Media Studies

Films

The Art of Regret This brilliant and keenly observed documentary, by renowned ethnographic filmmaker Judith MacDougall, explores the digital revolution in China, where photography is known as the "art of regret."

Beyond the Politics of Life and Choice: A New Conversation About Abortion This timely and exceptionally thought-provoking documentary moves the contentious debate over abortion out from behind politicized battle lines and into a compassionate and sensitive space, where people with opposing views can meet to better understand the deep concerns of one another.

Body Image: The Quest for Perfection In this candid and thought-provoking video, seven diverse college-age women share their feelings about their bodies during a three-day retreat. They explore some of the complex sources of their feelings and examine images of women's bodies in the mass media.

Confederacy Theory This powerful and thought-provoking documentary explores the complexities of a controversy steeped in American history and racial divisiveness: the debate over the Confederate flag in South Carolina, the last state to fly the flag on its capitol.

Funny Old Guys Frank Tarloff was a man for whom there were "no more victories." This poignant and deeply affecting documentary, filled with the sparkling humor of its subjects and a perceptive eye for compelling moments of revelation, follows Frank and his friends through the last months of his life.

In and Out of Africa This extraordinary documentary is one of the most intelligent, perceptive, and engaging films ever made on African culture and art. It explores with irony and humor issues of authenticity, taste, and racial politics in the transnational trade in African art.

Monuments Are for Men, Waffles Are for Women: Gender, Permanence and Impermanence The unwritten rules governing the traditional activities of men and women are sharply but subtly defined. Women's work has traditionally been repetitive and ongoing, and its end result short-lived and impermanent. In contrast, the activities of men are traditionally long-lived, durable, or permanent.

The Pornography of Everyday Life This trenchant and provocative documentary essay incorporates more than 200 powerful images from advertising, ancient myth, contemporary art, and popular culture to demonstrate how pornography (defined as the sexualized domination, degradation, and objectification of women and girls and social groups who are put in the demeaned feminine role) is in reality a prevalent mainstream worldview.

Rancho California (Por Favor) This thought-provoking, widely acclaimed visual essay provides a troubling journey through migrant farmworker camps in suburban southern California.

Record Store As the American music industry struggles to find its place in the digital world, many music enthusiasts continue to buy and collect vinyl records, sometimes to their financial and emotional detriment. This remarkable documentary explores the various urban subcultures at an independent record store in Philadelphia, focusing on the store's owners, employees, and customers.

The Return of Navajo Boy Set in the stunning landscape of Utah's Monument Valley, this unforgettable, universally acclaimed documentary chronicles the extraordinary saga of how a rediscovered 1950s silent film reel leads to the return of a long-lost brother to his Navajo family.

SchoolScapes Inspired by the cinema of Lumiere and the ideas of the 20th-century Indian thinker Krishnamurti, renowned ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall explores a famous progressive co-educational school in South India. This innovative film is dedicated to the simple act of looking.

True-Hearted Vixens This remarkable documentary follows the fortunes of two women during the Women's Professional Football League's inaugural season of six exhibition games. One of the women is a young political consultant-turned linebacker and the other is an elite amateur basketball player and single mother taking a shot at wide receiver. Both traveled from afar, trading security and leaving jobs and loved ones for this long-shot at stardom.

A World Without Strangers This engaging and innovative documentary explores the common misperceptions and stereotypes of one another shared by young people in the Middle East and the United States. It connects five college-age women from the United States with five from the Middle East in a media-based dialogue that illuminates and challenges cross-cultural misconceptions.