Here’s a film my friend Marc Moscato and Patrick Weishampel finished last year. The More Things Stay The Same examines the life and world of Dr. Ben Reitman who lived in the Ragtime era and was known in his day as “the Clap Doctor”, “King of the Hoboes” and “the most vulgar man in America”. He was also arrested in Portland, OR in 1915 with Emma Goldman for dispensing information about contraception!  It forms an endearing portrait of Reitman’s colorful life, and investigates the cultural and social context of his times. From labor unrest to sex education to the genesis of the homeless crisis in America, Reitman’s work continues to have importance and relevance to the hard-hitting issues of today. The More Things Stay The Same not only sheds new light on this lost but vital slice of underground Americana, but also provides an urgent rallying cry for the present.

the more things stay the same from marc moscato on Vimeo.

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