"Out of the Box" Film Series - Spring 2012
hosted by Dr. Karen Bettez Halnon
"People's History and Humanity"
Thursdays, 6pm, 101 Rydal
January 26
You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train
“In these turbulent times, Howard Zinn inspired a new generation. This acclaimed film looks at the amazing life of the renowned historian, activist and author. Following his early days as a shipyard labor organizer and bombardier in World War II, Zinn became an academic rebel and leader of civil disobedience in a time of institutionalized racism and war. His influential writings shine light on and bring voice to factory workers, immigrant laborers, African Americans, Native Americans and the working poor.
Featuring rare archival materials and interviews with Zinn and colleagues such as Noam Chomsky, You Can’t Be Neutral captures the essence of this extraordinary man who was a catalyst for progressive change for more than 60 years.”
February 16
The People Speak
“THE PEOPLE SPEAK is a documentary film inspired by the books, "A People's History of the United States" and "Voices of a People's History" which chronicles the lives and experiences of ordinary Americans who, through their words and actions, changed the course of our history.
The philosophy espoused is that change doesn't come from the top, but rather from the bottom, and that without those everyday citizens pushing for betterment, there would be no America. This film takes us on a journey from the founding of our country to the civil rights movement, all the way up through today.”
March 15
The Other Side of Immigration
“Based on over 700 interviews, The Other Side of Immigration asks why so many Mexicans leave home to work in the United States and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. Through an approach that is both subtle and thought provoking, the film challenges audiences to imagine more creative and effective immigration policies. Filmmaker Roy Germano holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas at Austin. He has conducted extensive research in the Mexican countryside with support from the National Science Foundation. The Other Side of Immigration emerged from his research.”
“The Other Side of Immigration does more than any other work to give people otherwise disparaged as ‘threatening’ and ‘illegal’ a human face and to reveal the devastating personal effects of U.S. immigration and economic policies on our closest neighbors.”
- Douglas S. Massey, Princeton University
April 12
Nostalgia for the Light
”For this new film, master director Patricio Guzmán, famed for his political documentaries (THE BATTLE OF CHILE, SALVADOR ALLENDE), travels 10,000 feet above sea level to the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert, where atop the mountains astronomers from all over the world gather to observe the stars. The sky is so translucent that it allows them to see right to the boundaries of the universe. The Atacama is also a place where the harsh heat of the sun keeps human remains intact: those of Pre-Columbian mummies; 19th century explorers and miners; and the remains of political prisoners, disappeared by the Chilean army after the military coup of September, 1973. So while astronomers examine the most distant and oldest galaxies, at the foot of the mountains, women, surviving relatives of the disappeared whose bodies were dumped here, search, even after twenty-five years, for the remains of their loved ones, to reclaim their families histories. Melding the celestial quest!
