An Unreasonable Man

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An Unreasonable Man

Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by Henriette Mantel
Steve Skrovan
Produced by Kevin O'Donnell
Starring Ralph Nader
Pat Buchanan
Phil Donahue
William Greider
Eric Alterman
James Ridgeway
Cinematography Mark Raker
Editing by Beth Gallagher
Alexis Provost
Distributed by IFC Films
Release date(s) Flag of the United States January 24, 2006 (Sundance Film Festival)
January 31, 2007 (limited)
Running time 122 min.
Country U.S.A.
Language English
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

An Unreasonable Man is a 2007 documentary film that traces the life and career of political activist Ralph Nader, the founder of modern consumer protection. The film examines Nader's advocacy for auto safety features, such as federally mandated seat belts and air bags, as well as his rise to national prominence following an invasion of privacy lawsuit against General Motors. It also examines the formation of independent advocacy groups (termed "Nader's Raiders") during the 1970s; organizations which carried out independent research on various federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. Over the next thirty years, the film argues, Nader "built a legislative record that would be the envy of any modern president."

The second half of the film traces Nader's shift to a grassroots form of organizing focused on citizen power, including his eventual disillusionment with the two-party system following the rise of Reaganism. In assessing Nader's effect as a third party candidate, the film examines censorship in the presidential debates as well as Nader's disputed role as a "spoiler" in the 2000 presidential election.

The film makes use of interviews with current and former members of Nader's Raiders, including Joan Claybrook and Robert Fellmeth, as well as politicians and political analysts such as Phil Donahue, Pat Buchanan, and Eric Alterman. It takes its name from the George Bernard Shaw quote, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Contents

[edit] Response

The documentary has an aggregate of 92% (54/59) on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 75% on Metacritic. [1][2]

[edit] Festival Screenings

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rotten Tomatoes page on An Unreasonable Man [1]
  2. ^ Metacritic page on An Unreasonable Man [2]

[edit] External links

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Ralph Nader
Family
Books authored
Unsafe at Any Speed · Action for a Change · Whistle-Blowing  · Corporate Power in America (with Mark J. Green)  · You and Your Pension (with Kate Blackwell)  · The Consumer and Corporate Accountability  · In Pursuit of Justice  · Ralph Nader Congress Project  · Ralph Nader Presents: A Citizen's Guide to Lobbying  · Verdicts on Lawyers  · Who's Poisoning America (with Ronald Brownstein and John Richard)  · The Big Boys (with William Taylor)  · The Good Fight: Declare Your Independency and Close the Democracy Gap  · Crashing the Party: Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender  · Cutting Corporate Welfare  · No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America (with Wesley J. Smith)  · Collision Course: the Truth About Airline Safety (with Wesley J. Smith)  · Lemon Book: Auto Rights (with Clarence Ditlow)  · Winning the Insurance Game: the Complete Consumer's Guide to Saving Money (with Wesley J. Smith)  · Menace of Atomic Energy (with John Abbotts)  · Taming the Giant Corporation (with Joel Seligman and Mark J. Green)  · Canada Firsts (with Nadia Milleron and Duff Conacher)  · The Frugal Shopper (with Wesley J. Smith)  · Getting the Best from Your Doctor (with Wesley J. Smith)  · Nader on Australia  · The Ralph Nader Reader  · It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought  · Why Women Pay More (with Frances Cerra Whittelsley)  · Children First! A Parent's Guide to Fighting Corporate Predators  · The Seventeen Traditions
Political campaigns
Organizations
Public Citizen  · Consumer Project on Technology  · Public Interest Research Group  · Center for Auto Safety  · Connecticut Citizen Action Group  · Essential Information  · Princeton Project 55  · Appleseed Foundation  · Democracy Rising  · Citizen Advocacy Center  · Citizens Utility Boards  · Congress Accountability Project  · Consumer Task Force For Automotive Issues  · Corporate Accountability Research Project  · Disability Rights Center  · Equal Justice Foundation  · Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights  · Georgia Legal Watch  · National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform  · National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest  · Pension Rights Center  · PROD  · Retired Professionals Action Group  · The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest  · Center for the Study of Responsive Law  · Aviation Consumer Action Project  · Clean Water Action Project  · Center for Women's Policy Studies  · Trial Lawyers for Public Justice  · Telecommunications Research and Action Center  · National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest  · Resource Consumption Alliance  · Center for Insurance Research  · Government Purchasing Project  · Center for Justice and Democracy  · Organization for Competitive Markets  · American Antitrust Institute  · Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest  · Commercial Alert  · Congressional Accountability Project
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Political positions  · An Unreasonable Man  · Ralph Nader: Up Close  · Nader bell