Nick Broomfield

Nick Broomfield studied law at Cardiff and political science at Essex University. He then went on to study film at the National Film School. Broomfield first got interested in film at age 15 when discovering his love for photography on a foreign-exchange visit in France: “a great way to strike up conversations and a great excuse to ask questions about the world around you,” he said. 

He made his first film, “Who Cares,” about slum clearance in Liverpool, while at university by borrowing a wind-up Bolex camera and shooting it on short ends. Together with his partner Joan Churchill, he made several award-winning films: “Juvenile Liaison,” “Tattooed Tears,” “Soldier Girls,” “Lily Tomlin,” “Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer,” “Biggie and Tupac” and “Kurt and Courtney.” Broomfield is the recipient of the Sundance Grand Jury First Prize, the British Academy Award, Prix Italia, Dupont Peabody Award, Grierson Award, Hague Peace Prize and Amnesty International Doen Award. Broomfield’s most recent film, “Sarah Palin — You Betcha!” premieres this month across the nation. 

ROBIN BRONK: If you had five minutes in the Oval Office with President Obama, what would you discuss with him? What issue would you like him to know about?

NICK BROOMFIELD: I think I would discuss expectation versus what’s happened. And I think Obama has this incredible, unfortunate possible legacy and expectation. When he was elected, it was a kind of a revolutionary thing, and I think it was something that said an amazing amount about the American people — that they would do something so different from what had been done politically here before. There was an expectation that this unusual election and the first election of a black man as an American president would see some kind of change in policy and some kind of change in initiative. At the same time, it also was an unfortunate thing, really … the fact that he seems to be a product of Wall Street. That the very people who initiated the fall in the housing market and all the rest of it seem to still be running Wall Street. I just feel that my concern is really that as the Republican right evangelical part of the party is taking over, that Mr. Obama’s moves in that direction are losing him his own support. I suppose it is really just to get some kind of real explanation in emotional terms to the American people what his policy is or how he sees the future, rather than basically adopting a Republican strategy in dealing with the recession.

RB: If you could give President Obama one piece of advice, what would it be?

NB: To stick to his own convictions. I think the unfortunate thing is that he is a product of Wall Street. He is a very traditional politician. Unfortunately, he’s a compromiser, and I think what he should probably do is make it possible for a radical successor to take over before the next election.

RB: What do you mean by that?

NB: I think that he is such a massive disappointment that the people who came out to vote him in will not do so the next time. I think there is a real possibility that if he stays in power, that the Republicans might get in.

RB: If you could ask President Obama one question, what would that be?

NB: Do you feel you’ve fulfilled the expectations of the American people when you were elected?

RB: What book would you lend President Obama? Why?

NB: I would lend him the book by George Lakoff, Political Mind, because it is about the way — I guess — the Republicans have reframed the political dialogue. The book says that the 18th-century Enlightenment view of political debate and consensus politics has changed. The Republicans no longer believe it is a rational debate. Obviously, the essence of a democracy is that you debate an issue and then you look at the practicalities of the issues in a logical, rational way and then you make a decision based on what you find.

But the Republicans have changed that. What they’ve done is reframed the issues in terms of an emotional identification. In terms of the American Dream and what an American would do. In other words, a proud American would not take welfare. A proud American would not need Medicare. A proud veteran would not need a great deal of aftercare when they come back. These are personal, individual issues in the same way that Wall Street should be deregulated. And they’ve managed to reframe that argument in terms of an identity thing, in terms of an emotional thing in terms of the American Dream.

This book argues that the progressive liberals have failed to do that and they still are hanging on to the old argument. That it is an issues thing, not an identity argument. And until they come up with the same ability to say the government is protecting the individuals, the more we privatize, and the less accountable. You know private industry is not accountable. Its premise goes back to the essence of the debate, which is what the role of government is in terms of responsibility and protection of the citizen. But that needs to be the basis of the argument; it can’t be on individual issues. 

RB: If you were going to send the president to one place in the world for one day, where would that be? Why?

NB: I would take him to Kenya, which I think is a visit he hasn’t done. I remember when I was there the Kenyans were so upset that he hadn’t been there. And I think he hasn’t really celebrated his African heritage very much. I think it would unite a very divided world.

RB: Would you ever consider a political career?

NB: I don’t think so, and certainly if I did, it would be in England. We don’t have evangelicals, and it’s in a much less extreme position. I think it is essentially a very civilized country, but I worry about the conservatives, who are basically using the recession as an excuse to dismantle all the kinds of nationalized industries and stuff.

RB: What movie would you recommend that the president see? 

NB: “Inside Job,” because it was very informative about what was really happening in the recession. I think that it’s a film that certainly is insightful.

Bronk is a seasoned Capitol Hill strategist and advocate. She started her career at The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group for the arts and entertainment industry, in July 1998. During her tenure as CEO, Bronk has taken The Creative Coalition from a New York-based entity to a national organization. www.thecreativecoalition.org