PBS Censors Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse
I’ll admit I haven’t had a chance to watch Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse which is airing on PBS as part of the 39th season of the award-winning documentary series American Masters. After this latest revelation, I’m not sure I want to. Originally reported by Anthony Kaufman for Documentary, PBS cut out a 90-second segment of the film where Spiegelman referred to President Trump’s “smug and ugly mug.” PBS has been embattled with the President and Republican part who have been trying to cut funding for the broadcast channel.
In May, the President signed an executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR as well as root out other indirect sources of public financing for the two. Trump and Republicans claim the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’” It’s not hard to connect the dots that this is the reason for the editing demands.
According to the Documentary article, the filmmakers of the documentary were told to cut a 90 second sequence twelve days before it was broadcast on April 2017. The segment is from 2017 and Spiegelman discusses an anti-Trump cartoon he created for the 2017 Women’s March newspaper.
The filmmakers, directors Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin, who produced the film alongside Sam Jinishian and Alicia Sams had to choose to either back their licensing deal or agree to PBS’ decision and let it be broadcast with the edit.
You can see some of the deleted scene in this Instagram post:
In the scene, Spiegelman scholar Hillary Chute says:
“In this Trump and post-Trump moment, [Spiegelman] recognized how useful Maus was as a text for people explicitly reacting to and fighting fascism.”
PBS also removed Chute’s words “in this Trump and post-Trump moment,” which alters the meaning of her comments and the original context.
The decision to censor the film was made by the programming executives at PBS National and agreed to by the leadership of WNET which is one of the largest PBS networks and makes up 350 member stations and produces American Masters.
A WNET spokesperson said in response to the edits:
“as it was no longer in context today. The change was made to maintain the integrity and appropriateness of the content for broadcast at this time.”
While that might be the official statement of WNET and PBS, it’s hard not to think the real reason is that Executive Order and Trump’s focus on defunding PBS and NPR.
It also follows a pattern of media bending over backwards to not anger Trump and Republicans. Trump has threatened and launched investigations as well as filed lawsuits in a revenge tour and media has generally caved to the mad tyrant. In December, ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, agreeing to offer a written apology and make a $15 million “charitable contribution” to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. Trump has also filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS claiming they edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. He also sued The Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and pollster Ann Selzer for publishing a poll suggesting Trump would lose Iowa. There’s an attack on free speech by the administration and instead of fighting against it, fights the media would likely win, they’re giving in, a step towards total fascist control. In PBS’ case they’re worried about funding, as if this editing would change that. In others, it’s Trump’s power over broadcast licenses and parent corporations. Jeff Bezos, whose companies true value is in their government contracts, censored The Washington Post‘s opinion section to be less critical of Trump resulting in contributors and editors to leave. Democracy didn’t die in the dark, it died when the broligarchs took over the media and news.
There’s irony in capitulating to a Fascist by censoring a documentary that is anti-fascist. Remember this when PBS says it fights for free speech during its next pledge drive.
