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Richard Dreyfuss Reveals The Patriotic Reason He Stepped Away From Acting
By Movieguide® Contributor
Richard Dreyfuss has been in some of the most famous movies of all time, including JAWS and AMERICAN GRAFFITI. However, the actor gave up his passion for one very good reason: saving his country.
“I gave up something I loved, and had loved since I was nine years old, only for something else I loved as much,” Dreyfuss revealed. “Saving my country.”
He explained, “I firmly believe that if we don’t revive the study of civics we will be dead before 2050. We’ll have the same name, and it will be a nightmare.”
Dreyfuss stepped back from acting to focus on civics — he even studied the topic at Oxford for four years.
He established The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative in 2006. The organization’s mission is to revitalize the teaching of civics in schools, as well as teach young people about the power of American citizenship.
A curriculum developed by his initiative has been adopted by hundreds of teachers as they return civics studies to the classroom.
The actor frequently speaks publicly about the importance of voting for young people and has appeared in a handful of documentaries about the topic.
Dreyfuss has also been outspoken about causes like free speech, right to privacy, and individual accountability.
“It infuriates me that people don’t understand what this place means,” the actor said of America. “What an advance on human progress this country is all about and how quickly we can abandon it without, without a second thought.”
Dreyfuss isn’t the only person in Hollywood who is concerned about reintroducing civics to the classroom. Movieguide® previously reported:
TUTTLE TWINS creator Daniel Harmon recently discussed the importance of making family-friendly content, which is his drive behind the Angel series, TUTTLE TWINS.
The show is based on a series of books that “teaches kids about principles of freedom and economics,” Harmon said.
“We’re taking those principles and that foundation and turning it into a cartoon that hopefully kids want to watch over their options on Netflix, YouTube, and the like,” he continued.
When asked about why he chose to make the book series into a show, Harmon gave a very personal reason.
“What drew me to it is I’m a lover of freedom,” he explained. “And I have seven kids, and I want to teach them principles of freedom, because I feel like a lot of that is being lost from schools and from culture in general.
“We think of it as a kind of mixture between the fun of a series like PHINEAS AND FERB, and the educational value and family-friendliness of something like THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS,” Harmon said.
“Obviously there’s a market for parents that are really thirsting after resources to be able to teach their kids these principles of freedom in economics,” Harmon concluded.
According to the Movieguide® review:
TUTTLE TWINS is an Angel Studios-produced TV series starring Natalie Madsen, Jonny Vance, Alex Hall, and William Lucas and is available on YouTube. The show was created by Daniel Harmon and is an adaptation of the book series of the same name. The show centers around Hispanic twins, Emily and Ethan, who go on adventures through time and dimensions to learn about economics, politics, civics, and principles of leading a good life with Gabby, their grandma.
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