WAL-MART: THE HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE is a feature length documentary that uncovers a retail giant’s assault on families and American values.

The film dives into the deeply personal stories and everyday lives of families and communities struggling to fight a goliath. A working mother is forced to turn to public assistance to provide healthcare for her two small children. A Missouri family loses its business after Wal-Mart is given over $2 million to open its doors down the road. A mayor struggles to equip his first responders after Wal- Mart pulls out and relocates just outside the city limits. A community in California unites, takes on the giant, and wins!

http://www.walmartmovie.com/about.php ($11.50@ amazon.com)

Directed by Francois Odendaal Productions, and presented with GEF and IW:LEARN

“The Earth’s Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are places of great beauty, biodiversity and bounty. Humanity depends on the vitality of these coastal areas, yet current human activities are causing catastrophic harm to LMEs. A global movement has begun to stop and reverse this damage before it’s too late. With support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), nations are beginning to turn the tide to save LMEs. And you are part of the solution too…”

By Ashutosh Gowariker (2004)
“Swades” (pronounced “Swah-DESH is the first commercial Indian film to be nominated for a “Best Foreign Film” Oscar. I’ve obtained it a couple times from Netflix here in the U.S., so it can’t be too tough to procure. It is in Hindi (almost Hinglish), but there are English subtitles. As is about typical for Bollywood films, it’s about 3.5 hours long, so one has to be strategic about its use in a class. I’m actually in the process of preparing a conference paper (for the American Anthropological Association meeting), half of which discusses the film, so I’ll just give you part of my draft from that:

The film’s plot revolves around the character of Mohan Bhargava (played by Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan), an “NRI” (non-resident Indian) engineer living in the United States and working as the project manager for a NASA satellite program to measure global precipitation. Homesick and lonely, Mohan takes a short-notice vacation to return to India and find his nanny, who he has last touch with over the years. Despite the inclusion of several stock Bollywood elements of plot and style—a love interest initially denied, affirmation of the importance of family, interludes with song and dance—the film was not judged a significant popular success, but critics gave it strong accolades as “a film that needed to be made.”

The film is a rich thematic tapestry, juxtaposing global cosmopolitanism with rural India, national identity with familial obligation, spectacular “high technology” with developmental priorities. Atypically attuned to social discourse for a Bollywood film, it is particularly important for what it reveals about the meaning of space research in India through the allegorical figure of its protagonist, the non-resident Indian and earth remote sensing engineer.

Why are Americans so fat? Find out in Super Size Me, a tongue in-cheek – and burger in hand — look at the legal, financial and physical costs of America’s hunger for fast food. Ominously, 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and 2 out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it our fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame?

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the “Fattest City” in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and “gut feelings” on our ever-expanding girth. During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald’s for an entire month with three simple rules:
1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No super sizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once

It all adds up to a fat food bill, harrowing visits to the doctor, and compelling viewing for anyone who’s ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone. The film explores the horror of school lunch programs, declining health and physical education classes, food addictions and the extreme measures people take to lose weight and regain their health. Super Size Me is a satirical jab in the stomach, overstuffed with fat and facts about the billion-dollar industry besieged by doctors, lawyers and nutritionists alike. “Would you like fries with that?” will never sound the same!

http://www.supersizeme.com/home.aspx?page=aboutmovie
($18.74@ amazon.com)

The Power of One” is a strong movie based on the popular novel. This is quite a different project for director John G. Avildsen (“Rocky” and “The Karate Kid”), but the characters and events mix to create great chemistry. Stephen Dorff as the adult Peekay, the main character, wears his emotions on his sleeve. You can really see the pain he goes through. Morgan Freeman, as Geel Piet, does an excellent job portraying an inmate. I love his accent, and even though he isn’t South African, he does an excellent job depicting one. This film recognizes the pain and anguish African people went through on their continent during World War II. It makes people realize that there are those who can make a difference. In fact, it made me believe that anyone can make a difference if they are inspired enough. I love this film and think it deserves great recognition. The story takes place in South Africa, partly in a jail, where Africans are treated horribly. Peekay, a white boy, grows up in these surroundings, and with the help of his friend Geel Piet learns that what is happening to these people is wrong, and should be made right. After Geel Piet stands up for what he believes, and dies for it, Peekay knows that it is his duty to get involved and help end apartheid. With a great and sad love story, this movie is truly magnificent. It shows us that by coming together we can create our own “power of one” and change the ways of the world that are wrong. Take my word for it and gather your power and courage to see a great movie. This story is the best example of good humanity, and anyone who sees it will be changed forever.

http://www.teenink.com/Past/2002/June/Movies/ThePowerofOne.html ($4.38@ amazon.com)

Available as a VHS tape distributed by Kino Video some years ago. These are classis Depression-era government documentary films that show the growing political awareness of what today we would call “sustainable technology/ economics.” They also embrace the early 20th century optimism that technology is a solution to all social problems. My favorite of the bunch is Power and the Land, which “observes the daily activities of a dairy farming family in Ohio. The majestic photography…elevates them to iconic figures of Americana, their diligence rewarded by the messianic government in the form of electricity.” (from the liner notes). This film pairs nicely with readings from Marx’s Machine in the Garden as well as readings/ discussions of the core meanings of “modernity” and “progress.”

By Stanley Kramer (1959)

From IMDb: “The residents of Australia after a global nuclear war must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.”

(1981)

Boston’s history has included a long reach for adequate water supplies. The city controls a complex system of aqueducts and reservoirs stretching 80 miles into western Massachusetts and culminating in the large Quabbin Reservoir, which was created in the 1930s by flooding four towns and six villages. This documentary focuses on Boston’s latest, bitterly controversial scheme to meet its growing need for water–to skim floodwaters of the Connecticut River and divert them via an aqueduct to Quabbin. The centuries-old struggle between the state’s urban east and rural west is investigated, highlighting especially the question of home rule.

(Florentine Films, 1981, 16mm, color, 30 minutes.

(2001)

While some environmental observers predict doomsday scenarios in which a rapidly increasing human population is forced to compete for even scarcer natural resources, Bill McDonough sees a more exciting and hopeful future.

In his vision humanity takes nature itself as our guide reinventing technical enterprises to be as safe and ever-renewing as natural processes.

Can’t happen? It’s already happening…at Nike, at Ford Motor Company, at Oberlin College, at Herman Miller Furniture, and at DesignTex…and it’s part of what architect McDonough and his partner, chemist Michael Braungart, call ‘The Next Industrial Revolution.’

Shot in Europe and the United States, the film explores how businesses are transforming themselves to work with nature and enhance profitability.

www.bullfrogfilms.com ($250 VHS/$275 DVD)

By Charlie Chaplin (1936)
Henry Ford vs. stochastic chaos in the form of The Little Tramp. IMDb: “Long after most people thought the silent movie had been buried forever, Chaplin brought his “Little Fellow” out of mothballs for one more magnificent motion picture. The Tramp is trapped in a factory, performing mind-numbing repetitive tasks, and finally he goes hilariously berserk. I started laughing the instant I saw the lady in the dress with the buttons. Like “City Lights,” this film is a collection of charming vignettes, this time revolving around The Tramp’s desire to settle down with gamin Paulette Goddard. From the Tramp’s encounter with an assembly- line “feeding machine” to his unsuccessful stints as night watchman and waiter, this movie is packed full of delights. Chaplin never speaks, but he does sing a little. This work of genius can make you smile though your heart is breaking. “ No student should graduate from a STS or envirotech program without contrasting the feeding machine scene with The Little Tramp feeding the trapped master mechanic scene from this film.