HiT Episode No. 146: Michael Pack (‘Created Equal’)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a complicated rationale for staying so silent all these years.

Justice Thomas rarely, if ever, asks questions as part of the deliberation process, either. When he does,  the simple act generates headlines.

So seeing him talk, and talk, during the documentary “Created Equal” is a cultural moment in and of itself.

The film’s full title, “Clarence Thomas In His Own Words,” says even more about the project.

Director Michael Pack coaxed the reluctant justice to open up about his life, his childhood and the confirmation hearing that riveted the nation back in 1991.

What follows is a fascinating look into a significant legal mind, a chance to see the forces that shaped him over the decades. We learn about his poverty-stricken background, the grandparents who forged his work ethic and his fury over being dubbed a sexual predator at the biggest point in his career.

And, of course, we re-watch the confirmation hearings that revealed so much about culture then, and now.

Pack is an openly right-of-center storyteller whose work regularly appears on PBS. He shares the genesis of “Created Equal,” why so few documentaries share a conservative perspective and much more in the latest HiT ‘cast.

Listen to “HiT ‘cast 146: How Michael Pack Made Justice Thomas a Movie Star” on Spreaker.

“Created Equal” is playing in limited theaters nationwide. To find out if it’s showing in a town near you, please visit JusticeThomasMovie.com.