Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed

Shola Lynch, 2004
76 minutes, documentary
Best for ages 5+

I was 11 in 1972 when Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm became the first woman and first black person to run as successfully as she did for president of the United States, and my son is 11 now. Watching this documentary with him and my 9-year-old daughter really put this year's campaign in perspective. The footage here demonstrates some of the long road that has led to Barack Obama's candidacy, reveals by contrast the shallowness of the media analysis of race and gender in the current campaign, and offers a refreshing, even bracing introduction to a candidate who was not afraid to speak out and take strong, clear, progressive positions. "I want to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst for change," said Chisholm. A great introduction to a figure your children should know about (even if they don't understand all of it), a primer in issues that come up in every campaign, and some good context related to the movements for the rights of women and African-Americans.

You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

Deb Ellis and Dennis Mueller, 2004
color and b+w documentary, 78 minutes
Ages 9? & up

Resident 9-year-old says, "Well, I enjoyed it, but I think most kids would be restless and would rather watch a horrible crappy movie called The Wild instead of this." (Um, we didn't see The Wild.)

It ain't for nothing that you're parked at Alternative Films for Kids, folks!

This profile of professor/activist Howard Zinn, author of The People's History of the United States (which has sold a million copies), covers his adult life, which has spanned many of the key social and peace movements of our time. Ellis and Mueller track Zinn from his labor activism to his experience in the air force to his days as a Civil Rights leader at Spelman College to his peace activism during the Vietman War—and beyond. This is a great way for kids too young to read A People's History to learn some people's history—through the life of an engaged historian who continues to work for social justice.

Definitely not The Wild.

Note: contains some graphic archival footage of American police brutalizing demonstrators, bombs dropping during WWII and Vietnam, and Vietnamese civilians under attack.

Solidarity Not Charity

Common Ground Collective
Posted to their website
Viewable online
All ages, but 5+ will get the most out of it

This organization has been working with New Orleans communities to gut homes, offer healthcare, keep people fed, fight evictions...you name it, all with a view to sustainable, nontoxic operating strategies. If you want your children inspired by the possibility of social change even in the midst of unthinkable disaster and governmental abandonment, here's a short, free stop you can make on your information highway cruise. Wish I'd known to post this a long time ago, but it's never too late to watch it with your kids and donate, send supplies, or better yet...take a working vacation. These folks have skills we can all use.

Primal Mind

Don Lenzer, 1996
With Jamake Highwater
58 minutes, color documentary
Ages 5 and up

Author Jamake Highwater talks about his own experiences growing up as an Indian in a foreign, dominant culture and the peceptual divide between primal and European cultures. He moves fluidly among topics—art, architecture, dance, painting. This is aimed at viewers of at least young adult age, but there is so much of interest to look at, and Highwater makes his points so clearly, that any child could benefit from one or more viewings.

Ah! The Hopeful Pageantry of Bread & Puppet

2002, Dir. Dee Dee Halleck & Tamar Schumann
84 minutes, color documentary
All ages

Plunge into the casual, creative community of the Bread & Puppet Theater in northeast Vermont, where people pilgrimage to take part in communal living and the creation of spectacles that advocate peace and decry greed. Children will enjoy seeing how the puppets are made and how people live at the Bread & Puppet farm; learn an important piece of our cultural history; and get an introduction to the work of Dee Dee Halleck, tireless advocate for democratic media. Possibly all ages; you be the judge.