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Videos on Women's and Gender Studies

SELECTED DVDs and Videotapes in the Rutgers Libraries

Reproductive Rights DVDs

12th & Delaware 2010

Heidi E Ewing, Rachel Grady, Sara Bernstein, Loki Films, Home Box Office (Firm), and HBO Entertainment (Firm)

"The seemingly sleepy intersection of Delaware Ave. and 12th St. in Fort Pierce, Fla. is ground zero for the ferocious abortion rights battle raging in America. On one corner stands the abortion clinic A Woman's World; across the street is the Pregnancy Care Center, an ambiguously named pro-life outpost dedicated to heading off abortion seekers at the pass."--Producers. 1 videodisc (ca. 80 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2435

 

The abortion war thirty years after Roe v. Wade 2003

Chris Bury, ABC News, and Films for the Humanities (Firm)

Thirty years after the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, ABC News surveys the current political opinion concerning abortion rights. 1 videodisc (22 min.)

DANA. MEDIA 232 10-306

 

The child brides 2004

Gill Barnes, Toyin Fani-Kayode, Umbrella Pictures, Channel Four (Great Britain), and Films for the Humanities (Firm)

"In many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, young girls are often engaged by the age of eight, and leave their homes to join their husbands by twelve. In many cases, the younger the girl, the more her family receives in the form of a dowry. This program travels to the most rural and poverty-stricken regions of Ethiopia to expose the common practice of child brides and the consequences for the young girls who often give birth before they are out of childhood."--Container. 1 videodisc (ca. 51 min.) :

MEDIA 10-3368

 

The education of Shelby Knox c2006

Chronicles the efforts of a concerned teenager to bring sex education to the schools in her conservative Texas hometown. 1 videodisc (ca. 76 min.)

MEDIA 10-3875

 

Fetal positions a film c2002

Stacey Benoit and National Film Network

Fetal Positions relates the story of volunteer clinic escorts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose 'patients first' philosophy focuses on protection rather than promoting counter-protest and confrontation. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-672

 

The Gloucester 18 the realities of teen pregnancy c2010

John Michael Williams and Media Education Foundation

"When eighteen high school girls from Gloucester, Massachusetts were accused of making a pact to become pregnant in 2008, the mainstream media quickly perpetuated and sensationalized the story. The Gloucester 18 looks behind the headlines and hype to tell the real stories of these girls, putting a human face on a startling statistic: the fact that the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world. Drawing on interviews with the girls, their families, high school counselors, physicians, and media personalities, the filmmakers unpack what really happened, while exploring the complicated emotional and practical challenges faced by teens on the brink of motherhood."--Container. 1 videodisc (67 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2265

 

Ladies in waiting 2010

Dieudo Hamadi and Divita Wa Lusala

Taking in the wives of the unemployed, of unpaid government employees, the Kitambo maternity clinic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo has to cope with its patients' lack of money. And negotiations are tough between the administration and the women. As long as the bill remains unsettled they are kept at the clinic, which only increases the cost of their stay. And here everything has a price, even a birth certificate. The women's protests against their poor accomodations or their claims that their husband's pay is overdue can change nothing. The female administrator won't budge an inch. If you've no money, you stay put. "Hold me hostage instead of my wife" offers one man. A long suffering manager, herself at the mercy of the system, must negotiate collateral with them: a celebration dress, a pair of earrings, a suitcase, so they will return and pay in full.  Ladies in waiting is an intimate, all-too-human reminder of the ways economic forces play out in even the best-intentioned healthcare institutions in poor countries affecting not only the institutions, but health care workers and patients alike. 1 videodisc (24 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2429

 

Like a ship in the night c2008

"Abortion is illegal in Ireland, potentially punishable by life imprisonment; and yet over 8,000 Irish women a year travel to England for abortions. They make this journey in secret and return in silence, some of them never telling a soul. Like A Ship in the Night follows three women -- a young painter, a working class mother of five, and a self-proclaimed country girl -- as they plan their journeys across the sea. Along the way, we hear from community workers, doctors and counselors about the history of the laws and social attitudes that make their journey necessary. Louise, Mary and Siobhan are welcomed in England by grassroots activists who support Irish women during their stay. After their abortions, the women head home, each armed with a 'catalog of lies' to explain their extended absence. At the end of this long, emotional journey, they are afraid to tell anyone where they have been or what they have been through. The power of these women's firsthand accounts promotes dialogue around this contentious issue"--Container. 1 videodisc (30 min.)

MEDIA 10-4146

 

Made in India a film about surrogacy  c2010

Rebecca Haimowitz, Vaishali Sinha, Fledgling Fund, and Chicken & Egg Pictures (Firm)

"[A] feature length documentary film about the human experiences behind the phenomen of "outsourcing" surrogate mothers to India.  The film shows the journey of an American couple, an Indian surrogate and the reproductive outsourcing business that brings them together."--Container. 1 videodisc (97 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2454

 

La operaci©šn 2007

Examines the controversial use of female sterilization as a means of population control in Puerto Rico, which has the highest incidence of sterilization in the world. 1 videodisc (39 min.)

MEDIA 10-5565

 

The pill 2003

Chana Gazit, David Steward, Blair Brown, Steward/Gazit Productions, WGBH Educational Foundation, and PBS Home Video

"Featuring personal accounts from the first generation of women to have access to the Pill, this films show how harnessing female hormones into a little pill unleashed a social revolution unlike any other in our history"--Container. 1 videodisc (ca. 60 min.)

MEDIA 10-2101

 

Silent choices c2007

Faith Pennick, Richard Sussman, Organized Chaos Mediaworks (Firm), and New Day Films

Illustrates the abortion issue through the lives of African American women, with both interviews and dramatic content. Features the personal experiences of several such women, some of whom chose to have abortions, and some who are staunchly pro-life. The film also brings in others active in the African American community on abortion issues, as well as juxtaposing African American viewpoints to those of white Americans, all combined and contrasted with the larger economic, political, and social pressures that are faced by the African-American community in general. 1 videodisc (60 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2355

 

Singer a dangerous mind 2004, c2003

Margie Bryant, David Roach, Terry Carlyon, Robert Menzies, Film Finance Corporation (Australia), Serendipity Productions, Australian Film Commission, British Broadcasting Corporation, and ABC News

"Dr. Peter Singer has been called the most influential living philosopher. He has also been called a monster. In this thought-provoking program, he faces his critics and discusses his ideas on euthanasia, abortion, and infanticide. The program follows his worldwide tour of lectures and encounters, including case conferences and a trip to Austria, where most of his family was killed in the Holocaust. A range of commentators consider his utilitarian stance and its impact on public policy"--Container. 1 videodisc (56 min.)

MEDIA 10-286

 

Speak out I had an abortion c2005

Gillian Aldrich, Jennifer Baumgardner, and Speakout Productions

Features several women, aged 21 to 85, who have had abortions and captures their stories and experiences. 1 videodisc (55 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2322

 

Unborn in the USA inside the war on abortion 2007

Stephen Fell, Will Thompson, Scuba Rooster , and First Run/Icarus Films

Looks at the pro-life movement in the United States over the past 35 years, offering insight into both the religious and political ideologies of this social movement. 1 videodisc (110 min.)

MEDIA 10-999

 

Vera Drake 2005

Mike Leigh, Alain Sarde, Simon Channing-Williams, Imelda Staunton, Philip Davis, Peter Wight, Alex Kelly, Daniel Mays, Jim Broadbent, New Line Home Entertainment (Firm), Fine Line Features, Studio Canal (Firm),  Inside Track (Firm), Thin Man Films (Firm), and UK Film Council

Vera Drake tells of a woman in 1950s England who is devoted to caring for her family, but secretly aids women who want to terminate unwanted pregnancies. When the authorities find her out, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel. 1 videodisc (125 min.)

MEDIA 10-433

 

When abortion was illegal untold stories 1992

Women who risked their lives and doctors who risked their licenses speak frankly to bring alive the era of back-alley abortions. 1 videocassette (28 min.)

MEDIA 10-5619

 

Reproductive Rights

Abortion 1989
Melissa Jo Peltier
Shows how the denial of abortion affects not only women's lives in the United States but also in the third world countries. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA 2-814

Abortion and the law 2000
David Lowe and Walter Cronkite
A documentary which focuses on the legal, moral, social, and psychological aspects of abortion in the United States.  Presents clergymen, lawyers, and physicians who hold diametrically opposed views and tells of specific cases of abortion. 1 videocassette (57 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5412

The Abortion pill 1997
Etienne-Emile Baulieu, Marion Lipschutz, Rose Rosenblatt, Larry Loonin, Eric David Nadler, and Robbie Harris
After years of controversy, RU486, also known as Mifepristone, a pill that can end a pregnancy without surgery, is coming to America. This program shows the controversy surrounding RU486 and shows how a potent mix of business, politics and ethics kept this drug out of United States for nearly a decade. 1 videocassette (56 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5616

The abortion war thirty years after Roe v. Wade 2003
Chris Bury, ABC News, and Films for the Humanities (Firm)
Thirty years after the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, ABC News surveys the current political opinion concerning abortion rights. 1 videodisc (22 min.)
DANA. MEDIA 232 10-306

About sex 1972
Herman J Engle, Angel Martinez, and Texture Films, inc
In the first half of the film Angel Martinez, a youth program consultant for New York City's Planned Parenthood, conducts a discussion with teenagers about the biological and psychological aspects of sex. In the second half of the film Angel Martinez discusses sexual fantasies, homosexuality, body growth, masturbation, abortion and love. 1 videocassette (23 min.)
MEDIA D-178

Birth control and the law 2000
Stephen Fleischman and Eric Sevareid
Includes interviews with different religious and health officials and discusses the differences in moral attitudes towards birth control of Catholics and non-Catholics. 1 videocassette (55 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5413

Casting the first stone 1991
Julie Gustafson and John H Petito
Set against the backdrop of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent historic abortion decisions, the video portrays three activists who believe that women should have the right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term, and three who believe that abortion is murder. 1 videocassette (ca. 58 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1802

Choice thoughts reflections on the birth control war 2001
Jacqueline Frank
A historical presentation of viewpoints on birth control from a variety of people such as Margaret Sanger, Teddy Roosevelt, Alan Keyes, Diane Feinstein, Pat Robertson, Abbie Hoffman, Monsignor Caffarra. 1 videocassette (10 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6103

Dear Dr. Spencer abortion in a small town c1997
Danielle Renfrew, Beth Seltzer, Michael Moore, Lili Taylor, Concentric Media (Firm), and First Run/Icarus Films
Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer practiced medicine in a small town in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania.  Along with providing basic medical care, he also performed illegal abortions. His reputation spread and soon he was receiving letters from women across the country, asking for his help. This tape features interviews with the doctor's wife, local townspeople, and women who traveled from all over seeking help. 1 videocassette (24 min.)
MEDIA 2-6335

The desired number 1995
Ngozi Onwurah, Daniel Riesenfeld, and Simon Onwurah
Investigates the condition of women in Nigeria, where a woman's status and value are tied to her ability to bear children of the desired number. 1 videocassette (28 min.) :
MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3876 2-6095

Fetal positions a film c2002
Stacey Benoit and National Film Network
Fetal Positions relates the story of volunteer clinic escorts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose 'patients first' philosophy focuses on protection rather than promoting counter-protest and confrontation. 1 videodisc (52 min.)
MEDIA 10-672

Fire eyes female circumcision 1994
Soraya Mire
Explores the socio-economic, psychological, and medical consequences of this ancient custom which affects more than 80 million women worldwide. 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
MEDIA 2-3857

The fragile promise of choice abortion in the United States today 1996
Dorothy Fadiman, Beth Seltzer, and Daniel Meyers
Vignettes from around the United States, news footage and interviews combine to show how restrictive legislation, funding cutbacks, violence against clinics, and the political successes of the Pro-life movement is affecting abortion's availability and how activists and clinicians are working to preserve access to abortion. 1 videocassette (57 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5954

From danger to dignity the fight for safe abortion 1995
Dorothy Fadiman, Beth Seltzer, and Daniel Meyers
A documentary on the efforts to legalize abortion in the United States and on the social and medical dangers of illegal abortions prior to Roe vs. Wade. Also portrays the underground network that helped women procure safe illegal abortions. 1 videocassette (57 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5953

Gene blues dilemmas of DNA testing 1997
Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin
As geneticists unlock the DNA code, genetic engineering increasingly holds promise for alleviating human suffering, but what are the risks? This program looks at some problem areas: loss of privacy unless access to personal genetic information is protected; discrimination in employment and insurance based on genetic tests; and loss of respect for people with disabilities as the public comes to view inherited conditions as "avoidable" and some call for restricting reproductive rights. 1 videocassette (31 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5212

The good egg an ovum donor's journey  c2003
Erin Ploss-Campoamor, Fanlight Productions, and Mare's Hoff Production
The filmmaker documents her hormone treatments as well as the surgical extraction of her eggs, and she talks with other donors, professionals, and members of her family to get their opinions on the issue of ovum donation. 1 videocassette (30 min.)
MEDIA 2-6954

Half the people, 1970 1999
Alfre Woodard and Anne Moir
"Inspired by the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, women began to challenge discrimination on the basis of gender. The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 to support full equality for women in America. In the boardroom and other bastions of male power, women pressed their demands with growing success."--Container. 1 videocassette (60 min.) :
DANA. MEDIA  MEDIA 1620         2-5635    2-4201a

It happens to us 1972
Amalie R Rothschild,  Medical Committee for Human Rights (U.S.), Anomaly Films, and New Day Films
Women talk about their abortion experiences and the problems involved in illegal vs. legal medically safe abortions. Presents medical information on current methods, related statistics, and discussion of the contradictions in the morality that produces unwanted pregnancy. 1 videocassette (30 min.)
MEDIA D-281

Jane an abortion service : a documentary 1996
Kate Kirtz and Nell Lundy
This political look at a little-known chapter in women's history tells the story of "Jane," the Chicago-based women's health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. 1 videocassette (58 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6101

Legal but out of reach six women's abortion stories 2000
Janet Goldwater and Barbara Attie
Interviews with six women who decided upon abortion but were faced with financial impediments due to inadequate state public funding. 1 videocassette (24 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5994

Live free or die 2000
Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt
This video follows Dr. Wayne Goldner and his family through a year of everyday life in the small community of Bedford, New Hampshire where abortion politics is a hot issue. As an OB/GYN doctor, Dr. Goldner believes in providing total women's health services, including abortions, and tells how his & his family's life is affected because of this commitment. 1 videocassette (71 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5709

Living forward, looking back 1994, 1993
Stephanie Hill
In pre-Roe v. Wade few options were available for young pregnant girls. This program examines two of those options, adoption and illegal abortion. Highlights their impact on women's lives, with interviews with older, wiser and formerly pregnant women 20 to 40 years later. 1 videocassette (31 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5353

The Magic bullet 1993
Stefan Moore
We expect medical science and the drug industry to come up with magical "quick fixes."  But out of our deep-seated quest for cures, a myth has evolved - the belief that medicine can provide pills to solve all our health problems regardless of the causes of diseases in our environments and in spite of the fact that most diseases are chronic and cannot be cured. "The Magic Bullet" looks at the history of drug development and at the impact of controversial drugs such as diethylstilbestrol (DES), which caused cancer in the children of women who used it, and RU-486, the new abortion pill. 1 videocassette (55 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3973

Margaret Sanger 1998
Bruce Alfred, Blair Brown, Michelle Ferrari, Holly Ornstein Carter, Joanna Kiernan, and Mead Hunt
Birth control advocate, self-styled libertarian, and ardent proponent of women's rights--Margaret Sanger was all of these, as this balanced, probing documentary attests. Using rare archival footage, diary excepts, and commentary from historians, critics, and relatives, the program traces Sanger's extraordinary life and exhaustive work in the promotion and legalization of contraception. 1 videocassette (87 min.) :
DANA 873

Margaret Sanger a public nuisance 1992
Terese Svoboda, Steve Bull, Esther Katz, Barbara Abrash, Miki Navazio, Giancarlo Biagi, Larry Blake, Franklin Bull, Susan Carlson, and Laura Fernandez
A biography of Margaret Sanger, nurse, midwife, social activist, feminist and an early advocate of birth control and women's rights. The film is made in the style of an old silent film with archival footage interspersed with printed titles and "tongue in cheek" dramatized topical interludes. 1 videocassette (ca. 28 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5421

La Operación 1992
Anna Maria Garcia
As of 1980, Puerto Rico had the highest incidence of female sterilization in the world. The film argues that since ths 1930's, the American government's efforts to control the island's population by sterilizing its women, has served the business interests of American corporations located there. 1 videocassette (ca. 40 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1804

The other side of the fence 1993
Lynn Estomin and O'Brien Nancy
Lynn Estomin interviews Nancy O'Brien about O'Brien's role in a pro-life-movement group that demonstrated outside Cincinnati Planned Parenthood clinics. O'Brien says the black-and-white view of life she held as a pro-life activist changed when her group supported her husband during their divorce, and she now questions her former certainties. 1 videocassette (28 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5735

The pill 1999
Erna Buffie, Elise Swerhone, Joe MacDonald , and Ann-Marie MacDonald
Chronicles little known chapters in the history of the birth control pill. Examines how far the pharmaceutical industry was willing to risk women's health. Interviews women from Puerto Rico who became unsuspecting test subjects. Provides insights from women health activists who questioned the high-dose version's safety, and testimony from scientists who developed the pill. 1 videocassette (ca. 46 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5497

Singer a dangerous mind 2004, c2003
Margie Bryant, David Roach, Terry Carlyon, Robert Menzies, Film Finance Corporation (Australia), Serendipity Productions, Australian Film Commission, British Broadcasting Corporation, and ABC News
"Dr. Peter Singer has been called the most influential living philosopher. He has also been called a monster. In this thought-provoking program, he faces his critics and discusses his ideas on euthanasia, abortion, and infanticide. The program follows his worldwide tour of lectures and encounters, including case conferences and a trip to Austria, where most of his family was killed in the Holocaust. A range of commentators consider his utilitarian stance and its impact on public policy"--Container. 1 videodisc (56 min.)
MEDIA 10-286

Something like a war 1998
Deepa Dhanraj
Explores the issues surrounding birth control and family planning in India using interviews with women, doctors, and public officials. 1 videocassette (52 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6104

Unborn in the USA inside the war on abortion 2007
Stephen Fell, Will Thompson, Scuba Rooster , and First Run/Icarus Films
Looks at the pro-life movement in the United States over the past 35 years, offering insight into both the religious and political ideologies of this social movement. 1 videodisc (110 min.) :
MEDIA 10-999

Ventre livre Liberation 1995
Ana Luiza Azevedo, Ciba Assis Brasil, Rosangela Cortinhas, Rui Carvalho, and Lisa Becker
Discusses sterilization and abortion as the primary choices for birth control by women in Brazil. 1 videocassette (46 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6096

Vera Drake 2005
Mike Leigh, Alain Sarde, Simon Channing-Williams, Imelda Staunton, Philip Davis, Peter Wight, Alex Kelly, Daniel Mays, Jim Broadbent, New Line Home Entertainment (Firm), Fine Line Features, Studio Canal (Firm),  Inside Track (Firm), Thin Man Films (Firm), and UK Film Council
Vera Drake tells of a woman in 1950s England who is devoted to caring for her family, but secretly aids women who want to terminate unwanted pregnancies. When the authorities find her out, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel. 1 videodisc (125 min.)
MEDIA 10-433

When abortion was illegal untold stories 1992
Dorothy Fadiman
Women who risked their lives and doctors who risked their licenses speak frankly to bring alive the era of back-alley abortions. 1 videocassette (28 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5955

With a vengeance the fight for reproductive freedom 1989
Lori Hiris and Ninia Baehr
A history of the abortion controversy in the United States. Includes live footage from rallies and demonstrations, and interviews with pro-choice and anti-abortion activists. 1 videocassette (40 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5089

Reproductive Rights - New This Year

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