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"Recommended. This effort by two educators, Howard Shelf
II and Phil Garcia, commemorates black history and refocuses the positives
in the rap genre." -Ed. Media Review Commemorates the accomplishments of African-Americans from the past to the present, including Benjamin Benneker, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Louis Armstrong and Muhammad Ali. Produced by Chip Taylor. 08DR PIJS 20 min. |
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"Highly Recommended. State Standards approved; this
program analyzes the divergent paths of the American people in the West from
1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced; it examines the
importance of the great rivers and the struggle over water rights; it also
analyzes emigrants in California." - California Learning Resource
Network (CLRN) The most famous emigrant with Swiss ties in California was John Sutter, whose arrival helped change the shape of American history, for it was the discovery of gold at his sawmill that launched the California Gold Rush. That discovery ended Sutter's dream of an agricultural empire, and he died a broken man in 1880. But as we see in this historical documentary, other pioneers from Switzerland also settled in this magnificent valley, as miners and dairymen, eventually colonizing the area, and helping turn it into the productive region it is today. Produced by TSI, Inc. 08DR JSCA 45 min. |
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Associated Article: Building the Bomb
-Smithsonian Magazine This classic documentary records the remembrances and views of the work of scientists who worked on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, NM, during WW II. Brings to issue how to deal with the innovations of science. Produced by Sky Fabin. 08DR/CL JSCA 30 min. |
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"Highly Recommended. Using contemporary on-location
footage, re-enactors, photographic and portrait stills this production is an
excellent look at the man, Robert Edward Lee. One historian has called him
"the Marble Man" more an icon to the South than a flesh and blood man. This
work gives us a look at his humanity. Presenting his family lineage (the
Lees were one of the oldest and most prominent Virginia families), their
history was very much intertwined with the early history of our country.
Lee's father was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, his wife the
step-granddaughter of George Washington. The visual, which is given context
by a narrator, character voices, and excellent commentary by a number of
historians among whom are James Robertson and James McPherson, is flawless.
Their commentary ranges from sympathetic to critical/politically correct.
What we see is that Lee was very much a man of his era and place in society
with all the attendant virtues and vices." -EMRO Review Associated Article: Making Sense of Robert E. Lee -Smithsonian Magazine This is the authoritative documentary on Robert E. Lee, the famed military leader of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Featuring the perspectives of America's leading Civil War historians, such as Pulitzer prize winner James M. McPherson, Gary W. Gallagher, James Robertson, Emory Thomas, and Holt Merchant, this program offers a sophisticated and accurate look at Lee's entire life and his resounding legacy; it goes far beyond the study of his well-documented military genius to explore the man from his boyhood to his adulthood as a husband, father, engineer, American soldier, college president, and peacemaker of the post-war years. Also original footage was shot at locations integral to Lee's life, including Stratford Hall, Alexandria, Shirley Plantation, Arlington House, Washington and Lee University, the city of Richmond, the United States Military Academy, Appomattox, Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry. Produced by Rubicon Productions. 08DR JSCA 90 min. Associated Program: Ely Parker (Seneca): Warrior in Two Worlds Associated Books: American Civil War and Atlas |
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CINE Golden Eagle Award Best Documentary -Parent's Choice Awards Gabriel Award -UNDA-USA EEN Award for Excellence -EEN Best Documentary -Telly Awards "Highly Recommended. This documentary fills an important gap in American history collections by documenting the life of a person who is not well known today. It is accurate and without bias, and gives detailed attention to Parker's life. It brings to light the impact of cultural differences in our society. It has a well-written narrative and good visuals. The narrator, Wes Studi, is a respected Native American actor who breathes life into the words." -EMRO Review "Highly Recommended. An interesting portrait of Ely Parker, a Native American who bridged his world and the world of the white man." -NAMTC & NMM Review Hosted and narrated by actor Wes Studi (Dances With Wolves), this is the compelling documentary on Ely Parker (Seneca), a 19th-Century Native American who defied racial barriers to succeed in two very different worlds. He was a Seneca Chief, a federal engineer, U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs and, as Civil War Secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant, he wrote down the terms of surrender at Appomattox. Yet his successes became tainted with controversy, and his quest for the American dream turned tragic. Soundtrack by Joanne Shenandoah. Produced by WXXI Public Broadcasting Council. 08DR/CC Closed-Captioned JSCA 52 min. Associated Program: Civil War 2: Robert E. Lee - Beyond the Battles |
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Associated Movie: Sleepy Hollow, starring
Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Miranda Richardson No tour of Tarrytown, NY, would be complete without visiting the Old Dutch Church, New York's oldest church, which dates back to 1685. Legend tells it is in this historic graveyard that the Headless Horseman, made famous in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, began his famous journey; also we tour the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where a number of famous people, such as Irving and Andrew Carnegie, are buried, to underscore the message of respecting cemeteries in general. Produced by Chip Taylor. 08DR IJSCA 20 min. Associated Program: Washington Irving: Behind "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow |
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"Highly Recommended! An exceptional achievement, this is
simply the best documentary on the Statue of Liberty ever made. It
illuminates the forgotten story of the Statue of Liberty like no other
program before it." -Barry Moreno, Author (The Statue of Liberty
Encyclopedia) and Historian, Statue of Liberty National Monument "Highly Recommended! This program has excellent production values with good early views of the construction of the statue in Paris, and the reassembling of it in New York Harbor. The more recent renovation of the structure is especially fascinating. Few programs are more loaded with interesting facts that most Americans probably don't know." -EMRO Review "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." are the words inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, borrowed from the sonnet, The New Colossus, by nineteenth century American poet Emma Lazarus. Today, this magnificent landmark is one of the most well known symbols of political freedom and democracy in the world. And while most people know it is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, and was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, there's a lot more to the history and enduring story of this important monument. This highly acclaimed documentary tells that remarkable and little known true story. Some of the fascinating secrets discovered include: how the idea for constructing a giant statue and giving it to the U.S. can be traced to a single dinner party near Versailles, France, in April of 1865. That the French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the guiding force behind the Statue, had never built anything taller than 12 feet high. That much of the money raised to build the Statute came via successful product licensing, using images of "Miss Liberty" to sell everything from life insurance to soap. That the Statue is made of thin sheets of copper, not much thicker than a penny; and that at the time of its construction, the 305 foot tall "Lady Liberty" was the tallest structure in the world. Produced in association with TLC, this is one colossal story every lover of liberty will want to see. Produced by Morningstar Entertainment, Inc. 07DR IJSCA 52 min. Associated Program: New York |
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Best Film Award -Telly
Awards "Stockdale's resistance to the Vietnamese was not awesome, it was legendary." -Captain Bill Butler, American POW (Ret.) The compelling story of Admiral James Stockdale's return to Vietnam, where he was held as a POW in Hanoi for seven-and-one-half years. Stockdale was America's highest-ranking POW. Produced by the Stanford Video Media Group. 08DR/CL JSCA 30 min. |
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1st Place: African-American
Topics -NYF&V Festival "Recommended. A stunning one-man performance that holds your attention from beginning to end." -Video Librarian Actor Charles Dumas portrays Booker T. Washington, who rose from being a slave, and the first African-American invited to the White House, to becoming the first president of the Tuskegee Institute. The award-winning, one-man play is based on Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery. 08DR IJSCA 60 min. |