The 50 Year Argument

The 50 Year Argument is the latest documentary from Martin Scorsese. Co-directed with David Tedeschi (Scorsese’s editor/collaborator on his last four docs: George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Public Speaking, Shine a Light, and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan), it traces the half-century long history of the New York Review of Books and explores the esteemed publication’s worldwide influence. Taking the traditional approach of combining archival footage with contemporary interviews, peppered with substantial quotes from Review articles, Scorsese and Tedeschi provide an overview of the journal’s coverage not just of literature but also of world events. Beginning with the Review’s humble emergence during the newspaper strike of the 1960s, the film explores how the magazine has shaped public awareness, opinion, and political discourse from the Civil Rights Movement through the Arab Spring. The film is not like a PBS American Masters episode that tries to tell a complete history of its subject, but more of an essay on why the subject is vital and important. This is true of most of Scorsese’s best docs. He’s not an evenhanded journalist; he’s an intensely passionate filmmaker who makes extremely personal movies. People often forget that he’s made as many documentaries as narrative features; and many of these small-scale films are even more personal and powerful than his most well known movies. This film ranks with his best works of non-fiction, from American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978) to the astonishingly funny and insightful Fran Lebowitz portrait, Public Speaking (2010). 

In addition to serving as an immediate and accessible introduction to the New York Review of Books for those who may be totally ignorant of the magazine, The 50 Year Argument is also a testament to the importance of a great editor to great writing. The film’s ostensible main character is Robert Silvers, the Review’s editor for its entire 50-year history. In almost every interview, the notable authors the Review has published (Susan Sontag, Joan Didion, Michael Chabon, and many more) express their deep admiration and appreciation for the guidance of this wise old man. We get the sense of the personal connection and intense passion these writers, (and Scorsese and Tedeschi) feel for the Review, and we are drawn into the publication on a far deeper level than if this were merely a history. We hear no negative voices speaking out about what they don't like about the New York Review of Books, nor does the film question Silvers as to any regrets or mistakes he might have made over the 50 years. On the surface, that would seem to yield a documentary lacking perspective or critical analysis, which would run counter to the very ideals of the Review.  In fact, the opposite is true. This film is not a complete, unvarnished, but reductive history of a publication; it is a deep exploration of the immeasurable value of intellectual discussion. It would seem that Western society no longer has interest or patience for this, yet that in no way means it has lost relevance or consequence in our lives. The film opens our eyes to how social and political change comes from thinking, writing, and discussing as much as (if not more than) it does from fighting, protesting, or tweeting. We don’t need to hear the other side of this film’s argument, because we live it every day.