Justice delayed is justice denied!
Is It Always Right to Be Right? is a 1970 animated short film directed by Lee Mishkin.
It is an adaptation of an essay
by Prof. Warren H. Schmidt, a doctor of philosophy. It is a parable of "a land where people were always right". The various factions of this society—old/young, black/white, etc.—insist that they are right and the other side is wrong. Each side retreats into its own camp, communication breaks down, and the world becomes "grim". Finally, someone reaches out, and the world is brought back together.
Absolutely reeks of The '70s.
Tropes:
- Animated Adaptation: Schmidt's essay appeared in the Los Angeles Times in November 1969, before being made into an animated film.
- Arc Words: "They were right, of course, and they knew it, and they were proud of it."
- The End: Schmidt's essay concludes by describing the search for common ground as "a task that never ends". Appropriately, the cartoon ends with a closing title that says "NOT THE END".
- The Generation Gap: Discussed Trope, as the parable says that "a gap appeared between the generations", and the animation shows a literal gap, followed by several more gaps as the various factions of society split off from each other.
- Limited Animation: Very limited, crudely drawn animation, no doubt because the film is meant to tell a parable.
- Medium Blending: Mixes up live-action stock footage and crude Limited Animation.
- Narrator: None other than freaking Orson Welles. Welles started doing more and more voice work during this part of his life as the directing gigs dried up. Here he reads Schmidt's parable word-for-word, minus the dialogue bits, which are given to other voice actors.
- Questioning Title?: The answer seems to be "no".
- Shattered World: The gap between the factions grows so wide it literally splits the planet in two.
- Stock Footage: Loads. A goodly chunk of this animated short is actually live-action stock footage, used to illustrate the points of view. Things like a rocket blasting off illustrate the old people's pride in technological accomplishment, while scenes of pollution illustrate the young people's horror at "a land that has been befouled and exploited".
