Cultural Literacy Movies
Akeela and the Bee (Rated PG, 112 minutes) - Akeelah and the Bee is the story of Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), a precocious eleven-year-old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite the objections of her mother Tanya (Angela Bassett), Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne); her principal Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong) and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah’s aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and in turn unites her neighborhood who witness the courage and inspiration of one amazing girl.
America at a Crossroads: The Muslim Americans (Not Rated, 60 minutes) - This episode explores the diversity of Muslims in America today, focusing on communities' experience after 9/11 and contrasting life for Muslims here in the United states with Muslims in Britain and Europe. The film looks at the ongoing conversation American Muslims are having about life in the United States, including assimilation, discrimination, Muslim youth, religion and politics.
Born into Brothels (Rated R, 83 minutes) - A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, BORN INTO BROTHELS is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York based photographer, gives each of these youngsters a camera and teaches them how to take pictures, simultaneously causing them to look at their world with new eyes. Together they capture the magical way in which beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places and how a bright and promising future becomes a possibility for children who previously had no future at all.
Challenging Hispanic Stereotypes (Not Rated, 30 minutes) - Arturo Madrid's ancestors made a home on American soil before the Mayflower arrived, but strangers still ask him, "And where are you from?" Weary of always being perceived as "the other," he has devoted himself to challenging the stereotypes that keep Hispanics outside the American mainstream. Madrid is a teacher and president of the Tomas Rivera Center, where he focuses on issues and policies affecting the Latino community. He discusses the controversy surrounding bilingual education and the state of education, in general, for Hispanic people.
Crash (Rated R, 112 minutes) - Challenging and thought-provoking, CRASH takes a provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. Diving headlong into the diverse melting pot of post-9/11 Los Angeles, this compelling urban drama tracks the volatile intersections of a multi-ethnic cast of characters' struggles to overcome their fears as they careen in and out of one another's livers. In the gray area between black and white, victim and aggressor, there are no easy answers....
Daughter from Danang (Not Rated,83 minutes) - A mix of epic history and intimate family portrait, Daughter from Danang follows the reunion of a Tennessee woman, Heidi, with her Vietnamese mother and siblings after 22 years. Shipped to the U.S. in the waning days of the Vietnam war, Heidi--formerly Mai Thi Hiep--was the daughter of a white American soldier and a Danang woman abandoned by her Viet Cong husband. Fearing reprisals against Amerasian children, Hiep's mother, despite unbearable pain, gave Hiep to an adoption agency. Raised by an abusive woman in Pulaski (birthplace of the KKK), Hiep/Heidi kept her full heritage secret. This episode of PBS's American Experience follows Heidi's journey home.
Devil's Arithmetic, The (Not Rated,95 minutes) - Based on the popular novel by Jane Yolen, a typical American teenager gets transported back in time and experiences firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust and discovers the meaning of her family’s heritage.
Diary of Anne Frank, The (Not Rated, 180 minutes) - A diary discovered in the attic of an Amsterdam factory reveals the plight of a jewish refugee family that lived there in hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation.
Emotional Life, This (Not Rated, 6 hours on 3 discs) - Ordinary people and famous celebrities share a basic human problem - how to handle one's emotions, relationships, and negative experienes. Yet why are some more successful than others. Divided into three episodes, this PBS documentary, looks for answers. Each episode can be checked out individually: Episode 1: Family, Friends and Lovers Episode 2: Facing our Fears Episode 3: Rethinking Happiness
Freedom Writers (Rated PG-13, 123 minutes) - A young teacher takes on a class of at-risk students in a violent high school, inspiring them to learn tolerance and to apply themselves through daily writing in a journal.
La Quinceañera (Rated R, 91 minutes) - As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her working class family prepares for the all-important Quinceañera. To help with expenses, Magdalena is forced to wear a hand-me-down party dress and abandon her dream of arriving in a Hummer limousine. But when her father discovers she's pregnant and refuses to believe the incredible truth - she's actually still a virgin - Magdalena moves in with her elderly Uncle Tomas and black sheep cousin Carlos. Her newfound family is soon put to the test, however, when an unexpected crisis threatens to tear them apart, and Magdalena learns what it truly means to come of age.
Lean on Me (Rated PG-13, 109 minutes) - Based on the true story of New Jersey high school principal Joe Clark,who wins the support and respect of his students for his controversial methods in ridding the school of violent students and drug dealers.
Music Within (Rated R,94 minutes) - Ron Livingston delivers the performance of a lifetime in this acclaimed film based on the incredible true-life story of Richard Pimentel. Deafened by a bomb blast in Vietnam, Richard (Livingston) returns home and discovers his life's calling: helping others with disabilities, including his fellow veterans. Along with his bestfriend Art (Michael Sheen), a wheelchair-bound rebel with a wicked wit, Richard fights for the rights of those whose voices can't always be heard. Music Within is a powerful and inspiring journey that every American should take.
Nuestra Familia (Not Rated,56 minutes) - A Father, A Son, A Gang & The FBI "Nuestra Familia, Our Family" goes inside one of California's most powerful Latino prison gangs. Through exclusive interviews with gang members, law enforcement officials and community members, as well as undercover FBI surveillance footage of the gang in action, the film reveals the gang's devastating effect on families-and the controversial war to stop its spread. "Nuestra Familia, Our Family" se adentra en una de las pandillas latinas más poderosas en las cárceles de California. A través de entrevistas exclusivas con pandilleros, policías y miembros de la communidad, así como video vigilancia secreta tomado por el FBI que muestra a la pandilla en acción, el documental revela su efecto devastador en la familias y la controvertida guerra para detener su expansion.
Once (Rated R,85 minutes) - A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
Paper Clips (Rated G, 82 minutes) - In 1998 a group of Tennessee schoolchildren embarked on a class project that would change their lives and impact those of countless others around the world. Responding to a history lesson about the Holocaust the students began collecting 11 million paper clips (a Norwegian symbol of Nazi resistance) to commemorate each of the lives lost in the concentration camps. As news of the Paper Clip Project spread through the Internet the children found themselves aided by total strangers in their effort to build a permanent memorial to tolerance and diversity in their schoolyard. The documentary PAPER CLIPS for a moving testament to Margaret Mead's assertion that "a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world."
Philadelphia (Rated PG-13, 125 minutes) - No one would take his case, until one man was willing to take on the system. Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Pursuit of Happyness, The (Rated PG-13, 113 minutes) - This inspirational true story of Chris Gardner, a San Fran salesman struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted and forced to sleep on the street, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence, the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.
Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend, The (Not Rated, 60 minutes) - This PBS DVD concerns the quiltmakers of Gee's Bend. For more than 150 years, the women of Gee's Bend, Alabama have made quilts reflecting their history and daily lives. Over generations they worked in isolation, continuing to inhabit the remote plantation land their parents once slaved. Today, art critics worldwide compare them to the great creative enclaves of the Italian Renaissance.
Real Women Have Curves (Rated PG-13, 86 minutes) - A $6 million box office theatrical run followed awards and acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. Should Ana leave home, go to college and experience life? Or stay home, get married, and keep working in her sister's struggling garment factory? It may seem like an easy decision, but for 18 year-old Ana, every choice she makes this summer will change her life. Right now, she may be making clothes for less shapely women. But Ana is about to discover that real women take chances, have flaws, embrace life, and above all have curves!
Rosa Parks Story, The (Not Rated, 97 minutes) - The story of the civil rights heroine whose refusal to obey racial bus segregation was just one of her acts in her fight for justice.
Saving Face (Rated R, 91 minutes) - When 48-year-old widow Hwei-Lan Gao (Joan Chen) informs her less-than understanding father she's pregnant, he banishes her from Flushing until she remarries or proves Immaculate Conception. With nowhere else to go, Hwei-Lan moves in with her grown daughter, Wil (Michelle Krusiec), a Manhattan doctor who doesn't want a roommate, especially since she's met Viv (Lynn Chen), her sexy young lover. So Wil does what any dutiful child with an expectant, unmarried mother on her hands would do: she proceeds to set Hwei-Lan up with every eligible bachelor in town.
Sea Inside, The (Rated PG-13, 125 minutes) - Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) delivers a powerful and sensitive portrayal of a quadriplegic who fights to win the right to end his life with dignity. Based on a true story.
Smoke Signals (Not Rated, 89 minutes) - Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, SMOKE SIGNALS was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival! Though Victor and Thomas have lived their entire young lives in the same tiny town, they couldn't have less in common! But when Victor is urgently called away, it's Thomas who comes up with the money to pay for his trip. There's just one thing Victor has to do: take Thomas along for the ride! You're in for a rare and entertaining comic treat as this most unlikely pair leave home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!
Spanglish (Rated PG-13, 131 minutes) - John Clasky is a devoted dad whose skills as a chef have afforded his family a very upscale life, including a summer home in Malibu and a breathtaking new housekeeper, Flor, who has recently immigrated to L.A. from Mexico, and is trying to find a better life for her remarkable daughter, Cristina, who is rapidly embracing the American way of life. When Flor and Cristina move in with the Claskys for the summer, Flor has to fight for her daughter's soul as she discovers that life in a new country is perilous...especially when you're being embraced by an affluent, eccentric American family.
Stand and Deliver (Rated PG, 103 minutes) - Based on a true story, this inspiring American Playhouse production stars Edward James Olmos as a high school teacher who motivated a class full of East L.A. barrio kids to care enough about mathematics to pass an Advanced Placement Calculus Test. Not exactly a variation of To Sir, With Love, the film concerns itself with assumptions and biases held by mainstream authorities about disadvantaged kids, and Olmos's efforts to keep his students coolheaded enough to prove them wrong.
Sunset Story (Not Rated, 75 minutes) - Sunset Story is a funny and intimate documentary drama that will make you think differently about growing old. It tells the story of Irja (81) and Lucille (95), two friends at a rest home for retired radicals. As they attend demonstrations, register their fellow residents to vote and debate everything under the sun, Irja and Lucille’s verve and humor delight us. Sunset Story doesn’t shy away from the sadness of old age; it reveals two elderly women’s lives in an unusually authentic and surprisingly moving way.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Not Rated, 129 minutes) - When a Southern white woman accuses a black man of rape, the outcome of the trial is a foregone conclusion and no lawyer except Atticus Finch will defend the accused.
Tortilla Soup (Rated PG-13, 103 minutes) - Hector Elizondo plays Martin, a widowed chef who is losing both his sense of taste and control over his three daughters: Leticia, a religious schoolteacher; Carmen, a successful but unhappy businesswoman still carrying on an affair with her ex-boyfriend; and Maribel, a rebellious teen falling in love with a young Brazilian. When a pushy, nosy, but very sexy widow named Hortensia comes along, the troublesome subcurrents in the family start to surface. Elizondo's understated gravitas anchors the story, while the three sisters have sex, eat amazing-looking food, and break plates in the kitchen.
True Whispers (Not Rated, 60 minutes) - Exploring the personal and heartfelt story of the Navajo Code Talkers, this program tells the stories of the young Navajo men recruited from harsh government boarding schools into the Marines during World War II. From 1942-1945, the Code Talkers devised an unbreakable code in their native language and transmitted vital messages in the midst of combat against the Japanese.
Under the Same Moon (Rated PG-13, 106 minutes) - Under the Same Moon puts a human face on the dilemma of Mexican "illegals" living and working clandestinely in the United States and the loved ones back home they're supporting. Rosario, a young single parent, left her village four years ago and jumped the border to find work in Los Angeles; ever since, she and son Carlitos, now nine, haven't seen each other, but she faithfully calls him from the same street-corner pay phone every Sunday morning. When Rosario's mother--the boy's guardian--dies in her sleep, Carlitos taps into an impressive reservoir of street smarts and contrives his own border crossing. The border is just the first of many obstacles to a mother-and-child reunion--not least the fact that the only address the boy has for Rosario is a mental image of the corner she always phones from.
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The (Rated PG, 110 minutes) - A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in the year of 1970, where both world cup and dictatorship happen in Brazil.
Young @ Heart (Rated PG, 107 minutes) - Get ready to rock out with the most entertaining "golden oldies" you will ever meet, a fun-loving senior citizen’s choir called To prepare for a show in their hometown that is only weeks away, the lovable seniors must learn a slate of new songs, ranging from James Brown to Coldplay. The chorus’ tireless musical director leads the group through a series of hilariously chaotic rehearsals, proving that hard rock can be hard work — especially when you’re hard of hearing! Climaxing in a triumphant performance that will leave you cheering, their inspiring story celebrates the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the life-affirming power of music!
