The Story of Us - The New McCarthyism: Why Authoritarians Fear Storytellers

Join us on the first day of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for The Story of Us Presents - The New McCarthyism: Why Authoritarians Fear Storytellers. Cinematic storytelling has long been a battleground upon which competing visions of a more inclusive democracy play out in Hollywood—a battle disproportionately impacting Black artists. In 2025, the fight over representation and the arts escalated dramatically, with the defunding of public art and media, high-profile attacks on late-night comedians and the erosion of democratic norms that once upheld the freedoms of speech and expression.

Though our current political moment is often cast as "unprecedented," the McCarthy Era and Hollywood blacklists provide a blueprint by which we can understand and overcome contemporary consolidation and censorship in the media and arts. Storytelling is an act of resistance, and the more we recognize that truth, mine its past and imagine its future, the closer we can bring ourselves to achieving the multiracial democracy we deserve.

Through a panel discussion and performances, we will explore the McCarthy Era's roots in anti-Black racism, the connections between racism and authoritarianism, and outline our highest aspirations for a more creative, free and inclusive future in the arts.

Featuring:

• Kimberlé Crenshaw, professor of law, Columbia Law School and UCLA, Board Member Sundance Institute and Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum;
• Viet Thanh Nguyen, professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity, and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sympathizer;
• Jacqueline Stewart, professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago, former President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures,

with more panelists and performers to be announced soon!

**Please note that entry is first come, first serve based on capacity.