{"id":92,"date":"2008-04-15T19:39:24","date_gmt":"2008-04-16T01:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/crawler\/2008\/04\/15\/great-films-for-sociology-classes\/"},"modified":"2014-04-21T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T17:55:03","slug":"great-films-for-sociology-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/2008\/04\/15\/great-films-for-sociology-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Films for Sociology Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: In January 2012, we caught up with Jessie Daniels for her latest picks in the best of the best documentaries, and got replies from several other professors representing different courses. Please check out the new lists! https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/specials\/documentaries\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are more items suggested by the commentors:<\/p>\n

Josh Page<\/a>, a professor of sociology (particularly law, crime, and deviance) at the University of Minnesota, sends in his Top Five list for teaching undergrad courses on the criminal justice system, noting \u201cThe \u2018reality\u2019 TV stuff about prison life is pretty much uniformly bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top Five Prison Documentaries for Crime and Punishment Courses<\/b><\/p>\n

1. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (2009)\u00a0http:\/\/sweetheartsoftheprisonrodeo.com\/<\/a>
\n2. The Dhamma Brothers (2008)\u00a0http:\/\/www.dhammabrothers.com\/<\/a>
\n3. The Farm (1998)\u00a0http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0139193\/<\/a>
\n4. Writ Writer (2008)\u00a0http:\/\/www.writwritermovie.com\/<\/a>
\n5. Ghosts of Attica (2001)\u00a0http:\/\/icarusfilms.com\/new2001\/gho.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Favorite Re-entry Documentary<\/b>
\nOmar and Pete (prison reentry) (2005)\u00a0http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/pov\/omarandpete\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another great friend of The Society Pages, Prof.\u00a0Andrew Lindner<\/a>\u00a0of Concordia College, Moorhead, writes in with his own favorite documentaries with teaching. He said he\u2019d have included \u201c49 Up,\u201d but since it had already been mentioned, these are his next Top Five, culled from the film series he puts on every semester at Concordia:<\/p>\n

But I do a film series every semester on campus, so here are a few not mentioned:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cManufactured Landscapes<\/a>\u201d (2006), based on the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky, it has some unbelievable footage from Chinese factories. Great for teaching about globalization and capitalism.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cParadise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills<\/a>\u201d (1996) \u2013 a classic documentary on the (now recently freed) West Memphis Three. A powerful and disturbing illustration of stigma and social control.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cThe War Room<\/a>\u201d (1993) \u2013 an insider\u2019s look into Bill Clinton\u2019s path to victory in the 1992 primaries. I use this in my \u201cPolitical Sociology\u201d course to talk about rhetoric, political strategy, and political professionals.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cFlow: For Love of Water<\/a>\u201d (2008) \u2013 a terrifying documentary on our dwindling water supply and how it is owned and managed by corporations for profit. Great for discussions of capitalism, privatization, or environmental sociology.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cSecret of the Wild Child<\/a>\u201d (1994) \u2013 an outstanding PBS\/Nova documentary on feral children, particularly the famous Genie case mentioned in almost every sociology text. Challenges many students assumptions about socialization.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nathan Palmer shares:<\/p>\n

This is such a great idea and I\u2019d like to thank TSP and Jessie Daniels for doing this. Resources like this and\u00a0The Sociological Cinema<\/a>\u00a0make finding great videos for our classes so much easier. Thanks for taking the lead on this and for allowing the rest of us to share.<\/p>\n

My Top Five Documentaries.<\/p>\n

Race The Power of an Illusion Pvert 3: The House We Live In (2003)<\/a>
\nMy favorite film to show how historic and institutional racial discrimination is affecting us to this day. It does a great job connecting whiteness to citizenship and explaining red lining\/block busting. I use it in my 101s and race & ethnicity classes.
\nThe Color of Fear (1994)<\/a>
\nAn oldie, but a goodie. The film is a recording of 9 men of different racial ethnic backgrounds talking candidly about race. My only critique of the film is there are no women included and multiple racial groups are left out as well.<\/p>\n

Food Inc. (2008)<\/a>
\nMore than anything I want my students in my environmental sociology class to understand how social inequality and environmental degradation are connected. The portion of this film dedicated to the mistreatment of farmers, factory workers, and the animals\/land they use is priceless.
\nThe Battle for Whiteclay (2008)<\/a>
\nThis independent film documents how 4 liquor stores in Whiteclay, NE (a town of 14 people) sell 12,500 cans of beer a day. The off-sale liquor stores take advantage of their proximity to the Pine Ridge Reservation, who banned alcohol sales and possession on their lands. Despite there being no legal place for the 12,500 cans to be consumed (Whiteclay only has off-sale establishments) there have been nearly no arrests while the liquor dealers make millions of dollars annually. The video is an excellent example of government corruption, exploitation, and selective law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Inside Job (2010)<\/a>
\nThe 2008 credit crisis is a perfect example of how changes at the institutional level have a cascading affect all the way down to the individual. It also gets at how social problems are socially constructed. This film more than any other explains the complex crisis in a way that is approachable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

From Sarah Lageson:<\/p>\n

One site I have relied on for seeking out sociologically relevant videos is\u00a0Sociology at the Movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I also think a neat project for students in food or labor-related courses is to view Edward R. Murrow\u2019s\u00a0Harvest of Shame<\/a>, then view a selection of contemporary documentaries that highlight how little has changed since 1961. Some really great documentaries include:<\/p>\n

American Harvest<\/a>,<\/p>\n

The Harvest\/La Cosecha<\/a>,<\/p>\n

and\u00a0New Harvest, Old Shame<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carolyn Liebler says:<\/p>\n

I often use movie clips in introduction to sociology when introducing a set of theories or concepts. Students use the movie clips to pull out examples of each theory\/concept. They appreciate the chance to apply sociology to their regular lives.<\/p>\n

For example, I show a short clip from:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0Little Miss Sunshine<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 for students to pick out examples of material culture, non-material culture, subculture, counterculture, face and face work, front stage, and back stage behavior.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0Wedding Crashers<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 as a way to apply the following theories of deviance: rational choice, labeling theory, differential association theory, and obligatory action.<\/p>\n

3) The beginning of\u00a0Ghostbusters<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to apply the three major tenets of ethical research methods<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0Fiddler on the Roof<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to play \u201cspot that social institution!\u201d and talk about how social institutions are interrelated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dedicated friend-to-TSP Joe Soss\u00a0sends in this list of his Top 5:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0At the River I Stand<\/a>
\n2.\u00a0Merchants of Cool<\/a>
\n3.\u00a0Occupation: Dreamland<\/a>
\n4.\u00a0Stonewall Uprising<\/a>
\n5.\u00a0Inside Job<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And one from a student, Thom Friend:<\/p>\n

College student here, taking courses on media & gender. Some of my favorite documentaries we have viewed in the classroom:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture
\n\u2013 The Mickey Mouse Monopoly
\n\u2013 Iron Jawed Angels (Dramatization of the Women\u2019s Suffrage Movement)
\n\u2013 Tough Guise: Men and Masculinity in Media
\n\u2013 Further Off the Straight & Narrow
\n\u2013 Makers (PBS)<\/p>\n

Then some of my personal recommendations:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Zeitgeist: Moving Forward
\n\u2013 Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky
\n\u2013 Forks Over Knives<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What makes students happier than watching movies during class time? — A new blog post provides some beneficial guidance in selecting films for specific sociological topics.<\/p>\n

A recent update to the blog titled ‘Thinking at the Interface<\/a>‘ provides a thorough and exemplary list of films to use in sociology classes. The list is organized around common themes of introductory sociology courses including the sociological imagination, research methods, race, ethnicity, and gender, just to name a few!<\/p>\n

Link to the list…\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: In January 2012, we caught up with Jessie Daniels for her latest picks in the best of the best documentaries, and got replies from several other professors representing different courses. Please check out the new lists! https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/specials\/documentaries\/ Here are more items suggested by the commentors: Josh Page, a professor of sociology (particularly law, crime, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39074],"tags":[39112,129,144],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sightings","tag-culture","tag-media","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4874,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions\/4874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}