Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: Faculty & Film Series

Spring 2008 Series

People Power: Activism for Social Change

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*All events are held in 1102 South Campus Commons, building 1 Seminar Room unless otherwise stated.

Monday, January 28, 7:00 pm
SiCKO!
In the United States where over 47 million citizens are uninsured, Michael Moore’s “SiCKO” (2007, nominated for Best Documentary 2008) takes viewers on a journey to meet citizens whose lives have been disrupted, shattered, and – in some cases – ended by the health care catastrophe. Providing a compelling indictment of the American health care system, the film provides perspectives from middle America, to Canada, Great Britain, and France, all the way to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in search of health care coverage for 9/11 rescue workers who are now suffering from debilitating illnesses and have been denied medical attention in the U.S. “SiCKO is a brilliant diagnosis of the U.S. health care system… dishing out laughs and outrage in equal measure, this is the rare movie that could actually change our world!” – Kansas City Star

Monday, February 4, 7:00 pm
An Unreasonable Man: Ralph Nader
Can a citizen with a vision make a difference? This fascinating documentary examines the impact of Ralph Nader on the United States due to his consumer advocacy campaigns and his subsequent presidential campaigns. Ralph Nader is without doubt one of the most passionate and determined personalities of our time. Loved, hated, respected and feared, Nader has more impact on our daily lives than most presidents. Now, this first-hand account takes you behind his groundbreaking consumer advocacy campaigns and contested presidential runs. Including insightful interviews with his critics and champions and rare footage of his early triumphs, “An Unreasonable Man” shows why Nader continues to be one of the most important political figures of our time.

Monday, February 11, 7:00 pm
We Shall Not Be Moved
We Shall Not Be Moved” chronicles the non-violent revolution to “redeem the soul of America” by advancing the struggle for civil rights in the 1950s and early 1960s. Photographs, film and personal accounts from pastors, activists, church and community members unflinchingly tell the story of the American civil rights movement. Hear first-hand how African-American churches played a key role by providing spiritual support, promoting unity, and organizing and leading the struggle for racial equality in the United States. The price paid was often high, but the victory led to equal access to transportation, education, public facilities, and ultimately, the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. As Rosa Parks is credited with saying: “If you have nothing to die for, then you have nothing to live for either.”

Monday, February 18, 7:00 pm
The Bus Riders Union
This empowering documentary offers a complex portrayal of a multi-racial grassroots movement that is mobilizing to improve public transportation for low-income peoples in Los Angeles, California. It provides important insights into the dynamics of effective organizing and legal advocacy that led the California State Court to take action against the City of Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). In October of 1996, the Bus Riders Union won a landmark civil rights Consent Decree, following the class action civil rights lawsuit brought against the Los Angeles MTA in 1994. The agreement, signed by both the MTA and the Bus Riders Union, is a 10-year contract in which MTA is obligated to improve L.A.'s bus system and make the bus system and the transit dependent its first priority for funding. The agreement places the Bus Riders Union in a unique role as the court-appointed class representative of Los Angeles’ 400,000 bus riders.

Monday, February 25, 7:00 pm
Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony
How do you inspire, mobilize and sustain a people power movement for justice over 40 years? This inspiring documentary tells the story of Black South African freedom music and the central role it played against the Apartheid regime. The first film to specifically consider the music that sustained and galvanized black South Africans for more than 40 years, Amandla!’s focus is on the struggle’s spiritual dimension as articulated and embodied in song. Named for the Xhosa word for “power,” Amandla! lives up to its title, telling an uplifting story of human courage, resolve and triumph in the face of adversity.

Monday, March 3, 7:00 pm
“Another U.S. Is a Necessity:” Reflections on the U.S. Social Forum
With Invited Panelists
Under the banner of “Another World Is Possible,” the World Social Forum (WSF) was founded in 2001 to create a constructive alternative to the prevailing forms of economic, political and social globalization that are being promoted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) . The U.S. Social Forum (USSF) is a national-level process to build a powerful movement for global justice based on the experiences of grassroots citizens to explore the possibilities for promoting peace, advancing human rights, fostering social justice and eradicating poverty in the United States and around the world. The first meeting of the U.S. Social Forum was held in Atlanta during the summer of 2007 bringing together15,000 citizen activists from across the U.S. and more than 50 countries.

Monday, March 10, 7:00 pm
American Revolution 2: The Vietnam War Protests
In August 1968, filmmaker Mike Gray and the staff of The Film Group were making a television commercial when violence erupted in downtown Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Gray’s decision to take the cameras to the site of the protests proved a fateful one because the experience changed the course of his career. This documentary captures the 1968 protests on the streets against the Vietnam War and police repression in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention that redefined a generation of activists.

Monday, March 24, 7:00 pm
Rush to War: Between Iraq and a Hard Place
In today’s post-9/11 world, director Robert Taicher searches for the rationale behind the war in Iraq, exploring the failed policies of several administrations in an expertly crafted documentary. What he presents is a raw, provocative look into America’s “War on Terror” and its effect on our society, our credibility, and, most importantly, our security. This powerful documentary highlights the Bush Administration’s rationale for going to war in Iraq contrasted by the efforts by leading activist organizations to mobilize public opinion against the Iraq War in the U.S. and around the world.

Monday, March 31, 7:00pm
Tragedy in Jakarta: The Student Movement in Indonesia
This amazing documentary filmed on the streets of Jakarta tells the courageous story of how student and civil society activists confronted the military and championed the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia in 1998-1999 that led President Suharto to step down after 32 years of authoritarian rule. Students led people power protests around the country that culminated in students leading calls for democratic political reforms and taking over the Parliament Building.

Monday, April 7, 7:00pm
This Is What Democracy Looks Like
This documentary looks at the collective vision and strategies of the emerging global justice movement at the World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle in 1999 and in Cancun, Mexico in 2003. In Seattle, people came together across every kind of political and cultural difference to stand up and engage in a pivotal, people powered moment on the global stage! The film is “a truly ground-breaking accomplishment! Beautiful, passionate, stunning…it embodies the spirit of the protests” – Naomi Klein.

Monday, April 14, 7:00pm
Born Into Brothels
This Academy Award winning documentary (2004) provides “a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta’s red light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes.” Spurred by the kids fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a New York photographer living in the brothels and documenting life there, decided to teach the children photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids, whom society refused to recognize, awaken for the first time to their own talents and sense of worth. The film highlights how “beauty can be found in even the seemingly bleakest and most hopeless of places, and how art and education can empower children to transform their lives.” “Uplifting!” – New York Times.

Monday, April 21, 7:00pm
The Take
In the wake of Argentina’s spectacular economic collapse, Latin America’s most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. Workers take over idle factories in the aftermath of the collapse of Argentina’s economy following the country’s default of its debt to the International Monetary Fund. But this simple act has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. The film takes viewers inside the lives of the workers and their families, who must fight for their jobs and their dignity by confronting factory owners, politicians and judges.

Monday, April 28, 7:00pm
Sunset Story
You are never too old to engage in activism! “Sunset Story” is a funny and intimate documentary that will make you think differently about growing old. Two senior citizens live in a rest home for retired radicals who attend demonstrations, register their fellow residents to vote, and promote debate on a wide range of civic issues. “Sunset Story has an abundance of wisdom and courage, as well as plenty of warmth and humor, that it lingers in the heart long after it is over” – Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times.

Monday, May 5, 7:00pm
Giant Awake! May Day 2006
This documentary highlights the unprecedented popular mobilization for immigrant rights that occurred across the United States in the spring of 2006. Mainstream news media predictably covered the marches with a mix of surprise, ignorance, and racism, yet grassroots media activists were there to document the voices and the stories behind this mass movement involving millions of people in the street during this historic moment!

Monday, May 12, 7:00pm
Our Brand Is Crisis
This disturbing documentary examines the world of U.S. political consultants who seek to “spread democracy” to the developing world looking at the case of Bolivia. The film follows James Carville and his associates as they launch a media savvy campaign for Bolivian presidential candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and highlights the grassroots protests against the new government that eventually lead to its undoing. With unprecedented access to think sessions, media training, and the making of smear campaigns, viewers witness a shocking example of how American consultants “promote democracy abroad” and rationalize its earth-shattering aftermath.