This just might be the best documentary on the modern free-speech culture war playing out on college campuses and across American media.
Trailer for “No Safe Spaces”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- In October 2017, Adam Carolla is blocked from speaking at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. Protesters throw bottles, set fires, and shut the event down. It turns a campus talk into what looks like a riot scene.
- Some universities with liberal-to-conservative faculty ratios are as high as 12-to-1. This created echo chambers where certain viewpoints never get challenged.
Watch “No Safe Spaces”
You can watch “No Safe Spaces” via Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 91/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 98/100 (Users); 50/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: “No Safe Spaces” is directed by Justin Folk and written by John Sullivan. The film runs 100 minutes. It blends campus footage, interviews, and on-the-ground confrontations rather than academic theory.
Release Date: 2019
My Review of “No Safe Spaces”
The Setup
This documentary follows comedian Adam Carolla and conservative commentator Dennis Prager as they travel the country. They are examining how free speech clashes with modern identity politics.
Instead of abstract debates, the film focuses on flashpoint moments:
- canceled speakers
- hostile protests
- students who say they’re afraid to voice unpopular opinions in class
Jordan B. Peterson appears as both a case study and a symbol. Someone whose campus lectures drew massive crowds and massive backlash.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Footage shows campus officials struggling to maintain order. They also appear hesitant to defend speakers outright.
- Students from across the political spectrum describe self-censoring in classrooms to avoid social or academic consequences.
- The doc contrasts older civil rights-era free speech battles with today’s emphasis on emotional harm and “safe spaces.”
- Carolla often plays the audience surrogate. He asks blunt, sometimes uncomfortable questions that professors and administrators dodge.
- At Evergreen State College, students take over campus buildings for weeks in 2017. They demand professor Bret Weinstein be fired because he opposed a racially segregated “Day of Absence” event.
Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Jordan B. Peterson discusses how his lectures on psychology—not politics—became lightning rods for protest.
- Archived campus video reveals administrators negotiating with protesters instead of enforcing existing free speech policies.
- Several professors admit anonymously that they avoid certain topics altogether to protect their careers.
Wrap Up:
“No Safe Spaces” is specific, and that’s what makes it effective. If you care about free speech, campus culture, or where public debate is headed next, this one will deliver.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc