THINKING FILMS

OT: OUR TOWN

hharvey — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:20:28 +0000

The Los Angeles community of Compton has become infamous thanks to news reports and rap music lyrics that have portrayed it as an African-American neighborhood brought to the edge of destruction by corruption and black-on-black crime. In 2003, a handful of students and teachers at Compton’s Dominguez High School decided to do something that hadn’t happened at the school in more than 20 years — put on a play. When it became obvious that the financially strapped school (which had recently canceled its football program) couldn’t provide a budget for sets or costumes, the students did what money-conscious high-school theater departments have been doing for decades — they staged Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, a drama commonly performed without the use of sets or large props. But what would Wilder’s allegorical story of life in a small turn-of-the-century Midwestern hamlet mean to kids in Compton? And would the inexperienced students and faculty be able to bring it off? OT: Our Town is a documentary which looks at Dominguez High’s brave experiment and the people who struggled to make it happen.

MERCHANTS OF COOL

hharvey — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:39:29 +0000

The Clout of the Media Giants
Five multimedia conglomerates dominate the cross promotion and selling of popular culture to youth. Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE’s interviews with media critics discussing the impact of this power.
The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Media and Teenagers
Cultural/media analysts talk about the intense relationship existing between youth culture and the media and marketers.
Where Are the Adults?
Youth marketers and cultural critics discuss the diminished presence of adults in the popular culture that’s being marketed to youth today.
What’s This Doing to Kids?
The Coarsening of Culture
Media executives and cultural critics discuss the changed culture in which kids are growing up today, and the forces influencing this change.

PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL

hharvey — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:55:35 +0000

A group of women rise up to peace to Liberia and help bring to power the country’s first female head of state.

LOST IN DETENTION

hharvey — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:12:36 +0000

FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Workshop examine the Obama administration’s controversial get-tough immigration policy.

Watch Lost in Detention Preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

NEVER CRY WOLF

hharvey — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:52:05 +0000

A government researcher, sent to research the “menace” of wolves in the north, learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the species.

THE VISITOR

hharvey — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:45:39 +0000

A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.

SHOTGUN STORIES

hharvey — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:21:16 +0000

Shotgun Stories tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father. Set against the cotton fields and back roads of Southeast Arkansas, these brothers discover the lengths to which each will go to protect their family. Written by Jeff Nichols

LEGENDARY

hharvey — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:38:56 +0000

Coming of age in small-town Oklahoma. High schooler Cal Chetley is a brainy beanpole. He lives with his widowed mother: ten years earlier, his father, a state champion in wrestling, died in a car crash. Cal’s older brother Mike, also a former champion and now down and out at 28, is estranged from the family. Over the course of a fall and winter, we watch Cal join the high school wrestling team and search out Mike to ask for help. Mike rejects the offer, but Cal is persistent. What if Mike accepts the challenge, is he destined to let Cal down? Giving advice and encouragement are an enigmatic old man and Cal’s quirky neighbor, Lori. Plus, there’s Cal’s mom to reckon with. Written by

RESTREPO

hharvey — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:34:55 +0000

Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan’s most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labor, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban. Written by Sundance Film Festival

BETTER THIS WORLD

hharvey — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:15:53 +0000

“The story of Bradley Crowder and David McKay, who were accused of intending to firebomb the 2008 Republican National Convention, is a dramatic tale of idealism, loyalty, crime and betrayal. Better This World follows the radicalization of these boyhood friends from Midland, Texas, under the tutelage of revolutionary activist Brandon Darby. The results: eight homemade bombs, multiple domestic terrorism charges and a high-stakes entrapment defense hinging on the actions of a controversial FBI informant. Better This World goes to the heart of the war on terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America.