[Imc-bigmuddy] Spring Semester at the Big Muddy!

[Richard Whitney]

Hello Folks,

Below is a schedule of what we will be serving up at the Big Muddy Independent Media Center for the balance of the Semester. All films/presentations begin at 7 pm on Friday evening, with discussion following, at the Big Muddy IMC/Community Center, 214 N. Washington, Carbondale. Check us out in the weeks ahead as the building improvements take shape as well!

Chris K, please help out with a flyer/poster ASAP, and E.G. please send out press notices at your earliest convenience. Chris W, in light of your recent e-mail debate with Paula, you might find the April films of particular interest. Love to see you there some time. Meanwhile, thanks for including us in your calendar in Nightlife. 

-- Rich Whitney
 
Feb. 27th -- March 13: Black History Themes

Feb. 27th: Black Wax/Is That Jazz?  Innovative master of fusion jazz Gil Scott-Heron is given a suitable tribute in this 1982 musical documentary. The politically vocal
musician who gave us The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is known for his original combination of jazz, soul, funk, rap, and African traditional music. Note: The Big Muddy film festival (no relation) has a film showing at the space at 9 p.m., so we may not have much of our usual discussion time.  

March 6th: Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X. Probing the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X, this provocative documentary lays emphasis on the political climate that preceded the murder, including the controversial black leader's planned collaboration with Martin Luther King Jr. The partnership was simple: King would lead efforts in the South while Malcolm X took the North. But the film puts forth a shocking conspiracy theory: that the U.S. government deliberately kept the two leaders apart.

March 13th: Chisolm '72: Unbought and Unbossed. Brooklyn-based Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm made history when she vied for the presidency in 1972. In fact, Congresswoman Chisholm has represented a series of firsts: She was the first African-American woman elected to Congress and the first black person and woman to run a serious, high-profile campaign in the U.S. presidential primary. Her inspiring journey is the subject of this documentary.

March 20th: One Bright Shining Moment: The Presidential Campaign of George McGovern. Retracing presidential candidate George McGovern's unsuccessful run for office in 1972 -- despite his well-respected intellect and decency -- this political documentary interviews McGovern himself, as well as supporters and activists such as Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Warren Beatty and Howard Zinn, to explore the volatility of the electoral process. A period-appropriate soundtrack features songs by Bob Dylan, Donovan and Elvis Costello.

March 27th: Washington, You're Fired. This documentary takes kind of a broad approach to the question of what's wrong with our political system, interviewing both victims and experts, cataloging a long train of abuses and violations of the Bill of Rights, and making the pitch for citizen action.   

April: Has U.S. Intervention Ever Been a Force for Good? That will be the question explored in our April films and discussion.

April 3rd: Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War. Could the violent break up of Yugoslavia have been avoided? What role did Western intervention play in the tragedy that consumed the multi-ethnic country? This film addresses these questions in a well-documented, powerful indictment of misguided intervention in the region. (This one is long so, our discussion will be short -- but picked up next week.)

April 10th: Judgment/Presentation on Afghanistan. Judgment is a short but eye-opening film on how the corporate media lied to us about Bosnia. Afterwards, Rich Whitney and Paula Bradshaw will present some short films and other info and foster a discussion about U.S. intervention in Afghanistan. 

April 17th: What I've Learned About US Foreign Policy: The War Against the Third World. This video compilation combines the best of several documentaries is an excellent educational tool that reveals the true nature of U.S. foreign policy. With segments by Martin Luther King, Jr., John Stockwell, Peter Dale Scott, Philip Agee, Amy Goodman, Susan Sarandon and others.

April 24th: Mission to Moscow. This startling 1943 war propaganda film was made at the behest of F.D.R. in order to garner more support for the Soviet Union during WWII. It was from the book by Joseph E. Davies, former U.S. Ambassador To Russia. The movie covers the state of global politics just before the start of the war and presents Stalin's Russia in a surprisingly favorable light. So much so, that the movie was cited years later by the House Un-American Activities Commission and was largely responsible for the screenwriter, Howard Koch, being blacklisted.

May 1st and May 8th: Reds (pts. 1 and II). Very appropriate for May Day, this 1981 epic masterpiece by, and starring, Warren Beatty, was based on the life of John Reed, the activist-journalist who chronicled the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days that Shook the World. It also captures an era in American politics that has been largely ignored or downplayed today. 

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