If Rosebud Never Exsisted

In case you haven't been keeping up to date with my blogging (in which case shame on you) then you wouldn't know that lately I have been writing a research paper on federal spending for the arts. Through my research I have found out about the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) from the 1930's. Basically with this project, the federal government gave money to the theatre to help keep it going. As the director of the FTP, Hallie Flanagan said, "while our aim is to put to work thousands of theatre people, our more far-reaching purpose is to organize and support theatrical enterprises so excellent in quality, so low in cost and so vital to the communities involved that they will be able to continue after the federal aid is withdrawn." Ah, if only the world was perfect.

While this program was in place, they were able to support such people as Will Geer, Burt Lancaster, John Houseman, Sidney Lumet, E.G. Marshall, and most famous of all Orson Welles. In fact over the weekend I just watched Welles masterpiece, Citizen Kane, a film commonly thought as the best movie ever made. It's crazy to think that if FTP never helped Orson Welles when he was a young up-and-comer, then the world may not have ever been introduced to the artistic genius. The look of films today would look dramatically different without the influence of Welles' techniques.

The FTP came to an end 1939. I'm not saying that the government should start up a program as intense as the FTP, especially in today's economy, all I'm saying is that the government shouldn't cut spending all together. Without government spending, we may be depriving ourselves of people who have the ability to be as influential as Welles, but just don't have the means to do it. I know that we need to cut federal spending, but why cut the arts? after all we only spend .0051% of the budget on the art, why not cut the real money eaters like the defense budget, which we spend 16.3% of our budget. After all, as Jonathan Larson  wrote in his hit musical, Rent, "The opposite of war isn't peace; it's creation." 

Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, and Tim Robbins. OH MY!

Actor Kevin Spacey

The government gave $124.4 million dollars to the arts in fiscal year 2006. Although it seems like a hefty sum, when compared to the entire amount spent in that same year, it only amounts to .0051% of the budget. And this was the amount we spent before the recession. Now the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the government organization for the arts, is in even hotter water because of the spending cuts and possible government shutdown.

According to this New York Times article, Kevin Spacey went to Lobby for the Arts on Tuesday. And as we all know, when a movie star starts to stand for something, then we know it's a big deal. Not only has Mr. Spacey called attention to this, but so has the actors Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins. 

Throughout the Junior Theme process I've been uncovering why the Federal Government has been declining on their spending for the arts. This topic hasn't been seen much in the news, although it has been a problem since the late 30's.My topic has been becoming more relevant throughout the Junior Theme process. Sorta Cool.