Welcome to the Audio-Visual Club!
Here I will post clips/songs and recommend films/books/articles that complement your projects.
Multicultural Day: Cover of "The Way" by Arianna Grande
Multicultural Day: "Thinkin' 'Bout You" by Frank Ocean
Trailers for "Munich" and "Carlos"
Here are 2 trailers for 2 excellent films based on true stories. "Munich" is a film by Spielberg that shows the actions taken by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, after a terrorist organization known as Black September murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in the early 1970s. The other film, "Carlos", is by one of my favorite directors, Olivier Assayas, and it follows the life of a socialist/"celebrity" Venezuelan terrorist and the extreme measures that he takes for the liberation of Palestine (if you think that's a complicated character description, just wait until you see the character). This is a great film to watch because it combines the last unit that we completed, the Cold War, with our current unit. "Carlos" is 5 hours long, but I believe that there is an abbreviated version on instant Netflix. It has some adult themes, so make sure you get permission from your parents if you are able to watch it. I watched it in the theater when it came out 2 years ago at the New York Film Festival- I did not notice the length at all because it was so fascinating.
Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in Beirut, Lebanon during 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon
Very interesting...
The Shins Music Video for "So Says I"
Here is a music video from one of MY favorite indie bands from back when I was in 10th grade. You have probably heard of the Shins from the Garden State soundtrack (Natalie Portman- "This song will change your life...."), if you you are completely new to them I recommend their first 2 albums for your listening pleasure. The reason that I am posting this video is because the themes that it addresses are analogous to Animal Farm and our whole unit. Watch this and ask yourself- "How does this reflect the events of the Russian Revolution? How does it portray both communism and capitalism?"
Cuba/ Latin America
Below are a few film clips that may aid in your understanding of communism's influence in Lain American politics. Here is a clip from the amazing film The Motorcycle Diaries. The film portrays young Ernesto "Che" Guevara (called "Fuser" because of his asthma) walking through Machu Picchu. In this very short clip you can see Che begin to form his ideas about revolution and socialism.
Below is a clip from "Frida". This is a clip that I wanted to show in class but I could only find it in Spanish. Do any Spanish speakers want to translate this for me? In this clip I believe that Trotsky (now in Mexico and staying with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo) is talking about socialism/communism at the dinner table.
Soviet Union
Here are some clips from Cold War films. My favorite is the scene from Dr. Strangelove, which came out in 1964. Strangelove satirizes the Cold War and the arms race that existed between the Soviet Union and the U.S.A. This scene culminates in the famous line, "You can't fight in here- this is the War Room!"
Vietnam
Here's an incredibly shot scene from Apocalypse Now. Notice how the director depicts the ways that the U.S.A fought the war compared to how the Viet Cong fought.
East Germany
Here's a great film called "Goodbye, Lenin." It's about a boys mother who was in a coma during the falling of the Berlin Wall. In order not to excite her and cause further health problems, he has to pretend that the wall is still up. Hilarity ensues.