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Stay Informed - Political Issue Documentaries
From partisan politics to warfare, from candidates to activists, learn more about U.S. politics and policies. These DVDs and videos are available in the Educational Film section on the 2nd floor of the library. The Adult Reference Librarians will be happy to place any that are checked out on reserve for you. Looking for more? Besides political films, we have documentaries and historical films, travelogues, and a vast array of home-improvement titles.
- VCV / 974.71 / NIN
9/11: the Filmmakers’
Commemorative Edition
Two film makers were making
a documentary about a NYC
firefighter when they captured
the moment the first plane hit
the World Trade towers on 9/
11/2001. This is their powerful
and moving record of the events
at “ground zero” during and
after the terrorist attacks.
- DVD / 323.0973 / ACL
The ACLU Freedom Files
This series from the ACLU tells
the stories of ordinary
Americans whose civil
liberties were threatened and
what they did to fight for their
rights on critical issues from
religious freedom to free
speech.
- DVD / 324.7 / ANY
Anytown, USA
This humorous film scrutinizes
increasingly polarized partisan politics
as they play out in a tight race for
mayor in the small town of Bogota,
NJ. Featuring a wildly unpopular
Republican incumbent, a Democrat
whose politics are compared to Tony
Soprano, a former local football hero,
and Jesse Ventura’s campaign
manager, this race was one to watch.
- DVD / 320.973 / BIG /
The Big Buy: Tom DeLay’s Stolen
Congress
Take a look at the criminal
investigation of Texas Congressman
Tom DeLay on campaign fund-raising
charges and his efforts to redraw the
state’s Congressional districts.
- DVD / 973.931 / BUS
Bush’s Brain
Examine political consultant Karl Rove
and his influence on President George
W. Bush’s campaign, election, and
administration.
- DVD / 070.4333 / CON
VCV / 070.4333 / CON
Control Room
Take a look inside the Arab world’s
most popular news outlet, Al Jazeera,
for a rare opportunity to see how U.S.
involvement in Iraq is seen from an
international perspective.
- DVD / 364.66 / DEA
Deadline
Explore the divisive issue of the death
penalty by investigating whether it is
possible for the legal system to protect
innocent people from being wrongly
convicted. The focus here is on a 2002
investigation initiated by former
Illinois Governor George Ryan after 3
men on Illinois death row were shown
to be innocent.
- DVD / 956.70443 / GRO
The Ground Truth
Described as “searing” and
“unflinching”, this film follows young
American servicemen and women as
they face the horror of combat in Iraq
and the challenges they face upon
returning home to loved ones and to
a society that cannot comprehend
their experiences.
- DVD / 973.931 / FAH
Fahrenheit 9/11
Controversial documentary film maker
Michael Moore examines the Bush
administration and its reaction to the
terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001. Whether you agree with his
assertions or not, this film is
provocative and often bitingly funny.
- DVD / 973.931 / FAH
Fahrenhype 9/11: Uncovering
the Truth about Michael Moore’s
Fahrenheit 9/11
This film challenges and attempts to
refute the allegations about the Bush
administration made by Michael
Moore in his film Fahrenheit 9/11
from a politically conservative
perspective. It features many
prominent conservative commentators,
such as Ann Coulter and
Dick Morris.
- VCV / 331.62 / FAR
Farmingville
The issue of illegal immigration tore
apart the suburban community of
Farmingville, NY, reaching a head
when two white men murdered two
Mexican day laborers in 2000. This
Sundance Special Jury Prize
documentary chronicles the rising
tensions that led to the crime and its
aftermath.
- VCV / 973.92 / FOG
Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the
Life of Robert S. McNamara
This Oscar winning film by Errol
Morris examines the life and times of
Robert S. McNamara, the United
States Secretary of Defense under
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In
extensive interviews, McNamara talks
about lessons he learned from his
involvement in the Vietnam conflict.
- DVD / 973.931 / HIJ
Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear,
and the Selling of American Empire
The film makers investigate the idea
that the fear of terrorism following the
attacks of 9/11 has been used to
promote a specific political agenda by
the Bush admin-istration and their
political allies.
- DVD / 956.704432 / IMP
Imperial Grand Strategy
The controversial activist and
intellectual Noam Chomsky takes on
American domestic and foreign
policy, the war in Iraq, and the Patriot
Act in two lectures and an interview.
- DVD / 956.70443 / IRA
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
Learn about the private corporations
which gain huge profits from the
reconstruction of Iraq and the issues
that this raises for the individuals
affected and the policy makers who
make the decisions.
- DVD / 956.70443 / IRA
Iraq in fragments
Meet Iraqi civilians whose everyday
have been impacted by the conflicts
that have ravaged their country.
- DVD / 302.234 / MAN
VCV / 302.234 / MAN
Manufacturing
Consent: Noam
Chomsky and
the Media
Noam Chomsky, linguist
and political
activist, scrutinizes
corporate media and
what he sees as its role in modern
political propaganda in this classic
(and controversial) documentary.
- DVD / 956.70443 / NO
No End in Sight
This insider look at military decisions made
by the United States after the 2003 fall of
Baghdad argues that these choices led
directly to the violence, insurgency, and
chaos that has marked US involvement in
Iraq over the last five years.
- DVD / 972.87 / PAN
VCV / 972.87 / PAN
The Panama
Deception
This film explores the
1989 invasion
of Panama by the
United States and it’s
coverage in the media, arguing that
the invasion was based on American
need to control the region rather than
to protect democracy. This controversial
film won the Academy Award
for Documentary Feature in 1992.
- DVD / 325.73 / PAT
Patrolling the Border: National
Security and Immigration Reform
This Frontline special assesses how the
threat of terrorism affects U.S. immigration
policy and the policing of the border
between Mexico and the United States.
- DVD / 320.97461 / SEE
See How They Run
This insider look at
campaign politics
observes the 1999 San
Francisco mayor race
between incumbent
Willie Brown and a
popular write-in candidate,
gay stand up
comedian Tom Amianno. A David vs.
Goliath campaign ensues, full of mudslinging,
media battles, and absurdities
unique to San Francisco.
- DVD / 320/973 / PAR
The Party’s Over
Join Philip Seymour Hoffman as he
examines the state of American
democracy while following the last
months of the 2000 presidential
campaign. Take a unique look at
American political processes and what
differences there are, if any, between
our two major parties.
- DVD / B / OBAMA, Barack
Senator
Obama
goes to
Africa
In this timely
documentary,
candidate
Obama visits
Kenya—the
homeland of his father—and
other countries in Africa. Obama
documents his travels, commenting
on the impact of Africa
on U.S. interests and on how
Africa affects him personally.
- DVD / 342.73085 / UNC
Unconstitutional: the War on our
Civil Liberties
This movie examines the USA Patriot
Act and offers a persuasive argument
on how it has eroded civil liberties that
are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
It is a third in a series, following
Unprecedented: the 2000 Presidential
Election and Uncovered: The Whole
Truth about the Iraq War.
- DVD / 956.70443 / UNC
Uncovered: the War on Iraq
Watch interviews with experts and
with United States officials which
together deconstruct the Bush
administration’s rationale for going to
war against Iraq after the terrorist
attacks of 9/11.
- DVD / 956.70443 / WAR
The War Tapes
Perhaps the first war
documentary filmed
by soldiers on the
ground, this effort
captures a unique
look at the frontlines
of the Iraq war from
the perspective of
those involved first hand in combat.
- DVD / 956.70443 / WHY
Why We Fight
This Sundance Grand Jury Prize
winning film uses personal narratives
and military insider commentary to
explore the political, economical, and
ideological forces that drive the United
States into military conflicts.
