Evideo

Explores the issue of fair use in copyright law. Artists, authors, lawyers, and others discuss the implications of creation, creative use, intellectual ownership, and public domain when it comes in conflict with established copyright law. Through news clips, film excerpts, music, legal cases, satire, and a wide range of other examples and illustrations, the concerns regarding traditional copyright laws' infringing on freedom of expression are examined and critiqued.

"Are we too materialistic? Are we willfully trashing the planet in our pursuit of things? And what's the source of all this frenetic consumer energy and desire anyway? In a fast-paced tour of the ecological and psychological terrain of American consumer culture, Shop 'Til You Drop challenges us to confront these questions head-on. Taking aim at the high-stress, high-octane pace of fast-lane materialism, the film moves beneath the seductive surfaces of the commercial world to show how the flip side of accumulation is depletion -- the slow, steady erosion of both natural resources and basic human values. In the end, Shop 'Til You Drop helps us make sense of the economic turbulence of the moment, providing an unflinching, riveting look at the relationship between the limits of consumerism and our never-ending pursuit of happiness"--Container of DVD version.

Throughout its history Hollywood has portrayed Arabs as buffoons or bandits. The video seeks to rectify this stereotyping by comparing it to other forms of racist imagery and by suggesting alternative narratives that treat the Arabs as human, not demons.

"Surveys network dramas, sitcoms, reality shows, and premium cable programming to show how [the depictions of GLBT characters] are often marked by ambivalence and tension. The film cautions that although GLBT characters and plotlines have become more prevalent and complex in recent years, the images and stories portrayed continue to be shaped by narrow commercial imperatives. The film argues that the evolution of GLBT representations should be seen less as an indication of big media's sudden commitment to social justice, or as a sign that the struggle for gay equality has been won, than as a recognition of GLBT consumers and gay taste by advertisers and media conglomerates"--Container.

"For years, debates have raged among scholars, politicians, and concerned parents about the effects of media violence on viewers. Too often these debates have descended into simplistic battles between those who claim that media messages directly cause violence and those who argue that activists exaggerate the impact of media exposure altogether. The Mean World Syndrome, based on the groundbreaking work of media scholar George Gerbner, urges us to think about media effects in more nuanced ways. Ranging from Hollywood movies and prime-time dramas to reality programming and the local news, the film examines how media violence forms a pervasive cultural environment that cultivates in heavy viewers, especially, a heightened state of insecurity, exaggerated perceptions of risk and danger, and a fear-driven propensity for hard-line political solutions to social problems. A provocative and accessible introduction to cultivation analysis, media effects research, and the subject of media influence and media violence more generally."--Media Education Foundation website.

"Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. Wolff traces the sources of the economic crisis to the 1970's, when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown"--Container.

"Written and directed by MEF Executive Director Sut Jhally, The Codes of Gender applies the late sociologist Erving Goffman's groundbreaking analysis of advertising to the contemporary commercial landscape, showing how one of American popular culture's most influential forms communicates normative ideas about masculinity and femininity. In striking visual detail, The Codes of Gender explores Goffman's central claim that gender ideals are the result of ritualized cultural performance, uncovering a remarkable pattern of masculine and feminine displays and poses. It looks beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that focus on biological difference or issues of objectification and beauty, to provide a clear-eyed view of the two-tiered terrain of identity and power relations. With its sustained focus on how our perceptions of what it means to be a man or a woman get reproduced and reinforced on the level of culture in our everyday lives, The Codes of Gender is certain to inspire discussion and debate across a range of disciplines."--Media Education Foundation website.

Exposing the forces responsible for the loss of trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, massive foreclosures, and the disappearance of retirement funds, the documentary investigates the unregulated fraud and theft that led to the market's collapse in fall 2008. Explores the epidemic of subprime mortgages, predatory lending, insurance scams, and high-risk hedge funds that caused the collapse of the housing market and a full-scale economic meltdown.

Through a series of interviews using a question and answer format, experts from academia, the media, government, and non-governmental organizations speculate on the issues leading to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Issues surrounding the War on Terrorism are also discussed.

"From the front lines of the Spanish Civil War to the picket lines of the U.S. labor movement to the struggle for civil rights in Mississippi to work for human rights in Nicaragua, people know Abe Osheroff as an activist who threw himself into the fray with rare energy and enthusiasm through his 92 years. In this riveting documentary, Osheroff reflects on the meaning of that activism and the ideas that animated his actions in movements for social justice. A truly organic intellectual, Osheroff shares the wisdom built up over a lifetime of commitment to the "radical humanism" that defined his politics and philosophy"--Container of DVD version.