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Asia in transition Asian masters Building faith, sacred architecture Building faith, sacred architecture" Essentials of faith Paradise found Politics, religion, and national identity The Wide Angle Collection: Human Stories, Global Issues Untouchable, life as an outcaste Untouchable, life as an outcaste"Filter By Series
Asia in transition Asian masters Building faith, sacred architecture Building faith, sacred architecture" Essentials of faith Paradise found Politics, religion, and national identity The Wide Angle Collection: Human Stories, Global Issues Untouchable, life as an outcaste Untouchable, life as an outcaste"Summary: What's so bad about saturated fat, and what makes fiber so good? In a society where convenience foods rule and obesity is a national epidemic, it's time to find out. This video investigates the relationship between diet and a number of frequently interrelated diseases and conditions, including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: There’s no end to the number of “miracle” diets advertised on TV. Combat their influence with this video, which illustrates what’s really needed to reach and maintain a healthy weight - commitment, discipline, and attention to dietary details. Focusing on bad eating habits as the main factor in America’s obesity epidemic, the program also cites lack of exercise along with cultural and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: The development of authentic self-esteem and a healthy sense of self has always been a vitally important part of growing up. But this process is a challenge that has gotten even trickier to negotiate due to the widespread integration of digital technology into everyday living. Drawing on the insights of a clinical psychologist/family therapist, an adolescent psychologist, and a number of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Continuing his trek across the Muslim world, art scholar Waldemar Januszczak introduces viewers to masterworks in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia-from the gigantic and surreal mud mosques of Mali; to a rare, 10th-century Egyptian ewer carved out of a single piece of rock crystal; to the inspired urban planning of the ancient city of Isfahan in Iran; to the stunning architecture of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: This program explores the two great religions to come from India. "The historian of religion can find almost anything he wants in India, enacted with intensity. What remains is to carry its insight into everyday life. Smith uncovered the mysteries of multiphonic chanting among Tibetan lamas, previously unknown in the West. Characterizing these chants as "the holiest sound I have ever heard,"...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this program, art critic Waldemar Januszczak travels through the heart of the Middle East and beyond to study a wide range of Islamic architecture, decoration, and art objects. Providing helpful historical background on the faith-with an eye on the explosive spread of early Islamic culture-the program examines the pristine beauty of India's Taj Mahal as well as one of the world's oldest...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: While northern India's 100-year-old film industry is best known for flamboyant dance sequences and romantic plot lines, its directors have begun to step outside established formulas and explore grittier subject matter. This program surveys the world of Bollywood filmmaking, examining the personalities as well as the commercial and thematic concerns that drive central Asia's answer to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: A daughter of a Badi prostitute is required to be registered under the surname Nepali. So marked from birth, she is born into prostitution and is expected to follow her mother into that trade-unless the family, the Dalit community, or charitable NGOs are moved to help them make a change. This program profiles two Badi families and the positive efforts of one former prostitute and Suklal Nepali,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Muslims arrived in India the same year they entered Spain-and by the end of the 13th century ruled nearly all of the country. This program travels across India by way of Iran, Pakistan, and Maldives to examine the rich Islamic heritage of the region. The program also observes the Muslim way of life on the subcontinent as it exists today. Sites of note include the Taj Mahal, the Golkonda Fort...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Indoor plumbing is rare in rural India. This program introduces viewers to two Dalit families who, for generations, have cleaned the excrement from their villages' open-air latrines with their bare hands. But flush-toilets don't necessarily free untouchables from their role; a young man who manually removes waste from the sewers of Hyderabad is also interviewed, along with Bezawada Wilson-a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Every year, thousands die in India through caste-related violence, as untouchables and upper-castes alike stoop as low as they need to go to gain their aims. Seen through the lens of a veteran photojournalist, this program looks at both sides of the struggle between the upper-caste Ranvir militia and Dalit supporters of the Marxist-Leninists in Bihar. Professor Kanchia Eliah, of the University...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Mehndi is traditional painting of intricate patterns drawn on hands and feet with natural dye extracted from henna leaves, says mehndi artist Smarahjit Jana. In addition to numerous demonstrations of mehndi being applied, this program shows the gathering and preparation of henna leaves, discusses types of mehndi patterns and their significance, and describes different purposes of mehndi. More...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: In southern India, Yellamma is the goddess of the untouchables, and the joginis are typically Dalit girls dedicated to their service-and to the servicing of the local men. The jogini role as representative of the goddess has been corrupted: "Society has deliberately turned the jogini into sex workers, and exploits them as such," says jogini-turned-activist Hajamma. After describing the sacred...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: From ritual ablutions to ceremonial cremation, the religious life of a Hindu is intimately associated with the spiritual properties of water and fire. This program steps off the beaten path for a journey with two sadhus as they visit holy locales, witness religious rites, and, in general, immerse themselves in Hindu culture as it is exists in the religion's motherland, India. The Festival of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Home to more than a billion people, India struggles to remain the secular and tolerant society that Mahatma Gandhi envisioned. This Wide Angle documentary focuses on India's increasingly powerful Hindu nationalist movement, the specter of religious and ethnic strife that has haunted the nation since the dawn of its independence in 1947, and the actions of government and partisan forces that may...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In parts of Nepal, there is little paying work available to untouchables. Forced to borrow small sums just to survive, they quickly become debt slaves to higher-caste people-and although the practice is illegal, it all too often represents the only chance Dalits have to obtain food. This program contrasts the lives of Bharat, who seeks emancipation through the assistance of a debt...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Containing nearly a sixth of the world's population, India is home to almost a billion people, more than half of whom live in rural villages. This program provides an overview of topics such as the caste system as it exists in the holy Hindu town of Varanasi and the massive pilgrimages to Allahabad, where millions of Hindus come to ritually bathe at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although they may not look exactly like their counterparts in China, North America's Chinese Buddhist temples are closely linked to them through symbolism and traditions that go back more than 1,500 years. This video looks at structural symmetry, north/south building orientation, and interior layout; architectural elements like pagodas, columns, and courtyards; the lotus flower as a design...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Art appreciation requires an understanding of the medium, the subject matter, and the subtexts inherent in the artists' techniques. In this program, correspondent Paul Solman and art historian Wen Fong visit an exhibit that is emblematic of Imperial China from the 8th century to the 17th. Styles discussed include the Imperial "propaganda" of the Sung and Ming dynasties; the wild spontaneity of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: From birth to death, in every country on the globe, for tens of thousands of years, the rhythm of human life has been accentuated by the practice of religious ritual. In this program adherents of three different faiths share their understanding of some common rites of passage: a rabbi explains the elements of a Jewish wedding, including some that date back to the book of Genesis; a minister...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Iran's image in the West is due to several factors-including President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil" speech as well as the political agenda of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This program takes viewers behind the facade of the theocratic state, following a handful of everyday Iranian citizens and addressing questions ignored by most mainstream media: What is daily life like in the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Buddhism holds that life and the physical world are illusions, transcended by emptying the mind and simplifying one's life. In reality, Buddhism is complicated-no unified teaching exists. This program presents ways of articulating Buddhist thought from six straightforward and insightful practitioners who explain parallels and distinctions between Buddhist traditions. Commentators include Geshe...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Hindu temples are models of the Hindu universe. And while no two temples are exactly alike, they do share some common architectural features. This video compares modern Hindu temples in North America to the classic northern- and southern-style Indian temples of a thousand years ago. Elements that have survived the centuries-the sikhara tower and the statues of the myriad manifestations of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In Indonesia, activists seek to return their country to its traditional moral values after a period of rapid economic growth that resulted in rampant nepotism and corruption under President Suharto. As Muslim students and Hindu priests work to revitalize Indonesia while preserving a democratic ideal, this thought-provoking program provides an in-depth portrait of a country seeking to redefine...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007