Summary: Racism, unemployment, aggression, excess-the USSR's animation studios frequently took aim at these aspects of American culture. Representing five decades of animated Soviet propaganda, this program features short films that blast the United States and its perceived evils. Black and White and Mister Twister extol the absence of bigotry in Soviet society, while Someone Else's Voice portrays jazz...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Just as America envisioned Communist threats during much of the 20th century, the specter of capitalism loomed large in the Soviet Cold War psyche. This program surveys Soviet animated propaganda embodying that fiercely anti-capitalist spirit. Foreshadowing the space race, Interplanetary Revolution depicts a Communist triumph over free-market forces on Mars; China in Flames warns against...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: After World War II, the wholesomeness of American movies faced a tidal wave of change-from outside, as a growing number of provocative foreign films made their way to the U.S., and from within, as car culture flowered and drive-in theaters sprang up across the country. This program documents the period, from the birth of art house cinema to the ascent of boundary-busting American actors and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: This award-winning documentary explores portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experience of actors who have struggled against Hollywood's ethnic stereotyping and discriminatory practices. The Slanted Screen covers the practice of using Caucasian actors in yellowface makeup, drawing upon a wealth of materials, including 50 rare film clips spanning a century. The program,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: Soviet film studios worked hard to portray their government's system as idyllic and forward-looking. This program showcases animated films designed to promote that utopian vision. Soviet Toys, the earliest known example of Soviet animation, condemns Lenin's New Economic Policy; The Victorious Destination celebrates the achievements of Stalin's first five-year plan; Samoyed Boy praises the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: No other totalitarian regime is as closely associated with an artistic movement as Nazi Germany. From the towering architecture of Albert Speer to the grandiose films of Leni Riefenstahl, art fed into and shaped Nazi ideals, reflecting back a world where Aryan strength triumphs over all enemies. Through art on a monumental scale, Hitler created a world-and a worldview-as enticing as it was...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Hitler's invasion of Russia and Germany's post-WWII partition inspired a great deal of animated Soviet propaganda. This program presents short films that disparage fascist aggression and America's supposed continuation of it. Fascist Boots and Cinema Circus vilify Hitler and the Nazi invaders; A Lesson Not Learned plays on Russian fears of a reunited, vengeful, and American-supported Germany;...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In what many see as Hollywood's Golden Age, the offices of William Hays and Joseph Breen worked overtime to combat sexuality and subversion in American movies. This program examines the products of that era-films that danced around the standards of the Production Code and paved the way for increasingly daring storytelling and images. From the modesty of It Happened One Night to the shocking and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: In 1965, the Catholic Legion of Decency closed its doors; the following year, the Hays Code was scrapped. This program looks at the cinematic milestones which prompted these events and the age of freewheeling film artistry that ensued, despite attempts at censorship issuing from the highest political level. Shedding light on the release of The Pawnbroker and director Sidney Lumet's historic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: There's a fine art to selling earlobe lifts, inflatable massage boots, and mini-staircases for arthritic dogs. This ABC News program enters the strange world of A. J. Kubani and his New Jersey-based company, Telebrands-a purveyor of quirky household products showcased in late-night TV infomercials. In a one-on-one interview, Kubani discusses his main strategy: identifying a mundane, irksome...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The more digital technology becomes inseparable from our daily lives, the more chances corporate and political media have to manipulate young people-unless students are taught how to dissect and defend against that manipulation. This program helps educators instill media literacy through an exploration of its basic concepts as well as examples drawn from film and television. Defining media...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: While the earliest motion pictures were admired simply for their novelty, viewers soon demanded more than raw footage of trains, sneezes, and other random subjects. This program describes the discovery of sex as a surefire cinematic attraction and the outrages it provoked among religious and civic authorities during Hollywood's formative years. Documenting the rise of William Hays as the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008