Media Studies

How are ideals of beauty influenced by race, history, and geopolitics? And how are these ideals reinforced in ethnic communities? With a rich selection of film clips and archival footage, Never Perfect examines the dramatic rise in popularity of cosmetic surgery among Asian-American women.

An in-depth look at Ukraine's historic Orange Revolution. Assembled from over 300 hours of original footage and archival materials, featuring penetrating interviews with key players, this documentary chronicles one of the most successful non-violent revolutions in decades.

After the U.S. and India, the world's third largest producer of feature films is Nigeria. Welcome to Nollywood explores this burgeoning film industry, from its unique challenges to its diverse array of films that both mirror and comment upon the social ills of the continent.

Chinese journalist Liu Binyan sought out the truth his entire life and consequently paid a huge price for his honesty. Named one of Time Magazine's Asian Heroes, this film documents his incredible story and struggle to build a freer China.

How can one believe that terrorism leads to heaven? Banned by the Indonesian government, this provocative documentary examines the psychology of extremism in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Begun nearly two years before his death, this fascinating documentary offers a meticulous account of the life and final days of ex-FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died of radiation poisoning in November 2006. In the process, it provides extraordinary insight into the current political climate in Russia.

Could this man be the next President of the United Sates? This incisive documentary examines Rudolph Giuliani's rise to power, his policies, and their effect on the city he referred to as the 'Capital of the World.'

In the 1980s, Paris was hit by a wave of deadly terrorist attacks. When the presiding judge unexpectedly released the suspected mastermind, he was vilified in the press, and several years later, took his own life. This powerful documentary explores the intersection of politics, ethics, media, and terrorism.

This striking documentary reveals the incredible story behind the greatest bank robbery that ever occurred in a Communist state - a tale of disillusionment, resistance, government propaganda, and Jewish life behind the iron curtain.

An acclaimed documentary on American artist Leon Golub, whose politically charged work calls attention to human rights violations and the abuse of power around the world.

In April of 1999, Chilean journalist Alejandra Matus wrote The Black Book of Chilean Justice, an exposé of the Chilean judicial system.

Animated hosts Professor Edward A. Elderberry and his disciple Horace, introduce clips from 160 films from 26 countries, and discuss the most significant animated films of the past 100 years.

In this ongoing video series, Saul Landau—internationally known scholar, author, lecturer, and filmmaker—talks to guests about current events, politics, social issues, education, religion, and entertainment, among a wide range of other topics.

This video chronicles the recent political history of Sierra Leone, a small West African nation, rich in natural resources, which has been plagued by successive politically corrupt governments since its establishment as a republic in 1971.

Surveys the contemporary Chicano art movement by tracing its development during the height of Chicano political activism in the late Sixties and Seventies, blending archival footage with interviews with the artists and samples of their work, including photographs, murals, graphics, films, paintings, and ephemeral art.

In 1985, Monica Frota, an independent Brazilian filmmaker, collaborated with the Kayapo people of the Brazilian rain forest to develop Mekaron Opoi D'joi (He Who Creates Images), the first Kayapo media project.

Examines the recent political history of Liberia, from the 1980 military coup led by Samuel Doe to the 1989 rebellion which ousted him from power and led to the Liberian civil war.

Dramatizes the life and work of Luisa Capetillo (1879-1922), a Puerto Rican journalist, writer, suffragist, and labor organizer.

Examines Puerto Rico's `Operation Bootstrap,' the highly vaunted economic development plan undertaken in the 1950s to provide a role model for economic development throughout Latin America.

This short drama portrays the efforts of a young woman photographer to uncover the fragmentary and little-known history of an early nineteenth-century Puerto Rican feminist and political activist who was deported for her nationalist beliefs by the Spanish colonial government of the era.