New films about environmental change

A Sea Change: Imagine a World Without Fish. [DVD-1762]. 2009.

"A Sea Change" documents how the pH balance has changed dramatically since the beginning of the industrial revolution: a 30% increase in acidification. Experts predict that over the next century, steady increases in carbon dioxide emissions and the continued rise in the acidity of the oceans will cause most of the world's fisheries to experience a total bottom-up collapse--a state that could last for millions of years.

Green. [DVD-1760]. 2009.

Her name is Green, she is alone in a world that doesn't belong to her. She is a female orangutan, victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. This film is an emotional journey with Green's final days. It is a visual ride presenting the treasures of rainforest biodiversity and the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations. Winner of Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and 20 other awards.

The Mean World Syndrome: Media Violence & the Cultivation of Fear

The Mean World Syndrome: Media Violence & the Cultivation of Fear. [DVD-1746].  75 min.  2010.

"For years, debates have raged among scholars, politicians, and concerned parents about the effects of media violence on viewers. Too often these debates have descended into simplistic battles between those who claim that media messages directly cause violence and those who argue that activists exaggerate the impact of media exposure altogether. The Mean World Syndrome, based on the groundbreaking work of media scholar George Gerbner, urges us to think about media effects in more nuanced ways. Ranging from Hollywood movies and prime-time dramas to reality programming and the local news, the film examines how media violence feeds a fear-charged cultural environment that cultivates a heightened state of insecurity, exaggerated perceptions of risk and danger, and an appetite for hard-line and repressive political solutions to social problems. A provocative and accessible introduction to cultivation analysis, media effects research, and the subject of media influence and media violence"

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North.  [DVD-1701].  86 min.

Filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and nine cousins retrace the Triangle Trade and gain a powerful new perspective on the black/white divide.

Afghan Star: In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing

Afghan Star.  [DVD-1703].  88 min. 2009.

In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing. After thirty years of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to the country. Since 2005, millions have been tuning in to Tolo TV's wildly popular American idol-style series, Afghan star. Like its Western predecessors, people compete for a cash prize and record deal. More surprisingly, the contest is open to everyone across the country despite gender, ethnicity, or age.

Awards:  Sundance 2009, Human Rights Watch Film Festival

The Witness

The Witness:  From the Balcony of Room 306.  [DVD-1688].  33 min.  2008.

The film chronicles the final days and hours of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as told through the eyes of his contemporary, Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles, who stood on the balcony with Dr. King when he was slain at the Lorraine Motel in 1968. It follows Dr. King's efforts to gain community support for the striking sanitation workers in 1968 and the marches through Memphis. It contains details about conversations with Dr. King moments before his passing. The 32-minute documentary short includes exclusive, never before seen commentary and interviews with Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles, Dr. Benjamin Hooks, Civil Rights Leader and former Executive Director of the NAACP, Mrs. Maxine Smith, Executive Secretary, NAACP Memphis Branch and Taylor Rodgers, one of the original sanitation workers who marched alongside King and Kyles, among others.

Obeying or Resisting Authority

Obeying or Resisting Authority:  A Psychological Retrospective.  [DVD-1690].  36 min. 2007.

Echoing the infamous Milgram experiment from the 1960s, this ABC News program sets up a psychological test in which an authority figure urges men and women to inflict pain. Test administrator and social psychologist Dr. Jerry Burger interprets the disturbing findings. The program also analyzes the 1971 Stanford prison experiment as well as the 2004 hoax in which a McDonald's manager and her fiancé--directed by a caller impersonating a police officer-- strip-searched and abused an employee. Original footage from all of these occurrences is included, along with present-day commentary from Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who designed the Stanford test. Finally, the program explores the ethics of using human participants in psychological tests

The Problem with Boys

The Problem with Boys:  Falling Behind in School and Life [DVD-1689].  41 min.  2007.

According to education statistics across North America, boys now perform poorly compared with girls -- and with boys of previous generations. What is causing this trend? What can be done to help both genders succeed? This program presents insights from experts in child development -- including Dr. William Pollack, Harvard clinical psychologist and author of Real boys, and Jean-Claude St. Amant, senior Education Researcher at the University of Laval; it also surveys male teenagers themselves about the challenges facing boys and young men. Teacher training, curriculum design, literacy instruction, role models, pop culture, and male behavioral tendencies are some of the topics addressed.

A Biography of America

A Biography of America [DVD-1671 v.1-7]. Each of the 26 programs is 30 min.

A Biography of America presents history not simply as a series of irrefutable facts for you to memorize, but as a living narrative. In this 26-part series, prominent historians present America's story as something that must be presented and debated from a variety of perspectives in order to be truly understood. Their thought-provoking debates and lectures--using first-person narratives, photos, film footage, and documents--will pique your interest and encourage you to think critically about the forces that have shaped America. You'll see the human side of American history--how historical figures affected events, and the impact of these events on citizens' lives.

What Do You Believe? The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers

What Do You Believe? The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers.

[DVD-1670]. 49 min. 2004.

"In this award-winning documentary featured on PBS, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Pagan, Native American, and Jewish Teens share their most personal struggles and beliefs about faith, morality, suffering and death, prayer, the purpose of life and the divine. What Do You Believe? paints a broad picture of the spiritual lives of youth while delving deeply into the issues that are at the heart of being human."--www.whatdoyoubelieve.org

The universe is stranger than you think...

Monster of the Milky Way: A Supermassive Black Hole [DVD-1628]. 56 min. 2007.

"From the explosive birth of a black hole to its cannibalistic death throes, NOVA investigates one of the universe's darkest secrets. With striking special effects, Monster of the Milky Way takes viewers on a scientifically accurate voyage into the belly of a supermassive black hole. When will it erupt and destroy the Milky Way? "

Most of Our Universe is Missing: Dark Matter and Dark Energy [DVD-1656]. 50 min. 2006.

"What is everywhere, not made of atoms, and can't be seen?" Dark matter, says renowned astrophysicist David Spergel - but not everyone in the cosmological community is in agreement with him. This program presents the views of Spergel and other key figures in the debate, including Princeton University's P. James Peebles and Jeremiah Ostriker; Timothy Sumner, of Imperial College London; astrophysicist Mordechai Milgrom; and Saul Perlmutter, a member of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's physics division. Experiments in Europe's deepest mine looking for the elusive neutralino, the concept of variable gravity, and what may well become the new standard model of how the universe works are all scrutinized.

Under Our Skin

Under Our Skin: There's No Medicine for Someone Like You [DVD-1623]. 104 min. 2008.

"A gripping tale of microbes, medicine and money, Under our skin exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most controversial and fastest growing epidemics of our time. Each year, thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are 'all in their head.' Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a chilling picture of the health care system and a medical establishement all too willing to put profits ahead of patients."-- Container