Video Resources
Civil Rights
The Long Walk to Freedom. Dir. Tom Weidlinger. Bullfrog Films, 2003.
Available through the American History in Video database which the Boston Public library subscribes to, this video gives a great, quick introduction to the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of those who lived through and participated in the movement. The video is notable for two reasons which help to set it apart from similar resources. First, it acknowledges and represents the multiracial composition of the movement through the activists interviewed, who encompass African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Caucasians, and Asians. Secondly, the video provides a good starting point to begin discussing how the African-American Civil Rights Movement influenced other movements that worked for equality. The video is accessible, engaging, and offers a great way to introduce a complex, multifaceted subject. At 29 minutes long, it is also an ideal choice for classroom viewing.
Gay Rights
"The Age of Aids." Frontline. Dir. William Cran. WGBH/Frontline, Paladin InVision, Ltd., Silverbridge Productions, Ltd., and
Granada International Media Limited in association with Channel Four (UK), 2006. Online Video.
This two part documentary covers both the origins of HIV/AIDS and its impact in America before turning its attention to the spread of AIDS in the third world. Part 2 of the documentary, which focuses on the global spread, is unlikely to be of much academic interest in the context of this class, but students interested in learning more about the geopolitical consequences of HIV/AIDS may want to watch the remaining parts independently. Part One of the documentary has been included as a way of discussing civil rights (particularly the discrimination faced by HIV/AIDS patients), and because it covers the impact of the AIDS crisis in the gay community, which suffered the earliest brunt of the disease and was the first community to try to propel the issue into the spotlight. Although the segments relating to the gay community are interspersed throughout the documentary, segments 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are most relevant to the issue at hand (however, part 5 has an error and thus does not finish loading the last four-five minutes). The remaining segments would make good viewing for a student researching the history of HIV/AIDS or for those seeking greater knowledge about the subject.
The Times of Harvey Milk. Dir. Rob Epstein. Perf. Harvey Milk, Harvey Fierstein. Black Sand Productions, Pacific Arts, and
UCLA Film and Television Archive, 1984. Online video.
This documentary, filmed in 1984, details the career of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, the first openly gay supervisor elected in the city. Through first-person interviews with those who knew and worked with Milk, as well as archival video footage, the documentary gives a thorough portrayal of Milk's career, while also giving a good sense of the prejudice and barriers he faced as the first openly gay city supervisor. The in-depth focus on Milk as a subject versus coverage of the movement of the whole means this documentary would be best suited to a student working on a research project, but it is a useful resource because of its coverage of a key figure in the history of gay rights in America. Although the documentary is originally available through Hulu.Com, I have chosen to link to the copy provided by Hulu to Flixter.com because the ads in the film appear to be less commercially oriented on Flixter.
Mexican-American/Chicano Rights
"A Class Apart." American Experience. Dir. Carlos Sandoval and Peter Miller. Camino Bluff Productions, Inc., 2009. Online Video.
A Class Apart tells the story of Hernandez v. Texas, a landmark civil rights case on par with Brown v. Board of Education, but one that receives far less attention in coverage of historic civil rights court cases. At 50 minutes long, this documentary would be an excellent choice for classroom viewing to educate students on a vital part of American civil rights history. Featuring first-hand interviews, historians and legal scholars, this video accurately conveys the prejudice faced by Mexican-Americans in the Southwest and gives a good sense of the gamble involved in getting the case (which stated that a defendant had the right to be tried before a jury of his peers, i.e. a jury that featured Hispanic jurors instead of an all-white jury) heard before the Supreme Court. The website that accompanies the video is filled with additional resources, including lesson suggestions, links to websites, books and other related materials, a photo gallery, and deleted scenes from the movie. Accessible and informative, this documentary will educate students and spark a good discussion on civil rights cases, past and present.
Chicano! A History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement. Series Prod. Hector Galán. Galán Productions, Inc.
and the National Latino Communications Center, 1996. Online video.
Originally aired on PBS, this documentary is unfortunately no longer available either through PBS or through the National Latino Communications Center. It is, however, available on YouTube, and though there are intellectual property rights issues to be considered when using a source that has been uploaded to YouTube by a private user, the value of this resource is too great to exclude it on those grounds. Filmed in four parts, the documentary is impressive in its scope and depth. Part one deals with land rights and details the issues dating back to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Part two covers the United Farm Workers movement and César Chavez. Part three will be of most interest to students because it covers the walkouts staged by students in Los Angeles in 1968 to protest the poor quality of education they were receiving. Part four encompasses the politicization of the movement, up to the participation of La Raza Unida in the 1972 elections. The documentary features first-hand interviews from those who lived through the events, and makes excellent use of archival photographs and video clips. Crucially, the documentary also attempts to present a balanced perspective, taking care to interview people from both sides of contentious issues, including the school protests and the farm worker demonstrations. Due to its length, if this resource will be used in the classroom, sections could be excerpted, otherwise this would be a great resource for students looking to do more in-depth research.
Women's Rights
"The Last Abortion Clinic." Frontline. Dir. Raney Aronson-Rath. Frontline and A Little Rain Productions, Inc., 2005. Online video.
This Frontline documentary focuses on the state of Mississippi to explore attempts at the local level to severely restrict abortion rights. Although the abortion rights controversy is not directly a part of the feminist movement, there is no denying that issues of reproductive freedom do have important implications for feminism, which is why this resource has been included. The documentary endeavors to give a balanced perspective to a very charged issue, interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, including politicians, lawyers, abortion rights providers, midwives and others. It gives a concise overview of the arguments, concerns and motivations on both sides, and provides plenty of material for a classroom debate or an argumentative paper. As with the other offerings from PBS, the website that accompanies this video provides additional materials which add value to the source. There is a teacher's guide, a discussion section, a section on the abortion wars, and, of particular relevance to high school students, a section on shifting attitudes, which talks about teenage sexuality and reproductive issues. This would provide a good way to make the content relevant to students in a more personal fashion. This documentary could be used for research purposes or shown in class.
"One Woman, One Vote." American Experience.Public Broadcasting Service, 1995. Online video.
This documentary, produced and aired by PBS, gives a thorough overview of the women's suffrage movement and its leaders, including such notable figures as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Though the suffrage movement of the late 19th and early 20th century is not technically covered in the scope of this course or this bibliography, it has been included because it gives a good background of the historical foundations of the women's rights movement in the second part of the 20th century. At 1:48 long, it is too long to be shown in class, but excerpts could be shown (American History in Video allows you to create clips), otherwise this video would be of great use to a student focusing on learning about the suffragette movement or the history of women's rights.
Other
After the Silence. Dir. Lois Shelton with Susan Buster Thomas. Bullfrog Films, 2003. Online video.
This thirty-minute documentary focuses on the personal recollections of Dr. Frank Kitamoto, who spent part of his childhood in a Japanese-American concentration camp during World War II. Although this documentary does not explicitly fall into the three movements defined in the scope of the bibliography, it has been included because it covers another forgotten aspect of American history, and provides a good segue to talking about more contemporary moments where civil rights and national security have intersected. What makes this documentary particularly compelling is the participation of three high school seniors, who share their thoughts, sort through the conflicting feelings Dr. Kitamoto's story produces in them, and who articulate the connections between what happened in 1942 and what happened in the aftermath of 9/11, when suspicions turned on Muslim Americans being traitors or enemies of America. It would make for good classroom viewing because it is short, and offers a great chance to make connections between past events and contemporary issues, and introduces the topic in a comprehensible, accessible manner.
The Long Walk to Freedom. Dir. Tom Weidlinger. Bullfrog Films, 2003.
Available through the American History in Video database which the Boston Public library subscribes to, this video gives a great, quick introduction to the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of those who lived through and participated in the movement. The video is notable for two reasons which help to set it apart from similar resources. First, it acknowledges and represents the multiracial composition of the movement through the activists interviewed, who encompass African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Caucasians, and Asians. Secondly, the video provides a good starting point to begin discussing how the African-American Civil Rights Movement influenced other movements that worked for equality. The video is accessible, engaging, and offers a great way to introduce a complex, multifaceted subject. At 29 minutes long, it is also an ideal choice for classroom viewing.
Gay Rights
"The Age of Aids." Frontline. Dir. William Cran. WGBH/Frontline, Paladin InVision, Ltd., Silverbridge Productions, Ltd., and
Granada International Media Limited in association with Channel Four (UK), 2006. Online Video.
This two part documentary covers both the origins of HIV/AIDS and its impact in America before turning its attention to the spread of AIDS in the third world. Part 2 of the documentary, which focuses on the global spread, is unlikely to be of much academic interest in the context of this class, but students interested in learning more about the geopolitical consequences of HIV/AIDS may want to watch the remaining parts independently. Part One of the documentary has been included as a way of discussing civil rights (particularly the discrimination faced by HIV/AIDS patients), and because it covers the impact of the AIDS crisis in the gay community, which suffered the earliest brunt of the disease and was the first community to try to propel the issue into the spotlight. Although the segments relating to the gay community are interspersed throughout the documentary, segments 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are most relevant to the issue at hand (however, part 5 has an error and thus does not finish loading the last four-five minutes). The remaining segments would make good viewing for a student researching the history of HIV/AIDS or for those seeking greater knowledge about the subject.
The Times of Harvey Milk. Dir. Rob Epstein. Perf. Harvey Milk, Harvey Fierstein. Black Sand Productions, Pacific Arts, and
UCLA Film and Television Archive, 1984. Online video.
This documentary, filmed in 1984, details the career of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, the first openly gay supervisor elected in the city. Through first-person interviews with those who knew and worked with Milk, as well as archival video footage, the documentary gives a thorough portrayal of Milk's career, while also giving a good sense of the prejudice and barriers he faced as the first openly gay city supervisor. The in-depth focus on Milk as a subject versus coverage of the movement of the whole means this documentary would be best suited to a student working on a research project, but it is a useful resource because of its coverage of a key figure in the history of gay rights in America. Although the documentary is originally available through Hulu.Com, I have chosen to link to the copy provided by Hulu to Flixter.com because the ads in the film appear to be less commercially oriented on Flixter.
Mexican-American/Chicano Rights
"A Class Apart." American Experience. Dir. Carlos Sandoval and Peter Miller. Camino Bluff Productions, Inc., 2009. Online Video.
A Class Apart tells the story of Hernandez v. Texas, a landmark civil rights case on par with Brown v. Board of Education, but one that receives far less attention in coverage of historic civil rights court cases. At 50 minutes long, this documentary would be an excellent choice for classroom viewing to educate students on a vital part of American civil rights history. Featuring first-hand interviews, historians and legal scholars, this video accurately conveys the prejudice faced by Mexican-Americans in the Southwest and gives a good sense of the gamble involved in getting the case (which stated that a defendant had the right to be tried before a jury of his peers, i.e. a jury that featured Hispanic jurors instead of an all-white jury) heard before the Supreme Court. The website that accompanies the video is filled with additional resources, including lesson suggestions, links to websites, books and other related materials, a photo gallery, and deleted scenes from the movie. Accessible and informative, this documentary will educate students and spark a good discussion on civil rights cases, past and present.
Chicano! A History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement. Series Prod. Hector Galán. Galán Productions, Inc.
and the National Latino Communications Center, 1996. Online video.
Originally aired on PBS, this documentary is unfortunately no longer available either through PBS or through the National Latino Communications Center. It is, however, available on YouTube, and though there are intellectual property rights issues to be considered when using a source that has been uploaded to YouTube by a private user, the value of this resource is too great to exclude it on those grounds. Filmed in four parts, the documentary is impressive in its scope and depth. Part one deals with land rights and details the issues dating back to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Part two covers the United Farm Workers movement and César Chavez. Part three will be of most interest to students because it covers the walkouts staged by students in Los Angeles in 1968 to protest the poor quality of education they were receiving. Part four encompasses the politicization of the movement, up to the participation of La Raza Unida in the 1972 elections. The documentary features first-hand interviews from those who lived through the events, and makes excellent use of archival photographs and video clips. Crucially, the documentary also attempts to present a balanced perspective, taking care to interview people from both sides of contentious issues, including the school protests and the farm worker demonstrations. Due to its length, if this resource will be used in the classroom, sections could be excerpted, otherwise this would be a great resource for students looking to do more in-depth research.
Women's Rights
"The Last Abortion Clinic." Frontline. Dir. Raney Aronson-Rath. Frontline and A Little Rain Productions, Inc., 2005. Online video.
This Frontline documentary focuses on the state of Mississippi to explore attempts at the local level to severely restrict abortion rights. Although the abortion rights controversy is not directly a part of the feminist movement, there is no denying that issues of reproductive freedom do have important implications for feminism, which is why this resource has been included. The documentary endeavors to give a balanced perspective to a very charged issue, interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, including politicians, lawyers, abortion rights providers, midwives and others. It gives a concise overview of the arguments, concerns and motivations on both sides, and provides plenty of material for a classroom debate or an argumentative paper. As with the other offerings from PBS, the website that accompanies this video provides additional materials which add value to the source. There is a teacher's guide, a discussion section, a section on the abortion wars, and, of particular relevance to high school students, a section on shifting attitudes, which talks about teenage sexuality and reproductive issues. This would provide a good way to make the content relevant to students in a more personal fashion. This documentary could be used for research purposes or shown in class.
"One Woman, One Vote." American Experience.Public Broadcasting Service, 1995. Online video.
This documentary, produced and aired by PBS, gives a thorough overview of the women's suffrage movement and its leaders, including such notable figures as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Though the suffrage movement of the late 19th and early 20th century is not technically covered in the scope of this course or this bibliography, it has been included because it gives a good background of the historical foundations of the women's rights movement in the second part of the 20th century. At 1:48 long, it is too long to be shown in class, but excerpts could be shown (American History in Video allows you to create clips), otherwise this video would be of great use to a student focusing on learning about the suffragette movement or the history of women's rights.
Other
After the Silence. Dir. Lois Shelton with Susan Buster Thomas. Bullfrog Films, 2003. Online video.
This thirty-minute documentary focuses on the personal recollections of Dr. Frank Kitamoto, who spent part of his childhood in a Japanese-American concentration camp during World War II. Although this documentary does not explicitly fall into the three movements defined in the scope of the bibliography, it has been included because it covers another forgotten aspect of American history, and provides a good segue to talking about more contemporary moments where civil rights and national security have intersected. What makes this documentary particularly compelling is the participation of three high school seniors, who share their thoughts, sort through the conflicting feelings Dr. Kitamoto's story produces in them, and who articulate the connections between what happened in 1942 and what happened in the aftermath of 9/11, when suspicions turned on Muslim Americans being traitors or enemies of America. It would make for good classroom viewing because it is short, and offers a great chance to make connections between past events and contemporary issues, and introduces the topic in a comprehensible, accessible manner.
