travsd

Was “Gilligan’s Island” Communist Propaganda?

Since we wrote extensively about Gilligan Island (and Sherwood Schwartz’s pretensions) just a few days ago we are amused to learn that a new movie is opening at Cinema Village in NYC tomorrow that dives right into that meaty subject.

The Gilligan Manifesto asserts that the seven castaways were living in a communist society and that “the show’s creator surreptitiously inserted cutting jabs at democracy and capitalism while showing that social harmony and survival require the abolition of private property and adherence to other Marxist principles.” It’s narrated by Rennie Davis of the Chicago Seven, and features interviews with Schwartz, as well as cast members Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson. Tomorrow’s 7pm showing will feature a Q&A with director Cevin Soling. News you can use! More about the film and screenings here. 

Published by travsd

Writer and performer Trav S.D. (www.travsd.com) is best known for his books "No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" (2005) and "Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube" (2013). He has written for the NY Times, the Village Voice, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Reason, the Villager and numerous other publications. Trav has been in the vanguard of New York’s vaudeville and burlesque scenes since 1995 when he launched his company Mountebanks, presenting hundreds of acts ranging from Todd Robbins to Dirty Martini to Tammy Faye Starlite to the Flying Karamazov Brothers. He has directed his own plays, revues and solo pieces at such venues as Joe’s Pub, La Mama, HERE, Dixon Place, Theater for the New City, the Ohio Theatre, the Brick, and 6 separate shows in the NY International Fringe Festival. In 2014 he produced and directed the smash-hit "I’ll Say She Is", the first ever revival of the Marx Brothers hit 1924 Broadway show in the NY International Fringe Festival.