#BlackLivesMatter documentary now available streaming

Films on Demand is a useful database for finding documentaries on a range of subjects, from the environment to teaching math. Now you can add timely social issues to that list as well: you can now stream #BlackLivesMatter, one of the first feature-length documentaries produced about the ongoing protests of racial inequality and police violence.

This is (at least as far as I know) the first documentary in our collection about the Black Lives Matter protests. Although there have been countless critical essays and videos on the topic, this succinct, powerful documentary captures snapshots of the protests around the country and and contextualizes them with history and stories from protestors.

We recommend previewing this film if you're teaching, learning, or just curious about the movement. Video can chronicle social change better than any words, and a well-produced documentary like #BlackLivesMatter is an especially great example.

Watch HBO documentaries for free through Films On Demand

from Citizen U.S.A.

You probably know HBO for Game of Thrones and their other hit shows, but they're also known as a powerhouse of prestigious documentaries, like the Academy Award-winning Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.

Films On Demand just signed a deal with HBO to stream their collection of documentary films, and as part of the AU community, you can watch them for free! Follow this link to the HBO section of the Films On Demand website to see what all they have. Notable titles include the veterans stories of Alive Day Memories, Arab Spring documentary In Tahrir Square, citizenship road trip Citizen U.S.A., and a look at the life of a single mother in Paycheck to Paycheck. (And don't forget When the Levees Broke!)

These are great film – not just to watch for your own enjoyment, but for coursework and scholarship. HBO documentaries have great educational value, and using one is a fun, productive way to mix up a presentation or research.

Films on Demand gets bigger. Try the new content, send us your feedback!

We've previously talked about Films on Demand, a streaming video database we subscribe to that contains thousands of documentaries on seemingly every subject. Although a few of them come from big distributors like Discovery or History, they're mostly smaller affairs. Color us excited that Films on Demand is expanding its offerings to include feature films – and, most notably, the Eyes on the Prize documentary series.

Firstly, Films on Demand has offered us a trial of their new World Cinema database. It includes works by major directors from the earlier days of film, including Kurosawa, Eisenstein, Hitchcock, Chaplin, and more. We haven't yet committed to subscribing to the full version of this database, but it is by far one of the biggest and most substantive we've ever taken a look at. Please take a look at what it has to offer, and if you can see yourself using it in the future, please email your thoughts to our Media Librarian Chris Lewis (clewis@american.edu).

Secondly, and perhaps most excitingly to our many faculty members who use the series, PBS's Eyes on the Prize is now available in its entirety through the main Films on Demand database. Eyes on the Prize is the definitive documentary about the civil rights movement, and its fourteen parts are frequently used for history courses. Eyes on the Prize has been borderline out-of-print for many years, and its release on streaming platforms is enormously exciting given its previous troubled release history.

These are both big additions from Films on Demand, and we can't wait to see what they have in store next. It's hard to beat It's a Wonderful Life and His Girl Friday on demand, though.

New Films on Demand titles - January 2013

Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, has once again added hundreds of new titles available to watch instantly. Their collection is far-reaching, including everything from newsreel footage to informational health videos. Here are a few highlights from the newest batch.

The Difference Between a Cold and the Flu (2011, 2 min.)
So what’s the difference between cold and flu? Most people have a general idea that they are different, but when pressed have a hard time really saying what the difference is.

There Once Was an Island: The Devastating Effects of Climate Change (2010, 80 min.)
The people on a remote Pacific island face the devastating effects of climate change. As an enormous flood threatens to engulf their paradise, who will decide to flee and leave their culture behind forever? And who will stay, hoping that God will save them?
   
Sex and the Wailing Wall: The Battle of the Sexes at the Holiest of Sites (2011, 45 min.)
A band of brave Jewish women is fighting back for the right to raise their voices at the Wailing Wall. The holy site is the most potent symbol for Jews. But it is dominated by the ultra-Orthodox, who seek to maintain segregation of the sexes and limit the rights of women who want to pray there. This documentary tells how a group of women is challenging the iron grip of the reactionaries and demanding reform.

USA: Soldiers of Conscience (2008, 54 min.)
A U.S. Army study conducted after World War II revealed that a surprisingly large number of combat troops failed to fire on the enemy when given the chance to do so. It became clear that whether a soldier pulled the trigger or not, most wrestled with their conscience either during the event or afterward. In this program a group of American soldiers, some who were able to kill with few qualms and some who have become conscientious objectors, discuss their positions on warfare.

Clouds Are Not Spheres: The Introduction of Fractal Geometry (2009, 51 min.)
Until recently geometry was incapable of describing the irregular shape of a cloud, the slope of a mountain, or the beauty of the human body. With fractal geometry, however, Benoit Mandelbrot introduced a language able to describe our natural world. In this captivating documentary, he explains this groundbreaking discovery

New Films on Demand titles - October 2012

Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, continues to surprise with the size and breadth of its collection. The service just added in excess of 450 streaming videos to its database that you can view from on- or off-campus. Though they aren't yet in the library catalog, they can all be accessed from the Films on Demand website. A few highlights include...

Last of the Giants: Medical Mysteries, Series 1 (2001, 50 min.)
Giants are not just the stuff of myth and legend; they are real people, and their condition is caused by a medical disorder that can now be treated. John Paul Ofwono of Uganda is currently the tallest man in the world. Though that makes him a celebrity in his country, he urgently needs treatment for acromegaly, the condition that now threatens his life. Acromegaly is caused by a disorder of the pituitary gland that causes it to produce excessive amou­nts of growth hormone. It is likely the same condition that made the biblical Goliath such a huge man. The program features famous giants and several young people who would have died in early middle age, but who have now been successfully treated.

Student Speeches for Analysis, Volume 1 (2005, 105 min.)
By observing and analyzing some of the best and worst speech techniques, students are encouraged to examine their own speeches more critically. A supplement to any speech textbook, this first volume examines introductions plus informative and persuasive speeches.
   
The Foolish Wise Ones (1957, 35 min.)
This classic program focuses on the savant syndrome, telling the story of three severely mentally handicapped people. Each possesses an extraordinary talent—for playing music, creating art, or remembering dates. Noel Patterson is autistic and requires constant care, yet he is an exceptional pianist and can reproduce almost any music effortlessly. David Kidd has an IQ of only 68, but he is an expert in the recondite mathematics of calculating the calendar. Although Stephen Wiltshire is mentally challenged, he draws remarkable pen-and-ink likenesses of buildings from memory. The savant syndrome was first identified by a 19th-century French psychologist, who referred to these remarkable individuals as the “foolish wise ones.”

Plastics: Quirky Science (2011, 30 min.)
Plastic has become ubiquitous—impressive, since we’d been living without it for centuries! Can you imagine that plastic was invented accidentally—for the purpose of making billiard balls? This program investigates the history of plastic: from the first plastic—discovered when someone witnessed how Southeast Asian farmers used the poop of a little beetle, called shellac, to preserve wood—to Dupont's development of nylon, the first synthetic material to replace silk. But plastic is made with oil and is hard to break down. See how a U.S.-based company is creating a bioplastic grown inside microorganisms. Plastic grown in the field? Now that is quirky! Part of the series Quirky Science.

Off the Grid: American Communities in the Wake of the Financial Crisis (2011, 75 min.)
Crafting a unified response to economic turmoil is no easy task at the federal level, but towns and cities across the U.S. have faced the aftermath of the 2008 recession in ways that are quick, innovative, and authentic. Their methods, while not always successful, offer a wealth of teaching points for studies in civics, economics, sociology, and political science. In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a new local currency circulates. In Austin, Texas, big corporations and the federal government alike have triggered community opposition. And in Colorado Springs, the link between an anti-tax philosophy and a lack of city services becomes all too evident. The film also looks at symptoms of the recession seen in America’s broader infrastructure and society—such as declining roads and highways, decaying buildings, and swelling homeless populations.

New Films on Demand titles - September 2012

Great news for students and faculty: Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, has added the collections of California Newsreel to its catalog. California Newsreel is one of the oldest and most reputable social documentary groups. You might recognize them for producing Race: The Power of an Illusion, a documentary frequently used for classes at AU.

A few notable titles include...

The Language You Cry In (1998, 52 min.)
Spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles, this program recounts the remarkable saga of how a nursery rhyme sung by the Gullah people of present-day Georgia was confirmed to be of African origin. When 18th-century slavers sent human cargo from Sierra Leone to America’s coastal South, they also sent a trove of cultural information that had been passed from Mende mothers to their daughters for generations—including a particular song that had been carefully preserved because it was used in funeral rites. With the help of anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, linguists, and the singers themselves, the “nonsense lyrics” of the song found in Georgia were identified as those of the Mende dirge. Portions in other languages with English subtitles.

This is Nollywood (2007, 56 min.)
First came Hollywood, then Bollywood, and now Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry, which released 2,000 feature features in 2006 alone. This program explains why Nigerian film production, little known outside its own country until recently, is becoming recognized as a phenomenon with broad implications for the cultural and economic development of Africa. Offering an close look at the technical, economic, and social infrastructure of the industry, the film follows a typical shoot from first day to last, while the director, producer, actors, crew members, and notables from the industry describe how it all works and why they do it.

Color Adjustment (1991, 88 min.)
This award-winning documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Marlon Riggs takes a close look at how network television absorbed deep-seated racial conflict and transformed it into the nonthreatening offerings of 20th-century primetime TV. Narrated by Ruby Dee, the film examines popular programs such as Amos ‘n’ Andy, I Spy, Julia, Good Times, Roots, and The Cosby Show, weaving clips from the shows with news coverage of the civil rights movement. Esther Rolle, Diahann Carroll, Tim Reid and other black performers discuss the impact their acting roles had in shaping race relations. With Norman Lear (All in the Family, The Jeffersons), David Wolper (Roots), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and others.

New Films on Demand titles - August 2012

Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, recently added 225 new titles to its collection, including a large number of TED Talks. Since it would be silly to list every single one, here's a few highlights from their most recent batch...

FILMS ON DEMAND- New Titles by Subject ~ Two for one Friday

10,000 educational programs available for instant viewing online by AU students and faculty.
Films-On-Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform that makes it easy to incorporate educational programs from Films Media Group (FMG) into content management systems, online lesson plans, and distance learning courseware. FMG has been adding about 600 new titles per year. Nearly every FMG title available on the Films.com website can be accessed instantly.

part 3 Art & Architecture,  part 4 Communication

Action: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Animals: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Celebrations: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Gordon Parks: Visions
Subject: Art & Architecture

KieranTimberlake: Loblolly House and Cellophane House
Subject: Art & Architecture

Kiki Smith: Squatting the Palace
Subject: Art & Architecture

Landscape: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Portraits: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Rick Joy: Interludes
Subject: Art & Architecture

Steven Holl: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Bloch Building
Subject: Art & Architecture

Studio Gang Architects: Aqua Tower
Subject: Art & Architecture

Travel: How to Take Stunning Photos
Subject: Art & Architecture

Vincent Scully: An Art Historian among Architects
Subject: Art & Architecture

Great Thinkers: Culture Wars
Subject: Art & Architecture, Communication, History, Philosophy & Religion, Sociology

Communication

100 Years of Hollywood: Carl Laemmle and Universal Studios
Subject: Communication

As Seen on TV: Rise of the Infomercial
Subject: Communication

CNBC Titans: Ted Turner
Subject: Communication

Modern Marvels: Motion Picture
Subject: Communication

Traditional Print and Online Advertising
Subject: Communication

American Sign Language: Greetings, The Alphabet, and More-American Sign Language, Level 1
Subject: Communication, Education

American Sign Language: Numbers, Money, and More-American Sign Language, Level 1
Subject: Communication, Education

Great Thinkers: The Grand Experiment
Subject: Communication, History, Philosophy & Religion, Sociology

Waves of Liberty
Subject: Communication, History, Political Science

Planet of the Apps: A Handheld Revolution
Subject: Communication, Sociology

PressPausePlay: The Digital Revolution and the Changing Creative Landscape
Subject: Communication, Sociology

Rethinking Work
Subject: Communication, Sociology

Tabloid! Inside the New York Post
Subject: Communication, Sociology

FILMS ON DEMAND- New Titles by Subject

10,000 educational programs available for instant viewing online by AU students and faculty.
Films-On-Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform that makes it easy to incorporate educational programs from Films Media Group (FMG) into content management systems, online lesson plans, and distance learning courseware. FMG has been adding about 600 new titles per year. Nearly every FMG title available on the Films.com website can be accessed instantly.

part 2  Area Studies

 

Lessons of the Blood: Unit 731 and the Legacy of Biological Warfare
Subject: Area Studies, Criminal Justice, History

Hard Beginnings: The New School Semester in Rural China-Chinese School
Subject: Area Studies, Education, Geography, Sociology, World Languages

Loved Ones: Home for the Holidays in Rural China-Chinese School
Subject: Area Studies, Education, Geography, Sociology, World Languages

Olympic Fever: Sports Day in Rural China-Chinese School
Subject: Area Studies, Education, Geography, Sociology, World Languages

The Heat Is On: Preparing for Entrance Exams in Rural China-Chinese School
Subject: Area Studies, Education, Geography, Sociology, World Languages

The Year of the Golden Pig: Three Schools in Rural China-Chinese School
Subject: Area Studies, Education, Geography, Sociology, World Languages0

Lost Cities of the South: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Subject: Area Studies, Geography

The Holy Land: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Subject: Area Studies, Geography

The Road to Timbuktu: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Subject: Area Studies, Geography

The Slave Kingdoms: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Subject: Area Studies, Geography

The Swahili Coast: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Subject: Area Studies, Geography

Beijing: Biography of an Imperial Capital-Center of the Cosmos
Subject: Area Studies, Geography, History

Nixon's Address on Watergate, 1973
Subject: Area Studies, History, Political Science

Richard Nixon's Visit to China, 1972
Subject: Area Studies, History, Political Science

Interview with Liu Xiaobo: On Fear, Free Speech, and Optimism
Subject: Area Studies, History, Political Science, Sociology

Because We Were Beautiful: Indonesian Comfort Women Tell Their Stories
Subject: Area Studies, History, Sociology

Immigrants in America, 1970
Subject: Area Studies, History, Sociology

Nel: Return to Kabul
Subject: Area Studies, Philosophy & Religion, Sociology

Not in God's Name: In Search of Tolerance with the Dalai Lama
Subject: Area Studies, Philosophy & Religion, Sociology

China: The Rebirth of an Empire
Subject: Area Studies, Political Science, Sociology

FILMS ON DEMAND- New Titles by Subject

10,000 educational programs available for instant viewing online by AU students and faculty.
Films-On-Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform that makes it easy to incorporate educational programs from Films Media Group (FMG) into content management systems, online lesson plans, and distance learning courseware. FMG has been adding about 600 new titles per year. Nearly every FMG title available on the Films.com website can be accessed instantly.

part 1  Anthropology

The Human Spark, with Alan Alda—Part 1, Becoming Us
Subject: Anthropology

The Human Spark, with Alan Alda—Part 2, So Human, So Chimp
Subject: Anthropology

Thinking in Symbols
Subject: Anthropology

Bitter and Sweet: Beauty, Humor, and Harmony in Australia's Indigenous Art

Subject: Anthropology, Art & Architecture, Sociology

Dreams and Nightmares: Memory and the Spirit World in Australia's Indigenous Art
Subject: Anthropology, Art & Architecture, Sociology

Home and Away: Issues of Displacement in Australia's Indigenous Art
Subject: Anthropology, Art & Architecture, Sociology

Bugs, Bones, and Botany: The Science of Crime
Subject: Anthropology, Criminal Justice

The Knights of Camelot
Subject: Anthropology, English & Language Arts

Myths and Legends of Lost Civilizations
Subject: Anthropology, English & Language Arts, History

Arthur: The Once and Future King
Subject: Anthropology, History

The Search for Shangri-La

Subject: Anthropology, History

The Blue Lily: Flower Power? Sacred Weeds
Subject: Anthropology, History, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology

Henbane: The Witches Brew? Sacred Weeds
Subject: Anthropology, History, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology, Sociology

Salvia Divonorum: Sacred Weeds
Subject: Anthropology, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology

This Is Our Country Too: Questioning Australia's Intervention Laws
Subject: Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

Applied Psychology

John Dewey: An Introduction to His Life and Work
Subject: Applied Psychology, Education, Philosophy & Religion

Barney Rosset, First Amendment crusader, dies

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 22, 2012 at 4:49 PM ET (New York Times)

NEW YORK (AP) — Barney Rosset was a publisher, not an author, and struggled for decades to write the story of his brave and wild life. But few over the past 60 years had so profound an impact on the way we read today. Read more

Check out these films about the late Barney Rosset:

Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press - DVD 5707
Forbidden Reading - Streaming Video (To view this complete video online you must have a current American University ID*)

*Access title through the ALADIN Catalog. Do not use "View Full Title" button in the widget.


Click Streaming Video link and the click 'Click here to access streaming video' to authenticate and view the steaming video.

Films on Demand - New titles added!

New titles from Films Media Group have been added to the following Films on Demand streaming collections. A few of the films are highlighted below:

Humanities & Social Sciences Collection – 96 new titles

DNA: Secret of Photo 51 - Streaming video

One of the greatest scientific achievements of the 20th century was the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. James Watson and Francis Crick published their findings on April 25, 1953, but it’s been revealed that their crucial breakthrough depended on the work of another biologist, Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray image, “Photo 51” held the vital clue to decode the double helix. This program from NOVA reveals the shocking truth of this DNA discovery and details how close Franklin came to making the discovery herself. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (56 minutes)

Business & Economics Collection – 22 new titles

Suze Orman for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke – Streaming video

In her inimitable straight-talking style, financial advisor and best-selling author, Suze Orman provides powerful, insightful, and often surprising guidelines for actions that can help young men and women at perhaps the most critical financial time of their lives—getting started. Ms. Orman understands the financial realities of today and believes this generation has the grit to deal with these problems. She provides powerful, real-world advice on exactly how to succeed in today's economic environment. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (85 minutes)

Secret History of the Credit Card – Streaming video

The average American family today carries 10 credit cards. With credit card debt and personal bankruptcies now at an all time high, this episode of Frontline examines how the credit card industry became so pervasive, so lucrative, and so powerful. The program investigates why there were no legal limits on the amount of interest or fees that can be charged and how credit cards have become the most profitable sector of the American banking industry, with more than $30 billion in profits in a single year. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (60 minutes)

Science and Mathematics Collection – 27 new titles

Genetic Engineering – Streaming video

It’s one of the greatest breakthroughs in scientific history, but genetic engineering has also brought disturbing new questions. Should we push genetic research to its absolute limit, exploiting every discovery? What are the consequences of intervening in nature’s processes at their most fundamental level? Outlining the potential benefits of genetic engineering, such as the treatment or cure of hereditary diseases and the creation of better, more efficient crops, this program also explores the moral dilemma over cloning and the controversy that surrounds stem-cell research. Viewers encounter both secular and religious perspectives in those debates—which will only acquire greater urgency as the scientific frontier advances. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. Part of the series Medical Ethics: Real-World Applications. (19 minutes)

Health & Medicine Collection – 23 new titles

Moving on with Disabilities: Episode 1 (of 5) – Streaming video

This program presents a disability simulation in which an all-star football player learns to deal with some of the day-to-day physical challenges faced by single-arm amputees. In addition, two enabling activities are featured: golfing at a course designed specifically for wheelchair users, who compete using specialized clubs and adapted carts, and cruising on a motorcycle ingeniously customized for paraplegics. Also, the importance of wheelchair-friendly sidewalks and street crossings is stressed, and the DynaMyte touch screen communication device for people with speech impairments is demonstrated. (24 minutes)

Archival Films & Newsreels Collection – 2 new titles
The Big Picture: Pictorial Report No. 3 – Streaming video

This classic episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series takes viewers on a journey around the world in a mere half an hour, showing military police activities in Europe, helicopter activities in the Far East, and the latest in training methods within the Zone of Interior, aka the United States. This video from the National Archives and Records Administration presents these thrilling, informative scenes to American viewers so they understand how our Army is responding to events worldwide. (30 minutes)

Do a keyword search for “films on demand” from the Media Services homepage or go to the Films on Demand site and see what’s available.