AAUW Public Policy Films and Conferences for January

Four films and a CTAUN conference of interest to folks concerned about public policy issues. Please note, our meeting this month will be held at the Rosendale Theater on Tues., January 25th at 7pm. We'll watch "Journeyman" (one hour) and adjourn to a nearby spot to talk about it. Details below.

January 2011

Fri., 1/7 to Thurs., 1/13, 7:30 PM, (also 5 PM on Sun., 1/9)

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Upstate Films, 132 Tinker Street, Woodstock

An in-depth look by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney at the rise and fall of Governor Eliot Spitzer, once nicknamed “The Sheriff of Wall Street”. While serving as NY’s Attorney General, Spitzer “took no prisoners” as he tangled with and prosecuted some of the most powerful Wall St. executives in the country. After his election as Governor, with the largest margin in the state’s history, he seemed White House-bound. Then, shockingly, Spitzer – the paragon of proper – was caught with prostitutes. Interviewing friends, colleagues, enemies, Albany powers like Joe Bruno, and employees of the Emperor’s Club, including “Angelina”, the film explores and reveals the hidden contours of this tale of power, sex, and hubris. And it makes one wonder about a deeper connection between the fall of a Governor and the free fall of the economy.

Fri., 1/14, 9:30 AM to 4 PM, $65

Committee on Teaching About the UN (CTAUN) Conference at the United Nations HQ in NYC

Nicholas Kristof will be the keynote speaker. In 2000, all 192 member states of the UN agreed on a time-bound set of goals – the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- to work toward eradicating extreme poverty, primary education for all, promote gender equity, improve maternal and child health, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability – all by 2015! To register or learn more: http://www.teachun.org

Sat., 1/22, Sun., 1/23, Mon., 1/24, & Wed., 1/26, 7:15 PM

Inside Job, $6

Rosendale Theater, 408 Main Street, Rosendale

Inside Job provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia.

Tues., 1/25, 7 PM

Journeyman, – Our Public Policy Film/Discussion this month

Rosendale Theater, 408 Main Street, Rosendale

Journeyman is a one-hour documentary about rites of passage, mentoring, and male culture in America. The film follows Joe and Mike, two teenage boys dying for healthy adult mentors. After their struggles with depression and violence, they join a mentoring program. As they work with male mentors they face challenging rites of passage, discover their inner strength, and learn to engage with a community of supportive men. The film features Michael Gurian (The Good Son, The Wonder of Boys), Dr. Michael Obsatz (Raising Nonviolent Children in a Violent World), Dr. Barbara Coloroso, (Kids Are Worth It), Dr. David Walsh (The Selling Out of America's Children, Why Do They Act that Way?). Journeyman studies the phenomena of "at risk" boys, plus issues in American male culture. The film discovers experiments to reinvent male communities by giving boys what they need to grow into mature manhood. Finally, Journeyman follows its’ characters into an authentic "Rites of Passage" where mentoring from a community of men and boys create a transformation experience for young boys entering adolescence. Cost: By donation. For more information, see: http://www.ittakesavillageny.org

.

Sat., 1/29, 5 PM

War Made Easy, 4th of 4 films in the Youth and War series

Rosendale Theater, 408 Main Street, Rosendale, Admission: $7 (free for ages 18 and under)

War Made Easy reaches into the Orwellian memory hole to expose a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another from Vietnam to Iraq. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, the film exhumes remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W. Bush, revealing in stunning detail how the American news media have uncritically disseminated the pro-war messages of successive presidential administrations.

War Made Easy gives special attention to parallels between the Vietnam war and the war in Iraq. Guided by media critic Norman Solomon’s meticulous research and tough-minded analysis, the film presents disturbing examples of propaganda and media complicity from the present alongside rare footage of political leaders and leading journalists from the past, including Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, dissident Senator Wayne Morse, and news correspondents Walter Cronkite and Morley Safer.

Norman Solomon’s work has been praised by the Los Angeles Times as “brutally persuasive” and essential “for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee.” This film now offers a chance to see that context on the screen.