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The Reel Culture Film and Speaker Series (Wednesdays)

Presented by Houston Community College - Northwest at Houston Community College - NW (Spring Branch/Town & Country Campus)

February 18-April 8, 2009

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HCC Northwest presents The Reel Culture Film and Speaker Series.

This series headlines with prominent speakers and intriguing films meant to inform and motivate people to think more critically about their surroundings.  Speakers and film showing take place in the Eagle Room of the Town & Country Campus every Wednesday unless otherwise specified.

Students, faculty, staff, and the community are invited to attend.

Schedule of Events:
February 18th - “Growing Up In the United States”
Wednesday @ 11:15 a.m. & 12:45 p.m.

Film: 2 MILLION MINUTES (54 minutes)
Education Crisis? How do we compare? How do students in three global superpowers - China, India and the United States - spend the 2 million minutes from the completion of 8th grade to High School graduation? See students from these countries as they prepare for their futures. What are the implications for 2025?
http://www.2mminutes.com/about.asp

Film: CONSUMING KIDS (67 minutes)
“Children today are plagued by a variety of ills, from violence to hyper-sexualization to obesity to rampant materialism…Watching this movie will open the eyes of everyone who cares about children to the disturbing new realities of our consumer culture.” Tim Kasser -The High Price of Materialism “the best possible parent education product” - Mary Pipher - Author of Reviving Ophelia
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=134

February 25th - “Health & Culture”
Wednesday @ 11:15 a.m. & 12:45 p.m.

Film: SICK AROUND THE WORLD (60 minutes)
Reform in U.S. Healthcare: an urgent economic and policy issue. Can the U.S. learn anything from the rest of the world about how to run the health care system? Five capitalist systems and how they do it. (United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Switzerland).
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

Film: UNNATURAL CAUSES (55 minutes)
Why is Health more than health care, individual behaviors and “genes”. How do childhood poverty, racial discrimination, and social spending to benefit children and families effect population health outcomes. How does the United States with over $1 trillion dollars spent on medical care each year compare with other industrialized countries?
http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/

March 4th - “African Burial Ground & National Historic Landmark”
Wednesday @ 12:45 p.m.

Speaker: CHRISTOPHER MOORE
Film: African Burial Ground History: An American Discovery (40 minutes)
Dr. Moore will give an update of the ABG project and the background of events surrounding its discovery in 1991 as the oldest (late 1600s to 1796) and largest African descendant cemetery excavated in North America. It is estimated that from 10,000 to 20,000 first-generation African Americans were buried there. What are the social issues involved and how did the project move from discovery to National Historic Landmark?

Professor Michael Botson will introduce Dr. Moore and relate archaeological sites of historical significance in the African-American experience in Texas.

March 11th - “Movie Makers Academy Awards: Northwest College Student Films”
Wednesday @ 12:45 p.m.

Professor: Rick Harrington & Student Film-Makers
Recognizing and showcasing the work of students in the Northwest College Film-making Program.

March 25th - “War & Peace”
Wednesday @ 11:15 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.

Film: WHY WE FIGHT (99 minutes)
Why did President Dwight Eisenhower warn that our military establishment of today (1961) was unlike that of the past. This provocative film explores what “Ike” described as “the military- industrial complex.” Is war good business? Introduced by Professor Janice Greco - discussion follows.

Film: PEACE IS EVERY STEP: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (50 minutes)
The life and work of Vietnamese zen monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, from his upbringing in war torn East Asia, to his exile in France and his activity for peace worldwide and an introduction to the community he founded, Plum Village.

March 30th - “Film Screening- Meet the Film Maker”
MONDAY @ 11:00 a.m. (film) & 12:45 p.m. (speaker)

Film: BODY OF WAR (87 minutes)
Tomas Young is 25 years old, paralyzed from a bullet to his spine - wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week! This film presents the face of war as a naked and honest portrayal of what it’s like inside the body, heart and soul of this extraordinary and heroic young man and a critique of the political process that sanctioned the war. Winner of multiple awards including Best Documentary by National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
http://www.bodyofwar.com

Speaker: ELLEN SPIRO
Currently teaching “Film” at University of Texas, this award winning Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellow has created award-winning and imaginative documentaries including an Emmy Award for Are the Kids Alright? Spiro’s films have been shown in film festivals and broadcast on television worldwide on PBS, HBO, BBC, CBC (Canada) and NHK (Japan). She will speak about “making” the Body of War (with Phil Donahue).

April 8th - “The Public Commons: Access to Water/ Clean Air”
Wednesday @ 11:00 a.m. (film) & 1:00 p.m. (film & speaker)

Film: FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER (84 minutes)
The World Water Crisis is what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century. “Flow” takes us to Bolivia, South Africa, India, Michigan and beyond; and introduces us to issues of water wars, privatization, pollution and profit and the people who are being harmed by corporate tyrannies that are claiming the water of their land. Award-winning 2008.

Film & Speaker: FIGHTING GOLIATH: TEXAS COAL WARS (30 minutes)
Update with question & answer following film with Mr. Tom Smith, Texas Public Citizen Narrated by Robert Redford, the (2007) film follows the story of Texans fighting a high-stakes battle for clean air. Film centers around unlikely partners—mayors, ranchers, lawyers, cities, citizens, green groups, and CEO’s—who came together to oppose the construction of 18 coal-fired power plants in Texas. http://www.fightinggoliathfilm.com