Multiculturalism/General Ethnic Studies

Films

All for the Taking: 21st-Century Urban Renewal This timely and thought-provoking documentary provides an insightful case study of the uses and abuses of the power of eminent domain by the city of Philadelphia as it attempts to redefine itself through "urban renewal" and planned gentrification.

The Band When filmmaker David Zeiger spends a year documenting his son Danny's high school marching band in Decatur, Georgia, he gets a crash course in love, friendship, and marching in formation. Featuring refreshingly candid student commentary on everything from anorexia and Ritalin to divorced parents and race relations, "The Band" is a lively, engrossing look at the ups and downs of all-American teenage life, 1990s style.

Beyond Our Boundaries This engaging documentary explores a wide array of issues faced by international and American students when developing working relationships and friendships with one another. It serves as an excellent discussion-starter on interchanges between students of varying nationalities and ethnicities, as well as a thought-provoking illustration of how intercultural contacts help break down cultural stereotypes and ethnocentrism.

Blink This powerful and thought-provoking documentary examines the dramatic story of one-time white supremacist leader Gregory Withrow, and in so doing explores the underlying themes of violence, racism. and domination in American life and culture.

Boomtown This fascinating and thought-provoking documentary chronicles the many challenges faced by Suquamish families in the fireworks business and explores the complex and often thorny issues of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness in Indian Country.

Brownsville Black and White This poignant and powerful documentary explores the complex history of interracial cooperation, urban change, and social conflict in Brownsville, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, from the 1930s to the present.

California and the American Dream This incisive, thought-provoking four-part series explores the dynamics of culture, community, and identity in California, one of the most diverse places in the world. Each film provides a trenchant and highly discussible case study of divergent California social trends that are keenly evident all across America.

California's "Lost" Tribes This remarkable documentary explores the conflicts over Indian gaming and places them in the context of both California and Native American history. The film examines the historical underpinnings of tribal sovereignty and the evolution of tribal gaming rights over the last 30 years.

Can You See the Color Gray? This unique and provocative documentary examines the development, expression, and communication of racial and ethnic prejudices and stereotypes.

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.

Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice This thought-provoking documentary explores the life and achievements of a man who felt the sting of injustice while growing up and later, as a lawyer, judge, and educator, fought for more than five decades to eradicate discrimination and inequality in American life.

The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky and His Legacy This exceptional and compelling documentary, narrated by Alec Baldwin, examines the life and legacy of legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky.

Displaced in the New South This remarkable documentary explores the cultural collision between Asian and Hispanic immigrants and the suburban communities near Atlanta, Georgia, in which they have settled.

The End of an Old Song Filmed in the mountains of North Carolina, this acclaimed documentary by renowned filmmaker John Cohen revisits the region where English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected British ballads in the early 1900s.

The High Lonesome Sound This classic documentary, by renowned filmmaker John Cohen, evocatively illustrates how music and religion help the rural poor of Appalachia maintain their dignity and traditions in the face of change and hardship.

Madres Unidas: Parents Researching for Change This unique and inspiring documentary follows five immigrant mothers who became involved in an effort to start a new small school for their children, and later became researchers and videographers to document their journey.

Musical Holdouts This classic, entertaining documentary on American traditional music features varied individuals and groups who have not become part of the "melting pot" of American society.

My Louisiana Love Every few years a new documentary comes along that so powerfully resonates both emotionally and intellectually that it can truly be deemed unforgettable. "My Louisiana Love" is such a film. This profoundly poignant exploration of environmental injustice and loss focuses a revelatory light on an otherwise invisible American tragedy.

The New Los Angeles This engaging documentary explores the complexities of inclusion in Los Angeles -- the nation's largest "majority-minority" city and the city with the nation's largest divide between rich and poor.

Pericles in America This musical portrait of immigrant clarinetist Pericles Halkias and the Epirot-Greek community explores the aspirations and ambivalences of Greek-Americans.

Personal Space: Exploring Human Proxemics Space is a silent language, and we all "speak" it, whether consciously or not. This fascinating and frequently funny video portrays the effects of space on everyday human behavior in an engaging and dramatic manner. Students from a variety of cultural backgrounds vividly demonstrate how our culture defines our use of space, territory, and touching.

Post-Industrial Fiddle This deceptively simple but profound film explores the importance of music-making in the life of a pulp mill worker in rural Maine. His "Down East" fiddling style is homemade music, influenced largely by local traditions.

The Price of Renewal What are the challenges in crafting a vibrant urban village from an ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse population? This perceptive documentary examines complex issues of community development, philanthropy, and civic engagement by chronicling the long-term redevelopment of an older, deteriorating neighborhood called City Heights, often referred to as the Ellis Island of San Diego.

Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger Regarded as a hero by many and a renegade by some in the Catholic Church hierarchy, Michael Pfleger, longtime pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina parish, has consistently used the power of his pulpit to battle social inequity and engage in high profile campaigns to end drug-dealing, prostitution, and the exploitation of the poor by liquor and tobacco companies.

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 (With 2008 Epilogue) 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.

Ripe for Change This fascinating documentary explores the intersection of food and politics in California over the last 30 years. It illuminates the complex forces struggling for control of the future of California's agriculture, and provides provocative commentary by a wide array of eloquent farmers, prominent chefs, and noted authors and scientists.

Roots of Health This thought-provoking and insightful documentary employs incisive case studies from around the world to explore how people's health and well-being is primarily determined by where they live, their educational, social, and economic status, and the degree of control they have over their lives.

To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America This thought-provoking and powerful documentary follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as he brings his revolutionary microfinance program to the United States, establishing Grameen America. The first stop: Queens, New York, 2008, just as the financial crisis explodes and the American economy plummets.

Transnational Fiesta: 1992 Until recently, it was widely assumed that Native communities throughout the Americas would be absorbed into the mainstream or otherwise disappear. But 500 years after the beginning of the Conquest, indigenous peoples are asserting their presence and identity with renewed vigor. This remarkable video illustrates this by exploring the multicultural and transnational experiences of a family of Peruvian Andean immigrants living in Washington, D.C.

Who Owns the Past? This outstanding documentary relates the powerful history of the American Indian struggle for control of their ancestral remains.

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.

A World of Differences: Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication When we encounter people from other societies or cultures, we may fail to understand them for many reasons, including differences in language, values, gestures, emotional expression, norms, rituals, rules, expectations, family background, and life experiences. This extraordinary video, by the noted producer, Prof. Dane Archer, shows that cross-cultural communication can be successful if we manage to understand the powerful differences that separate people who come from differing cultures.

A World of Food: Tastes and Taboos in Different Cultures This delectably engaging video explores the extraordinary variety of food likes, food dislikes, food taboos, and food rules around the world. It features frequently humorous and always compelling testimony from people representing a wide array of cultures.