Interview: Morgan Freeman on reading

NEA Today, Feb 2001 by Green, Michelle Y

News

INTERVIEW

Movie superstar Morgan Freeman, chair of NEA's Read Across America campaign for 2001, urges kids to read for understanding.

Morgan Freeman's eclectic body of work ranges from Amistad to the recently released Nurse Betty. One of the most highly regarded talents in the film industry, Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his work in Street Smart (Best Supporting Actor), Driving Miss Daisy (Best Actor), and The Shawshank Redemption (Best Actor). So perhaps it's ironic that someone who makes his living on the screen is now telling kids to turn off the TV.

Freeman (pictured right) was in Philadelphia recently, taping a public service announcement for NEA's Read Across America for 2001 campaign, when NEA Today's Michelle Y. Green caught up with him.

When you were a child, did you like to read?

When I was a kid-I was so excited about it-I had a library card at eight, and my whole world opened up. It got so broad and filled with adventure and the knowledge of things. I learned that the sun was 96 million miles away from the earth because Superman told me that. I read it in a comic book. I grew up in the days of radio.

This kind of minimalist entertainment, where the mind has to do the bulk of the work, is way far and ahead of what we have now in terms of just turning on the TV.

What needs to be done to develop that same love of reading in kids today?

As educators, parents, anyone who's concerned with getting our kids to read, we have our work cut out for us. So much in the way of technology today competes for kids' interest. And the Internet and television are icon-driven-which means you don't have to read anything.

We're not going to turn back the march of technology, especially since television is leading that march.

I understand that core research from programs such as Sesame Street has found that while television has taught kids to recognize words, it hasn't taught them how to read. Reading is not just bringing the words together. Reading is understanding.

That's why I would recommend that you drastically shorten the amount of time that you allow children to watch television. Much of it is just mind-numbing. A better thing to do is to give them a good book-or any book. Even a bad book is better than a marginal TV show.

Yet you've created your own production company, Revelations Entertainment. Is there a role for film and TV in educating kids?

Television and film can be the two most powerful teaching tools known to man, as far as I'm concerned. Visual stimulation of young minds is very important. But what are you stimulating them with? That's the crux of the matter.

The name of the production company I cofounded with Lori McCreary is Revelations Entertainment. Just consider the name itself: "Revelations". The films, the stories we want to tell, are revealing. They tell us something about ourselves. They tell us something about our history. Because of the proliferation of venues for storytelling, there is a great need now for product and we are mining every resource.

There's all this talk about violence on TV, but that has nothing to do with the industry. All televisions have an on/off switch and a channel selection button, and the Internet has filters. The best thing is limited viewing.

How has reading enriched your career?

People say that I'm very good at choosing good projects to do. Well if I am, I chalk that up to my ability to know a good story.

If you read, you learn the ingredients of a good story. If you can remember any of the great books you read, the ones that really grabbed you on page one, you can just about quote the first line: "Call me Ishmael" or "Mother died today, or maybe yesterday"-what an opening!

Isn't another favorite role of yours reading to a particular grandchild?

I used to read to one granddaughter a lot because we were on the road together when she was little. She had a library that was amazing. One of my favorite stories was Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp by Mercer Mayer (Aladdin Picture Books), a wonderfully illustrated book about a child who lived in the Louisiana swamp and how she and her pet opossum outwit everyone.

In addition to your film roles, many people remember you as Easy Reader on the PBS television series "The Electric Company."

Yes, that was my first role as a character actor. And Easy Reader holds a special place in my heart not only because of the creative opportunity it offered, but because of the chance the role gave me to promote the joy of reading and the importance of literacy. I'm happy to have that chance again with my role in NEA's Read Across America.

The theme for NEA's fourth annual Read Across America celebration is "Oh, The Places You Can Go!" For more information, visit the Web at www.nea.org/readacross.

RESOURCES

* The Press Central page of NEA's Read Across America Web site has press releases, celebrity promos, and more to read, listen to, and download. www. nea.org/readacross/ press/html

* Visit NEA's Reading Matters Web site for year-- round news, expert advice, classroom and home activities, and resources for adults to help children improve their reading skills and develop a love for literacy. www.nea.org/ readingmatters/