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Documentaries for the Politics Classroom


scottieking

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I just thought I'd get some feedback. These are a list of documentaries that I am currently using in my 4U politics classroom in part or in whole. Any left off the list you think should be included

Frontline: Company of Soldiers

Part III Power of Nightmares

Control Room

Manufacturing Consent

The Corporation

The Yes Men

Life and Debt

The End of Suburbia

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Great list of docs. I've seen half of those. Looks like I'll keep a few of those titles in the back of my head to be sure to watch sometime soon.

The Corporation is fantastic. Loved it. A real eye opener on many levels.

I'd also suggest, and i hate to continually bring it up, but check out Russo's America: Freedom To Facism. http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ Neither left, nor right-wing this startling examination of government exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913. Some may see it as a Michael Moore-ish type of doc, but it's scary. I can get you a copy on CD (as an AVI file if you like).

thm_poster_liberty.jpg

Later . . .

Kanada Kev =8)

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Great list of docs. I've seen half of those. Looks like I'll keep a few of those titles in the back of my head to be sure to watch sometime soon.

The Corporation is fantastic. Loved it. A real eye opener on many levels.

I'd also suggest, and i hate to continually bring it up, but check out Russo's America: Freedom To Facism. http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ Neither left, nor right-wing this startling examination of government exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913. Some may see it as a Michael Moore-ish type of doc, but it's scary. I can get you a copy on CD (as an AVI file if you like).

thm_poster_liberty.jpg

Later . . .

Kanada Kev =8)

YES please! Avi is great.

The Take eh? I'll try it.

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Those are good if you're getting a bunch of piercings and hitting the streets to protest the WTO, which is cool, but if it's supposed to be about politics they seem to be a bit more issue oriented and one-sided than anything to do with the political system or politics.

I would recommend:

Breaking Point: Canada/Quebec - The 1995 Referendum

The 1995 Quebec referendum was one of the most dramatic and exciting moments in Canadian political history.

For 30 days in October, Quebecers and Canadians from other other provinces were on rollercoasters, caught up in a campaign marked by spectacular turnarounds and extreme emotions. Breaking Point tells the story of this extraordinary period through the eyes of the players, political leaders, strategists and everyday citizens who experienced it.

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The War Room

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Documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back) and Chris Hegedus shot behind-the-scenes at command central for Bill Clinton's 1992 election campaign and came up with this film. You won't find the kind of daily damage-control and skirt-chasing indirectly alleged in Primary Colors, but the filmmakers do give us a strong sense of the uphill battle of a presidential campaign. The center of the film is really James Carville, who steered the machine for Clinton's '92 run and who comes across in this film as a deeply passionate, complex, and somehow timeless man who could have fit into any chapter of American history.

Kim Campbell: Through the Looking Glass

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For political junkies, students of Canadian history, or anyone who has an interest in real-life drama, Kim Campbell: Through the Looking Glass is a fascinating study. This documentary follows her from her first early triumphs as a B.C. politician to her victory in the leadership race of the Conservative party, a circumstance which made her Canada's first woman Prime Minister. It then details the disastrous national campaign of the Autumn of 1993 which led to her own humiliating defeat and her party's near extinction from power in Ottawa.

Trudeau Memoirs

Not sure where to get this on DVD or VHS for that matter, but despite being an autobiography, it's historic and excellent.

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