look like and how they affect the population and their mindset and their access to information.”
The programming for the series is not yet set in stone, and organizers say the theme gives them a wide array of possible subjects to explore.
“There's things like ‘The Color Purple, ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ things that touch on sexuality and race as well as just kind of political ideology," said Elliott. "‘1984’ I think, is a very, again, unfortunately, still very timely. There's some classics in there. I think it's also kind of a good way to kind of look at some more modern things that are starting to ruffle feathers that are also making their way to the screen.”
Nicholson says the undertaking will inherently be provocative, and that she’s ready for audiences to have a complex range of reactions to cinematic adaptations of books like “Fahrenheit 451.”
“I really want people to be a little angry, honestly," she told WAMC. "I want people to know that this idea of limiting information regardless of context is always something that leads to ignorance, not to understanding, and it should make people upset that this is something that we're faced with on a regular basis. Certain communities are being specifically targeted and attacked, and the information that they need that's vital to their existence is just going away. And so my hope is that people are mad.”
The Great Barrington Libraries will have copies of the original books ready for check-out at its branches to coincide with the film series screenings.
“If people want to come and pick up a book as well at the library, we've got copies available, and we'll do that every time, where, if people want to read along, they can do that, if they want to just see the screening if they want to do both," said Nicholson. "It's really designed so that we can capture as many audiences as possible.”
The Triplex Cinema and Great Barrington Public Libraries “Banned Books on Film” is free and begins May 4th. Discussion will follow each film.
