Marx Reloaded

Did you know, May 5th would have been the 200th birthday of Karl Marx.

From our streaming collection, we recommend Marx Reloaded.

Our summary:

A cultural documentary that uses some of the central ideas of 19th century German socialist and philosopher Karl Marx to try to make sense of the global financial crisis of 2008-09. This crisis prompted the U.S. government to spend more than 1 trillion dollars in order to rescue its banking system from financial meltdown. But can the largest financial losses in history really be put down to the natural risks and uncertainties of the free market? Or is there another explanation as to why the crisis happened and what its implications are for the future of our society, our economy, for our whole way of life?

For true beginners, there's always the classic Marx for Beginners comic!

Get to know Docuseek2, now with new films!

Have you visited Docuseek2 lately? Do you know about Docuseek2? They've put up a whole slew of new content, so now is a good chance to introduce (or reintroduce) you to one of our most exciting streaming video partners. Docuseek2 streams films produced by Icarus Films and Bullfrog Films, two major distributors with a reputation for high-quality documentaries.

We recognize that large streaming video databases can be a little hit-or-miss sometimes, but Docuseek2 is special. Every film is worth watching. We certainly consider many of the films in Docuseek2 – including The Age of Stupid, King Corn, Detropia, and Goodbye Mubarak! – to be among the best in our collection. All of this is free to access if you are American University student, staff, or faculty. We always encourage you to explore our streaming video resources, but consider Docuseek2 a first stop for video in your research and instruction.

Docuseek2 is continuously adding new titles, and American University just gained access to a whole slew of them, like Nanjing, Code Gray, and How Putin Came to Power. You can see highlights from their newest acquisitions on their New Releases page (though several of these may not yet be available via American University's subscription).

This is definitely one of the best video resources accessible through the AU Library. We're very proud of our physical collection, but we also can't wait to see where Docuseek2 grows from here. Seriously consider looking into the new items in their streaming archives; we're certainly excited!

In the News: Behind Taliban Lines

To view the complete video online you must have a current American University ID.

Must-see online videos: Op Docs from the New York Times

Short-form documentaries by notable filmmakers both established and emerging covering a whole range topics from current affairs to historical subjects. The film that led me to the series was The Umbrella Man by Errol Morris. It's a short about the mysterious man holding the umbrella at the location and moment at Dealy Plaza when President Kennedy was assassinated. The explanation for the presence of this man will be a surprise to most but will hardly appease conspiracy buffs. Highly recommended viewing.

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.

Filmography - William Shakespeare

The Media Services contribution to the Library Subject Guides is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date holdings (including VHS tapes) please refer to the library ALADIN catalog (www.catalog.wrlc.org)

Most streaming videos listed are available exclusively to AU students, staff and faculty after an online authentications by AUID#.

Here’s a small sampling of what can be found in the WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Filmography:

All's well that ends well. 2000. 1 videodisc (141 min.). William Shakespeare's comedy about Helena, the new wife of Count Bertram, who resorts to chicanery to win the respect and affection of her husband. DVD 3191

All’s well that ends well. 1980. The complete dramatic works of William Shakespeare. 1 streaming video (142 min.). William Shakespeare’s comedy about Helena, the new wife of Count Bertram, who resorts to chicanery to win the respect and affection of her husband. Streaming video

Hamlet The Royal Shakespeare Company Production Starring David Tennant. 2009. 1 streaming video file (215 min.). Called the greatest Hamlet of his generationby Guardian reviewer Robert McCrum, Scottish actor David Tennant headlines this edgy film version of the acclaimed 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company stage production. Tennant is supported by a host of gifted players-including the impeccable Patrick Stewart as Claudius and Oliver Ford Davies in an astonishing performance as a doddering yet strangely leonine Polonius. Modern costumes, shrewd textual abridgements, and a recurring motif of high-tech video surveillance all connect the play to 21st-century anxieties, but these attributes in no way eclipse Tennant's forceful mixture of rage, sorrow, and manic humor. Original broadcast title: Hamlet. An Illuminations/Royal Shakespeare Company Production. (2 parts, 88 minutes and 94 minutes). Streaming video

Henry VI Part I. 2000. 1 videodisc (185 min.). A dramatization by Shakespeare of King Henry VI's early days as king and the beginning of the long civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster. In the war with France, England is being driven off French soil. True to the popular view of the time, the French heroine Joan of Arc is characterized as a "minister of hell" and a wanton. DVD 3201

Henry VI Part II. 2000. 1 videodisc (212 min.). A drama of the civil war between The House of York and The House of Lancaster. Henry marries Lady Margaret of Anjou, but she despises him for his meekness and takes Suffolk as a lover. The new Queen, who also hates the Yorks (the White Roses), becomes the inspiration of the Lancastrians (the Red Roses). She and her followers are pitted against Richard, Duke of York, and his supporters, who include the Earl of Warwick, also known as "the King maker.". DVD 3202

Henry VI Part III. 2000. 1 videodisc (210 min.). Concludes the King Henry VI chronicles with the War of the Roses. York, as victor at St. Albans, contemptuously forces Henry to give him succession to the crown. The merciless Margaret captures and kills York, only to be captured herself and compelled to watch as the Yorkists slay her son. In a powerful soliloquy, the vile Duke of Gloucester reveals his plans to murder Henry VI. DVD 3203

Macbeth. 1982. The complete dramatic works of William Shakespeare. 1 streaming video (148 min.). Driven by ambition and an unscrupulous wife, Macbeth murders the King of Scotland and claims the throne for himself. Haunted by ghosts and vexed by witches, he and his wife descend into the depths of madness and paranoia as they crumble beneath the weight of their crimes. Streaming video

Macbeth A Critical Guide. 1997. 1 streaming video file (33 min.). In this program, the major themes of Shakespeare's most popular tragedy are investigated by noted experts. Analyzing key scenes from an award-winning film production, Professor Robert Smallwood of the Shakespeare Centre and Professor Stanley Wells of the Shakespeare Institute examine how the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth changes during the course of the play; how Banquo's character serves as a counterpart to Macbeth's; whether Macbeth's character is at all admirable; and whether the play confirms that all tragedies are uniformly pessimistic. Host Graham MacTavish, an actor with the Stratford Shakespeare Company, establishes context and background for the play. (33 minutes). Streaming video

Macbeth Shakespeare for the Modern Age. 2003. 1 streaming video file (37 min.). This condensed adaptation of Macbeth, performed by experienced Shakespearean actors of the innovative Big Adventures Theatre Company, uses the Bard's own immortal words to tell the story of Duncan King, head of King Enterprises, and his scheming employee, Macbeth, recently awarded the coveted Cawdor contract. After Macbeth's fateful meeting with three saucy witches-not on the heath, but at the Heath Nightclub-the tragedy unfolds, leading to the inevitable showdown in which Macduff shoots Macbeth. E-mail, cell phones, and stretch limos all have their place in this intriguing film. Guaranteed to catch the interest of teenage and adult viewers alike. (37 minutes). Streaming video

Shakespeare in love. 1998. 1 videodisc (122 min.). When Will Shakespeare needs inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block, a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola starts the words flowing like never before! There are just two things he'll have to learn about his new love; not only is she promised to marry someone else, she's successfully impersonating a man in order to play the lead in Will's latest production. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 76

Silent Shakespeare. 1999. 1 videodisc (89 min). In the early days of the cinema, pioneer filmmakers created these seven charming films based on the plays of William Shakespeare. Considered a "lowbrow" medium, the fledgling movie industry sought to elevate its status by immortalizing the classics and hiring the actors of the day. Most of these early photoplays were only one or two reels long but whatever they gave up in language and length, they made up for in exuberance, cinematic artistry, visual wit and bravura acting. Some films feature original hand-stenciled color. DVD 193

Titus Andronicus. 1985. The complete dramatic works of William Shakespeare. 1 streaming video (168 min.). William Shakespeare’s tragedy set in Roman times dealing with the revenge of Titus Andronicus for the atrocities committed against his family by Tamora, the captive queen of the Goths, and her faction. Streaming video

Titus. 2000. 2 videodiscs (ca. 162 min.). Presents the story of a victorious Roman general whose rigid code of honor and duty proves to be his downfall. A shocking journey into the depths of the human heart, a place where vengeance and passion reign supreme. DVD 197

See the full two part Willam Shakespeare filmography here.

Media Services Survives the East Coast Earthquake

That's right Media Services is still standing after yesterday's east coast earthquake. The media shelves wobbled, but no DVDs fell off the shelves. Like most everyone else we were watching people's first responses on Twitter. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @aulibmedia.

Also, here's a list of some earthquake-related videos available in Media Services. There are not many in our Home Use Collection, but there are quite a few streaming videos that you can watch anywhere. Remember, the Media Services Only videos must be watched here in Media Services, unless you are AU faculty. If you are AU faculty, you can check them out and take them to class or take them home to preview them.

HOME USE
Tangshan Dadizhen = Aftershock – HU DVD 8698

MEDIA SERVICES ONLY
The Great Train Robbery and Other Primary Works – DVD 551
Shorts! 15 Award-winning Film Festival Shorts – DVD 5131
Zendegi Va Digar Hich = Life and Nothing More – DVD 8247

STREAMING VIDEO
Anatomy of an Earthquake – Streaming video
Army Pack Train Bringing Supplies – Streaming video
Essence of Being Japanese – Streaming video
Exploded Gas Tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Bld'g – Streaming video
Living with the Earth: The Loma Prieta Earthquake – Streaming video
Quake – DVD 7168 and streaming video
San Francisco Earthquake – Streaming video
Scenes in San Francisco, [no. 1] – Streaming video
Torre Mayor, Mexico City – Streaming video
Tsunami – Streaming video

Filmaker's Library - Almost 1,000 documentaries!

Cool News! We now have a perpetual license for Filmakers Library videos via Alexander Street Press - Almost 1000 documentaries with something for every academic area taught at AU.

Filmakers Library Online provides award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum—race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. It presents points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide. This release now provides 941 titles, equaling approximately 746 hours.

Soon enough we will have individual title access in the catalog but you can get to it now on our alphabetical database list under "F".