This was a fairly last minute decision but I decided not to show Religulous in this class. Even though I like the documentary, it’s pretty edgy and probably more trouble than it’s worth. (If you haven’t seen it, it pokes fun at/illustrates the dangers of religious extremism, but expands on that to say that religion in general is inherently dangerous, which is a stretch). However, I really like reinforcing lessons/discussions with documentaries and there are quite a few other ones that fit perfectly into this section, so I thought we’d put it to a vote. I’d like to pick TWO of the following. (If you click on the name of the documentary, it should link to a preview.)
Sicko—a Michael Moore documentary examining healthcare in the United States versus healthcare in other countries. Although Moore’s documentaries tend to be pretty biased, his approach is still pretty affecting and well-researched. In other words, you may not always agree with his interpretations of the evidence, but he still generates a lot of attention for and concern about issues that plenty of others would prefer to ignore.
No End in Sight—probably my favorite, this one talks about why everything went to hell in Iraq after the main ground war ended, especially in terms of the insurgency. Even though the documentary points out the huge mistakes made by the Bush Administration, it’s actually very fair and pretty air-tight, consisting almost entirely of interviews with some very brave U.S. generals, colonels, soldiers, and civilians who candidly point out the mistakes that were made (and tried to prevent them).
Fog of War—an interview with Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense, who speaks pretty candidly about the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the fire-bombings of Japanese cities in World War II (resulting in a massive civilian death toll). Pretty gripping with loads of good information, but you need to have your thinking caps on.
White Light/Black Rain—another one that I think everybody should watch at some point in their life. It’s mostly interviews with civilians who survived the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the American pilots who dropped the bombs. Very good, very sad, shows all sides of the issue. Mostly subtitled, though.
Jesus Camp—a disturbing look at Christian Fundamentalism in the United States, mainly focuses on a Bible camp for kids that teaches them that they should literally have the same zeal and obedience as radical Muslim suicide bombers. Pretty unsettling. In previous classes, my students (religious and non-religious alike) found it pretty engaging.
Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price—this one examines consumerism in the United States, as well as the sweatshop issue that we briefly touched on in class discussion. Makes some good points and usually generates some good debate/discussion; maybe not quite as entertaining, though.
Invisible Children—this is good but pretty sad. It’s about three young, inexperienced guys who travel to Sudan to document the war there, and wind up learning about and interviewing a huge group of homeless African children who are literally on the run for their lives, trying to keep from being kidnapped and forced to become child-soldiers.
Supersize Me—most of you have probably seen this one, but it’s a funny (and sometimes disgusting) look at the fast food industry, lawsuits against fast food companies, advertising practices, etc., that gets into issues of personal responsibility and legal liability.
Again, ALL of these raise some pretty important issues (morals in a time of war, globalization, consumerism, moderate versus extremism in religion, government responsibility, personal responsibility, healthcare, etc) that tie into our general discussions pertaining to potential research/argument paper topics, and I’ve taught all of these in composition classes before, so I’m pretty flexible.
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