MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- Barry McLerran, producer of "Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family," called attacks on the documentary in feminist writer Kathryn Joyce's new book "a reprise of her February 2008 diatribe in The Nation." ("Missing: The 'Right' Babies")
Joyce's book, "Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement," suggests that concern about declining birth rates is a ploy to advance the pro-family movement.
Said McLerran: "Joyce doesn't attempt to refute evidence of declining of birth rates, because she can't. The United Nations Population Division says that worldwide birth rates will be below replacement before the middle of the century."
Eurostat, the statistical office of the E.U., reports that from 2015 onward, annually, deaths will outpace births in the European Union. McLerran asks, "Is the E.U. now part of the vast international patriarchal conspiracy?"
As she did in her Nation article, Joyce charges that the concept of demographic winter is an attempt to generate "old-fashioned race panic" by playing on anti- immigrant fears of Europeans.
McLerran countered. "There's nothing in our film about immigrant versus native-born birth rates in Europe. Of course we care about the decline of European birth rates. Of the 10 nations with the lowest fertility rates, 9 are in Europe. But we also care about falling birth rates in Africa, Latin America and China. Worldwide, birth rates have dropped more than 50% in the past 30 years."
Joyce also indulges in guilt by association.
The author notes that "Demographic Winter" includes an interview with distinguished economist Harry S. Dent, who's written extensively on the economic consequences of falling fertility rates and who predicted the 2008 financial crash.
Joyce then discloses that Dent is the son of Nixon advisor Harry S. Dent, Sr., who, she claims, is "largely credited for developing the Republican Party's 'Southern strategy,' broadly criticized as a race baiting ploy to tap white Southerners' racial fears for political gain." Joyce calls this a "poignant legacy" for a film which, she implies, is racist in its appeal.
McLerran remarked, "I'm only surprised Joyce didn't try to connect the documentary to the Watergate break-in because it's been praised by Chuck Colson."
"Joyce seems to be obsessed with race," McLerran said. "We're not. We are, however, concerned about the impact of Demographic Winter on the human race."
McLerran added: "When Joyce wrote her piece for The Nation, in part critiquing the documentary, she had only seen the trailer. In her book, she tries to cover up that sloppy journalism by claiming 'Demographic Winter,' 'was delayed several months, following early criticism, as producers reedited it.' That is a convenient lie. Release of the DVD was not delayed by criticism of the film, by Joyce or anyone else."
McLerran concluded: "The public will learn nothing about 'Demographic Winter' from Joyce's book. We urge those who are open-minded to view the documentary instead."
"Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family," can be ordered on line at www.demographicwinter.com.
To schedule an interview with a spokesman for "Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family," contact Communications Director Don Feder at 508-405-1337 or dfeder@rcn.com.
