Films for the Humanities

Do home computers scare you. confuse you—make you want to curl up in a ball and hide? As the computer revolution explodes into our lives, it's comforting to know there's palace to look for the answers to the practical questions you didn't want to admit you had. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Computers...but were afraid to ask is that place and host John Wood is the per- son who answers the most frequently asked questions about everything from how to choose a computer to software and peripherals. Interwoven with Wood’s explanations and advice is the story of a family buying its first computer. As the family arrives at typical stumbling blocks, Wood shows us how to avoid common problems and how to solve them if they pop up any-way. Wood's wry humor makes it easy and fun to learn what computers can and can't do and how to find the one that fits your own special needs.

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 Tinseltown. Interviews with directors Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Yash Chopra are included, along with commentary from choreographers, musical directors, and Cinemaya Magazine editor Aruna Vasudev. The industry’s newfound attention to poverty, homelessness, and other social concerns is examined. Several film excerpts are included.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an account of the life of Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little in 1925, who became a human rights activist. Malcolm X was assassinated in New York's Audubon Ballroom in February 1965.

This program combines a panel discussion and town hall format with documentary video segments to promote the discussion of racial problems and policy choices that face the nation and its readers. The discussion focuses on whether race relations have improved or degenerated in the past 25 years and questions what can be done.

George Lucas discusses how Joseph Campbell and his concept of the Monomyth (aka the Hero's Journey) and other concepts from mythology and religion shaped the Star Wars saga.

A documentary, combining archival material and live interviews with Marcus Garvey, Jr., and others, which introduces the life and work of the pioneer Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey.

Focuses on 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, as she discusses the lack of human rights for the indigenous people of Guatemala and her commitment to the struggle for a more egalitarian society.

Describes how the poems which first made American poet Robert Frost famous were based on his experiences as a farmer in New England. Shows Frost reading his poems to a student audience, and his daughter Lesley Frost discussing some of Frost’s poems and his poetic theories. Suitable for middle and upper secondary levels.