Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest Colleges Join To Present “Fired Up Films”
The communication departments at Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest Colleges join to present “Fired Up Films,” a series of challenging new political and social documentaries for reflection and discussion. Muhlenberg’s Center for Ethics and Cedar Crest’s Cultural Programs Committee are co-sponsors of the series.Friday, February 10, 2006 01:59 PM
“Fired Up Films” is in memory of the late Dr. James Schneider, founder of the “Fired Up” series and longtime member of the department of media and communication.
All films are free and open to the public. A discussion will follow each film viewing. Seating is very limited, so please arrive early.
“Fired Up Films” Schedule of Events:
Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990, 71m)
Monday, February 13, 7p.m.. Muhlenberg College, Center for the Arts, Recital Hall.
Winner of 12 festival and critics awards for best documentary including Best Documentary, Sundance Film Festival (1991), Paris is Burning is a lively and moving portrait of NYC drag queens in the late 1980s. Livingston’s celebrated film demonstrates the challenges one particular group of men face being black or Hispanic and gay in America. Co-presented with the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics.
Private Warriors (2005, 60m.)
Friday, February 24, 7 p.m. Cedar Crest College, Miller Science Building, Room 33.
Private Warriors, Writer’s Guild of America nominee for Best Documentary – Current Events (2005), is a look at Kellogg, Brown and Root, a Halliburton subsidiary with 50,000 employees in Iraq and Kuwait providing support services to the U.S. military. What are the implications when armed security forces are outside the military command structure, and what does KBR do with the $12 billion it has billed the U.S. government since 2002?
Farmingville ( Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini, 2004, 79m.)
Monday, March 14, 7 p.m.Muhlenberg College, Center for the Arts, Recital Hall.
The attempted murder of two Mexican day laborers in the suburban Long Island town of Farmingville focused national attention on the plight of migrant workers and the complex policies that create a climate of fear and racism. The New York Times called this film, “an unusually sensitive and sophisticated piece of investigative journalism.” Co-director Catherine Tambini will present the film and least a post-film discussion. Co-presented with the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics.
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames The Working Class (Loretta Alper & Pepi Leistyna, 62m.)
Monday, March 21, 7 p.m. Muhlenberg College, Lithgow Science Auditorium (Trumbower Hall, Room 130).
An examination of the way in which American television tends to portray working class people as either clowns or social deviants, this film considers the links between media portrayals of class and public policies that make it difficult for working class people to get ahead in America. Co-presented with the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics.
The End Of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (Gregory Greene, 2004, 78m.)
Friday, April 7, 7 p.m. Cedar Crest College, Miller Science Building, Room 33
Since the Second World War, the promise of the American Dream has largely been the promise of suburbia: big houses, big yards, and wide streets. But this dream is dependent on a cheap supply of oil, which is unlikely to last much longer. We don’t have to run out of oil for this way of life to become unsustainable. According to the Alternative Press Review, this film is “a much needed look at the reality of the situation many in North America will be facing in the coming years.”
A Documentarian in the Community: Films by Jim Schneider and his Students
April 19, 7 p.m., Muhlenberg College, Center for the Arts, Recital Hall
The last event in this series pays tribute to the documentary vision of Jim Schneider, the founder of the Fired Up Film series. The evening will feature documentary projects Dr. Schneider was working on before his death in 2005, and films by students.
