Videos on Class, Race, and Ethnicity

Call for Change series 2005

Konrad Aderer, Sam Pollard, Kevin Lee, Clifton Watson, Paul Barrera, Leslie K Brown, Jesaus Papoleto Melaendez, Silvia del Castillo, Carlo Baldi, Rubaen Gonzaalez, Renata Gangemi, Donna Golden, J. T Takagi, Herman Lew, Al Santana, Alonzo Rico Speight, Kamisha S., Miriam Perez, Call for Change (Project), Life or Liberty (Firm), DRUM (Organization), Also Like Life Productions, Domestic Workers United, Molino Viejo Productions (Firm), U & Me Productions, and Newsreel (Firm)

The Call for change series is a Third World Newsreel project which brings together socially conscious mediamakers of color to produce short videos on communities of color in America and their state of America. In 2005 the topics ranged from the elections, the war on terror and its impact on human rights and immigrant life, to slavery reparations and the rights of domestic workers. The hope of this project is to spark discussions throughout the nation's living rooms, classrooms and community groups on topical issues, while presenting the views and concerns of groups and communities often marginalized in mainstream media. 2 videodiscs (54, 75 min.)

MEDIA 10-1777

 

Catfish in black bean sauce c2001

Chi Muoi Lo, Paul Winfield, Mary Alice, Lauren Tom, Sanaa Lathan, First Look Home Entertainment, Ironhill Pictures, Warwick Pictures, and  Black Hawk Entertainment

Mai and Dwayne were refugee children in Vietnam when Harold and Dee Williams, an African-American couple living in Los Angeles, adopted them. Now that the children are adults, they remain close to their parents, especially Dwayne. Mai announces that she's located their birth mother, Thahn, and she's flying her to L.A. Dee takes the news hard: she sees herself being replaced. Harold is more sanguine, and Dwayne pretends to be indifferent. When Thahn arrives, tensions reach the breaking point between everyone. 1 videodisc (ca. 119 min.)

MEDIA 10-1597

 

Closer to home c2004

Joseph Nobile, Ruben Arthur Nicdao, John Michael Bolger, Madeline Ortaliz, Elibon Film Productions, and Metropolis DVD (Firm)

"Joseph Nobile's Closer to Home weaves a universal, haunting tale of two people inexorably drawn together for vastly different reasons. Dalisay struggles to journey from the Philippine countryside to New York City to marry Dean, a disillusioned ex-merchant marine. She's hoping to buy a cure for her dying sister and, ultimately, a future for her debt-ridden family, while he hopes to escape his disintegrating American family through love and a family of his own. A powerful, controversial film that quietly builds to a shattering collision of aspirations and cultures"--Container. 1 videodisc (125 min.)

MEDIA 10-1640

 

Coolie pink and green 2009

" A young Indian girl in Trinidad, a small island in the Caribbean, is torn between the ancient culture of her ancestors and the multicultural world of the modern society in which she has grown up. Told in a mix of poetry and prose, against the haunting sounds of Indian classical and chutney music, Coolie Pink and Green is the universal tale of the children of migrants who must carve out their own identity in the place they call home." --Container. 1 videodisc (23 min.)

MEDIA 10-3985

 

Crash 2006

Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Lion's Gate Films, DEJ Productions, Inc, and Lions Gate Home Entertainment

A provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America when a car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. 2 videodiscs (115 min.)

MEDIA 10-665

 

From Mali to Michigan a musical bridge 2009?

Louise Manon Bourgault, Robert Thomson, Michala Hansen, Naeiny Diabataae, Dave Ziegner, Marco Volcy, Brin Jungwirth, Mady Kouyate, WNMU-TV (Television station : Marquette, Mich.), Mady Kouyatae and the Heat of Africa (Musical group), and Newsreel (Firm)

Documentary about musical collaboration in the global age.  The program details the 2005 visit of African world music pop diva Naeiny Diabatae to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and her extraordinary collaboration with local artists.  The program follows this soulful bluesy bard as she jams with North American musicians--session base guitarist Dave Ziegner, Canadian-born keyboardist Marco Volcy, and djembe drummer Brin Jungwirth.  Ms. Diabatae is accompanied on the West African 21-stringed harp-lute played by kora virtuoso Mady Kouyatae.  Mr. Kouyatae, whose adopted home is Ypsilanti, Michigan, is known to downstate audiences through his musical group Mady Kouyatae and the Heat of Africa. Location footage juxtaposes the edge of the Sahara with the shores of Lake Superior. 1 videodisc (26 min.)

MEDIA 10-2008

 

Gegen die wand Head-on c2005

Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Güven K raç, Meltem Cumbul, Ralph Schwingel, Stefan Schubert, Fatih Akin, Klaus Maeck, Strand Releasing Home Video (Firm), Bavaria Film International (Firm), Wüste Filmproduktion (Firm), Corazón International (Firm), Norddeutscher Rundfunk, and ARTE France

A melodrama of a Turkish man and woman living in Germany, torn between two cultures, tradition and modernity, survival and death. 1 videodisc (118 min.)

MEDIA 10-1587

 

Girl beat power of the drum 2005

Suzanne Girot, Renato Frota, Luz do Sol, and Cinema Guild

Profiles members of Banda Didá, an all-girl drumming and vocal group in Salvador, Brazil. Their music grows out of the Portuguese colonial history of the nation, where, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, slaves were brought from Africa for auction to plantation owners. The young musicians of Banda Didá incorporate slave stories into their lyrics, and perform in the same town square where slaves were once sold. Shows visits with several members of the group in their homes, their auditions and rehearsal sessions, plus parade performances and a concert presentation. 1 videodisc (80 min.)

MEDIA 10-1127

 

Gran Torino c2009

Clint Eastwood, Nick Schenk, Dave Johannson, Robert Lorenz, Bill Gerber, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Brian Howe, William Hill, Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- ), Village Roadshow Pictures,  Double Nickel Entertainment (Firm), Malpaso (Company), and Warner Home Video (Firm)

Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him.  Walt is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors.  He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition.  When his neighbor, Thao, a young Hmong teenager, is pressured by his gang member cousin to steal Walt's prize possession, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth.  Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Walt is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood. 1 videodisc (116 min.)

MEDIA 10-1551

 

Jungle fever 1998

Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L Jackson, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, and Anthony Quinn

A black architect begins an affair with his working class Italian secretary. Their relationship causes them to be scrutinized by their friends, cast out from their families and shunned by their neighbors. 1 videodisc (89 min.)

MEDIA DANA 10-47   1403

 

Multiracial identity c2010

Brian Chinhema, Bullfrog Films, and Abacus Production (Firm)

"Multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic in America, yet there is no official political recognition for mixed-race people. [This film] explores the social, political, and religious impact of the multiracial movement and the lived experience of being multiracial"--Container. 1 videodisc (77 min.) :

MEDIA 10-3164

 

New Muslim cool 2009

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, Hamza Paerez, Jon Shenk, Kenji Yamamoto, P.O.V. (Firm), Latino Public Broadcasting (Firm), Center for Asian American Media, and Seventh Art Releasing (Firm)

"Puerto Rican-American rapper Hamza Paerez pulled himself out of drug dealing and street life 12 years ago and became a Muslim. Now he's moved to Pittsburgh's tough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild his shattered family and take his message of faith to other young people through hard-hitting hip-hop music. But when the FBI raids his mosque, Hamza must confront the realities of the post-9/11 world, and himself"--www.pbs.org/pov. 1 videodisc (83 min.)

MEDIA 10-2175

 

Preschool in three cultures c1989

Joseph Jay Tobin and  Fourth Wave Productions

As the number of mothers in the workforce grows and parents feel increased pressure to give their children an educational head start, industrialized societies are turning to preschools to nurture, educate, and socialize young children. Presents a unique comparison of the practices and philosophies of Japanese, Chinese, and American preschools and discusses how changes in child care both reflect and affect larger social change.Shows a typical day in preschool in each country, and brings up such issues as freedom, conformity, creativity, coooperation, and discipline. 1 videodisc (57 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2283

 

Preschool in three cultures revisited Japan, China and the United States c2009

Joseph Jay Tobin, Yeh Hsueh, and Mayumi Karasawa

"This set of videos shows typical days in preschools in China, Japan, and the United States, with narration tracks that present explanations and reflections of early childhood educators from each country.  There is also a short introduction, which explains the project's goals and method."--Container. Includes revisits to the three schools featured in A Videotape companion to Preschool in three cultures (1989). 1 videodisc (112 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2282

 

Samba on your feet 2006

Eduardo Montes-Bradley, Juan Trasmonte, True Color of Music (Firm), and Filmakers Library, inc

"Goes behind the scenes of the samba and carnival world in Rio de Janeiro to reveal how the cultural clash of the African/Black & European/White cultures gave birth to a new tradition" -- Container. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-1144

 

Searching 4 Sandeep 2008?

Poppy Stockell, Sandeep Virdi, Laughingwave Productions, Australian Film Commission, and Women Make Movies (Firm)

"Single, frustrated and lonely in the middle of Sydney's thriving gay community, director Poppy Stockell decides to 'research' a light-hearted look at the lesbian Internet-dating scene. To her surprise and delight, she forges a deep online connection with an English woman, Sandeep Virdi. When their innocent flirtation turns into true attachment, Poppy sends Sandeep a camcorder and viewers watch as Poppy and Sandeep's virtual relationship blooms into a poignant love --  complicated by the reality that Sandeep is Sikh, lives at home with her conservative family, and has kept her sexuality a secret ... Follows the couple's tumultuous relationship across two years and three continents, in a touching examination of sexuality, religion, globalization, and culture seen through the lens of this uniquely modern love story" -- http://www.wmm.com/filmCatalog/pages/c733.shtml. 1 videodisc (55 min.)

MEDIA 10-1781

 

Traffic c2002

Steven Soderbergh, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford, Don Cheadle, Michael Douglas, Luis Guzmaan, Dennis Quaid, Benicio del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Simon Moore, USA Films (Firm), Bedford Falls Company, Initial Entertainment Group, Criterion Collection (Firm), Channel Four (Great Britain), and Carnival Films (Great Britain)

Traffic is a mural of a war being fought and lost.  In a culture devoted to instant gratification and the quick fix, it poses unanswerable questions about greed, corruption, economic inequity, pleasure, self-medication, dependency, and addiction.  The stories of a well-meaning politician with a wayward daughter, a rich suburban homemaker who sees her comfortable life hijacked by two earnest DEA agents, and a conscientious and honorable Mexican police officer illustrate the difficulties of waging this war against people who are essentially members of the family.  How do you combat human frailty, human nature, and the basic human desire to take the edge off?  Are we all not just doomed to repeat our mistakes, but--perversely--willing?  2 videodiscs (147 min.)

MEDIA 10-1632

 

Unnatural causes is inequality making us sick? c2008

Larry Adelman, Llewellyn Smith, Vital Pictures (Firm), National Minority Consortia (U.S.), California Newsreel (Firm), Center for Asian American Media, Latino Public Broadcasting (Firm), Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc, National Black Programming Consortium, and Pacific Islanders in Communications

A seven-part documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status; people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them"--Container insert. In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health"--Container insert. When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?"--Container insert. Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"--Container insert. Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures"--Container insert. Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?"--Container insert. Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss"--Container insert. Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain workers"--Container insert. 1 videodisc (236 min.)

DANA.       MEDIA.  438              10-1334

 

What's race got to do with it? 2006

Jean Cheng, Dave Stark, Belinda Sullivan, Jerlena Griffin-Destra, and California Newsreel (Firm)

This program "chronicles the experiences of a new generation of college students, in this case over the course of 16 weeks of intergroup dialogue on the U.C. Berkeley campus. As they confront themselves and each other about race, they discover they often lack awareness of how different their experience of campus life is from their peers, to the detriment of an inclusive campus climate"--Container. 1 videodisc (49 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2495

 

Young, Muslim, and French c2004

Kathleen Hughes, Micah Fink, Stephen Segaller, Pamela Hogan, Andy Halper, Jay O Sanders, Mishal Husain, Fawad A Gerges, and WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)

France's recent decision to ban the wearing of traditional Muslim headscarves (hijab) in public schools--a law widely perceived by Muslims to be an undemocratic expression. Wide Angle explores this conflict in the town of Dammarie-les-Lys. Also featured is the local high school principal, Ghislaine Hudson, a member of the commission charged with reviewing the use of religious symbols. Professor Fawaz Gerges also discusses secularism in France. Unemployment and the economic plight of the French Muslim minority and lack of social integration is also discussed. 1 videodisc (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-1866         2-7705

 

Call for Change series 2005

Konrad Aderer, Sam Pollard, Kevin Lee, Clifton Watson, Paul Barrera, Leslie K Brown, Jesaus Papoleto Melaendez, Silvia del Castillo, Carlo Baldi, Rubaen Gonzaalez, Renata Gangemi, Donna Golden, J. T Takagi, Herman Lew, Al Santana, Alonzo Rico Speight, Kamisha S., Miriam Perez, Call for Change (Project), Life or Liberty (Firm), DRUM (Organization), Also Like Life Productions, Domestic Workers United, Molino Viejo Productions (Firm), U & Me Productions, and Newsreel (Firm)

The Call for change series is a Third World Newsreel project which brings together socially conscious mediamakers of color to produce short videos on communities of color in America and their state of America. In 2005 the topics ranged from the elections, the war on terror and its impact on human rights and immigrant life, to slavery reparations and the rights of domestic workers. The hope of this project is to spark discussions throughout the nation's living rooms, classrooms and community groups on topical issues, while presenting the views and concerns of groups and communities often marginalized in mainstream media. 2 videodiscs (54, 75 min.)

MEDIA 10-1777

 

Catfish in black bean sauce c2001

Chi Muoi Lo, Paul Winfield, Mary Alice, Lauren Tom, Sanaa Lathan, First Look Home Entertainment, Ironhill Pictures, Warwick Pictures, and  Black Hawk Entertainment

Mai and Dwayne were refugee children in Vietnam when Harold and Dee Williams, an African-American couple living in Los Angeles, adopted them. Now that the children are adults, they remain close to their parents, especially Dwayne. Mai announces that she's located their birth mother, Thahn, and she's flying her to L.A. Dee takes the news hard: she sees herself being replaced. Harold is more sanguine, and Dwayne pretends to be indifferent. When Thahn arrives, tensions reach the breaking point between everyone. 1 videodisc (ca. 119 min.)

MEDIA 10-1597

 

Chutney in Yuh Soca : a multicultural mix 1996

Karen Martinez, Dilly Braimoh, and Jillian Li-Sue

Chutney in Yuh Soca: a film showing the interaction of the East Indian and African populations of Trinidad and Tobago through the popular music "Chutney" which is an combination of Indian folk tunes with the tempo and spice of the Caribbean. The gospel truth: A Black family in Great Britain reaffirms their values and family cohesiveness through the singing of gospel music. Songs for our daughters: West Indian women in Britain discuss the way they pass their heritage and culture on to their mixed race daughters. 1 videocassette (35 min.)

MEDIA 2-5733

 

Closer to home c2004

Joseph Nobile, Ruben Arthur Nicdao, John Michael Bolger, Madeline Ortaliz, Elibon Film Productions, and Metropolis DVD (Firm)

"Joseph Nobile's Closer to Home weaves a universal, haunting tale of two people inexorably drawn together for vastly different reasons. Dalisay struggles to journey from the Philippine countryside to New York City to marry Dean, a disillusioned ex-merchant marine. She's hoping to buy a cure for her dying sister and, ultimately, a future for her debt-ridden family, while he hopes to escape his disintegrating American family through love and a family of his own. A powerful, controversial film that quietly builds to a shattering collision of aspirations and cultures"--Container. 1 videodisc (125 min.)

MEDIA 10-1640

 

Communicating between cultures c2004

Jeffrey Schrank, Michael Dieffenbach, and Learning Seed Company

"Some 'cultural givens' are so deeply imbedded in thought patterns that they are invisible to those who hold them. Communicating between cultures shows how to make some of these patterns visible and improve communication. A series of cross-cultural situations show howeven good intentions often go astray--Container. 1 videocassette (23 min.)

MEDIA 2-7139

 

Crash 2006

Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Lion's Gate Films, DEJ Productions, Inc, and Lions Gate Home Entertainment

A provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America when a car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. 2 videodiscs (115 min.)

MEDIA 10-665

 

Cross-cultural communication how culture affects communication 2005?

Odyssey Productions and Insight Media (Firm)

Explores cultural differences in communications skills with regard to public behavior, taboo, power, stereotyping & prejudice, saving face, miscommunication, negotiation styles, practical accomodation, time and dress. 1 videocassette (20 min.)

MEDIA 2-7138

 

Gegen die wand Head-on c2005

Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Güven K raç, Meltem Cumbul, Ralph Schwingel, Stefan Schubert, Fatih Akin, Klaus Maeck, Strand Releasing Home Video (Firm), Bavaria Film International (Firm), Wüste Filmproduktion (Firm), Corazón International (Firm), Norddeutscher Rundfunk, and ARTE France

A melodrama of a Turkish man and woman living in Germany, torn between two cultures, tradition and modernity, survival and death. 1 videodisc (118 min.)

MEDIA 10-1587

 

Girl beat power of the drum 2005

Suzanne Girot, Renato Frota, Luz do Sol, and Cinema Guild

Profiles members of Banda Didá, an all-girl drumming and vocal group in Salvador, Brazil. Their music grows out of the Portuguese colonial history of the nation, where, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, slaves were brought from Africa for auction to plantation owners. The young musicians of Banda Didá incorporate slave stories into their lyrics, and perform in the same town square where slaves were once sold. Shows visits with several members of the group in their homes, their auditions and rehearsal sessions, plus parade performances and a concert presentation. 1 videodisc (80 min.)

MEDIA 10-1127

 

Gran Torino c2009

Clint Eastwood, Nick Schenk, Dave Johannson, Robert Lorenz, Bill Gerber, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Brian Howe, William Hill, Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- ), Village Roadshow Pictures,  Double Nickel Entertainment (Firm), Malpaso (Company), and Warner Home Video (Firm)

Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him.  Walt is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors.  He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition.  When his neighbor, Thao, a young Hmong teenager, is pressured by his gang member cousin to steal Walt's prize possession, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth.  Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Walt is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood. 1 videodisc (116 min.)

MEDIA 10-1551

 

Jungle fever 1998

Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L Jackson, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, and Anthony Quinn

A black architect begins an affair with his working class Italian secretary. Their relationship causes them to be scrutinized by their friends, cast out from their families and shunned by their neighbors. 1 videodisc (89 min.)

MEDIA DANA 10-47   1403

 

The JVC video anthology of world music and dance 1990

Kunihiko Nakagawa, Yuji Ichihashi, and Tomoaki Fujii

30 videocassettes

MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC 193 bk. 1 193 bk. 2 193 bk. 3 193 bk. 4 193 bk. 5 193 bk. 6 193 bk. 7 193 bk. 8 193 bk. 9 193 v. 1 193 v. 2 193 v. 3 193 v. 4 193 v. 5 193 v. 6 193 v. 7 193 v. 8 193 v. 9 193 v. 10 193 v. 11 193 v. 12 193 v. 13 193 v. 14 193 v. 15 193 v. 16 193 v. 17 193 v. 18 193 v. 19 193 v. 20 193 v. 21 193 v. 22 193 v. 23 193 v. 24 193 v. 25 193 v. 26 193 v. 27 193 v. 28 193 v. 29 193 v. 30

 

Samba on your feet 2006

Eduardo Montes-Bradley, Juan Trasmonte, True Color of Music (Firm), and Filmakers Library, inc

"Goes behind the scenes of the samba and carnival world in Rio de Janeiro to reveal how the cultural clash of the African/Black & European/White cultures gave birth to a new tradition" -- Container. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-1144

 

Searching 4 Sandeep 2008?

Poppy Stockell, Sandeep Virdi, Laughingwave Productions, Australian Film Commission, and Women Make Movies (Firm)

"Single, frustrated and lonely in the middle of Sydney's thriving gay community, director Poppy Stockell decides to 'research' a light-hearted look at the lesbian Internet-dating scene. To her surprise and delight, she forges a deep online connection with an English woman, Sandeep Virdi. When their innocent flirtation turns into true attachment, Poppy sends Sandeep a camcorder and viewers watch as Poppy and Sandeep's virtual relationship blooms into a poignant love --  complicated by the reality that Sandeep is Sikh, lives at home with her conservative family, and has kept her sexuality a secret ... Follows the couple's tumultuous relationship across two years and three continents, in a touching examination of sexuality, religion, globalization, and culture seen through the lens of this uniquely modern love story" -- http://www.wmm.com/filmCatalog/pages/c733.shtml. 1 videodisc (55 min.)

MEDIA 10-1781

 

Traffic c2002

Steven Soderbergh, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford, Don Cheadle, Michael Douglas, Luis Guzmaan, Dennis Quaid, Benicio del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Simon Moore, USA Films (Firm), Bedford Falls Company, Initial Entertainment Group, Criterion Collection (Firm), Channel Four (Great Britain), and Carnival Films (Great Britain)

Traffic is a mural of a war being fought and lost.  In a culture devoted to instant gratification and the quick fix, it poses unanswerable questions about greed, corruption, economic inequity, pleasure, self-medication, dependency, and addiction.  The stories of a well-meaning politician with a wayward daughter, a rich suburban homemaker who sees her comfortable life hijacked by two earnest DEA agents, and a conscientious and honorable Mexican police officer illustrate the difficulties of waging this war against people who are essentially members of the family.  How do you combat human frailty, human nature, and the basic human desire to take the edge off?  Are we all not just doomed to repeat our mistakes, but--perversely--willing?  2 videodiscs (147 min.)

MEDIA 10-1632

 

Unnatural causes is inequality making us sick? c2008

Larry Adelman, Llewellyn Smith, Vital Pictures (Firm), National Minority Consortia (U.S.), California Newsreel (Firm), Center for Asian American Media, Latino Public Broadcasting (Firm), Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc, National Black Programming Consortium, and Pacific Islanders in Communications

A seven-part documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status; people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them"--Container insert. In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health"--Container insert. When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?"--Container insert. Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"--Container insert. Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures"--Container insert. Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?"--Container insert. Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss"--Container insert. Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain workers"--Container insert. 1 videodisc (236 min.)

DANA.       MEDIA.  438              10-1334

 

Valuing diversity multi-cultural communication 1995

Jeffrey Schrank, Louise Welsh Schrank, and David Phyfer

A study of prejudice toward people who are different. Viewers learn how to decrease their discomfort in communicating with people from different cultures, social classes, age groups, or physical disabilities. 1 videocassette (19 min.)

DANA 1148

 

A world of differences understanding cross-cultural communication 1997

Dane Archer and Jon Silver

Discusses the concepts of "culture" and "society," and how they facilitate or hinder communication, and sometimes lead to conflict.  Verbal and nonverbal communication are examined.  Other topics discussed include nuances of culture, food, gestures, idioms, ritual and courtesy, inter-cultural couples, and culture clashes. 1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.)

DANA 689

 

Young, Muslim, and French c2004

Kathleen Hughes, Micah Fink, Stephen Segaller, Pamela Hogan, Andy Halper, Jay O Sanders, Mishal Husain, Fawad A Gerges, and WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)

France's recent decision to ban the wearing of traditional Muslim headscarves (hijab) in public schools--a law widely perceived by Muslims to be an undemocratic expression. Wide Angle explores this conflict in the town of Dammarie-les-Lys. Also featured is the local high school principal, Ghislaine Hudson, a member of the commission charged with reviewing the use of religious symbols. Professor Fawaz Gerges also discusses secularism in France. Unemployment and the economic plight of the French Muslim minority and lack of social integration is also discussed. 1 videodisc (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-1866