Corporate and Government Misbehavior
Including
Whistleblowers, Corruption, Scandals, Cover-ups, Racism, and Other Illegal Acts
updated (6/02)
Government
Misbehavior
Corporate
Misbehavior
Whistleblowers
Government
Misbehavior - including federal and municipal jurisdictions
Arms
sales to Iraq. 1992. 1 videocassette (106 min.).
Part 1: Robin Cook, Labor Party Shadow Secretary
for Social Security, introduces a motion in the
British House of Commons criticizing five government
ministers for alleged involvement in the sale of
machine tools to Iraq. Michael Heseltine presents
the Conservative Party government's defense. Part
2: consists of the first 21 minutes of Senator Albert
Gore's (D-Tenn.) testimony report on the parts
of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro during
the summer that focused on global climate changes.
VHS 2175
Bella
Vista: An unseen view of WWII. 1995. 1 videocassette
(28 min.). Tells about a World War II internment
camp at Fort Missoula, Montana where more than 1,000
Italian civilians were housed after their cargo
and passenger ships had been seized by the U.S.
government. The prisoners proceeded to make their
new home a model city, complete with small businesses,
musical and theatrical performances, gourmet food,
and athletic tournaments. Uses interviews of former
internees, archival footage, historical photographs
and government documents. VHS 6199
The
Best campaign money can buy. Election 92.
1992. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Discusses who the
big money contributors are to Presidential campaigns.
VHS 2490
Bill
Moyers reports trading democracy. Baruch
video. 2002. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.).
"While the benefits of the North American Free
Trade Agreement are still being argued ... corporate
investors are using the obscure NAFTA provision
to challenge laws designed to protect the public
health, environmental regulations and even jury
verdicts... This program details a system of private
justice that is enabling companies to obtain what
they have failed to achieve publicly America's legislatures
or courts"--Publisher's website. VHS 6898
The
Bombing of West Philly. 1987. 1 videocassette
(60 min.). "I could hear the bullets all around
me, hitting all around the house. I was forced back
by gunfire," says Ramona Africa, the only adult
survivor of MOVE, a small, violent, urban cult.
Years of tension ended May 13, 1985, when police
bombed Africa's house. The surrounding neighborhood
burned out of control, leaving 250 homeless. The
bombing of West Philadelphia by the police as a
response to the MOVE situation is graphically portrayed.
The ensuing fires, the deaths of members of MOVE,
and the impact on the community are presented through
film footage and conversations with community residents.
VHS 4938
Counterfeit
coverage. 1992. 1 videocassette (27 min.). Explores
how Kuwaiti government over a 6-month period uses
one of the biggest public relations firms in America,
Hill and Knowlton, to wage an unprecedented media
campaign entitled "Citizens of a free-Kuwait"
to argue the case for war. VHS 2506
Coverup:
Behind the Iran Contra Affair. 1988. 1 videocassette
(72 min.). An account of the first arms sale to
Iran and the Reagan/Bush campaign's secret deal
to torpedo Jimmy Carter in 1980. Discusses the shadow
government of former CIA operatives, drug smugglers,
top U.S. military personnel and others, and how
their actions have impacted the course of history.
Includes evidence of the history of CIA involvement
in drug running from the Vietnam heroin era to the
Central American cocaine epidemic. First- hand accounts
of the bombing of the press conference in La Penca,
Nicaragua, discussing who the assassins were and
why American journalists were the real targets.
Oliver North's plan to suspend the U.S. constitution
and how it became a Reagan/Bush tool to protect
an unpopular foreign policy. VHS 594
Critical
thinking in nursing: Lessons from Tuskegee.
Educational horizons videos. 1993. 1 videocassette
(43 min.). Critical thinking in nursing: lessons
from Tuskegee sets two goals: first, it explores
the theory and practice of critical thinking, defined
in a wide, social, political and ethical sense.
Second, it focuses this critical attention on a
specific and uniquely provocative case of nursing
practice--the participation of nurse Eunice Rivers
in the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. VHS
3235
The
Deadly deception. 1993. 1 videocassette (60
min.). This program investigates the "Tuskegee
Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,"
a medical experiment conducted in Alabama from 1932-1972
in which Afro-American men believed they were receiving
free treatment for syphilis, but were given worthless
medicines by government physicians. The experiment
was periodically written up in mainstream medical
journals. The program outlines the history of the
study, offers testimony from survivors and from
doctors who administered it, and looks at what many
consider the perversion of medical ethics and the
doctor/patient relationship involved in carrying
out such an experiment. VHS 2040
Dirty
secrets: Jennifer, Everardo & the CIA in Guatemala.
1998. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Follows the efforts
of Texas lawyer Jennifer Harbury to find the truth
about her husband Everardo, a Guatemalan peasant
revolutionary who "disappeared" after
capture by Guatemalan government forces. Involvement
by the CIA and other American governmental bodies
in this and related events is revealed. VHS 4928
The
Doomed Voyage of the St. Louis. 1997. 1 videocassette
(50 min.). "In May of 1939, the ship St. Louis
departed Hamburg, Germany for Cuba. Onboard were
930 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. In
one of the darkest chapters in World War II, they
would eventually be returned to the continent they
tried to leave. .... Footage shows the ship arriving
in Havana, where officials refused to allow the
passengers to disembark. As the St. Louis steamed
in circles off Florida and its passengers pondered
their uncertain fate, immigration officials from
various nations were contacted, but none, including
the U.S., allowed them in. .... Eventually, the
St. Louis returned to Europe, where, despite the
heroic efforts of the ship's captain, most of the
passengers became victims of the Holocaust. Featuring
moving interviews with survivors, period news accounts
and commentary from leading scholars ..." Summary
taken from the A&E website: http://aetv.com.
VHS 5560
Executive
Order 9066. 1998. 1 computer laser optical disc.
Uses personal photos, letters, home movies, official
documents, archival films, and individual narratives
to detail how more than 120,000 Japanese Americans
were incarcerated in government-run camps on the
West Coast from 1942 to 1944. Includes ten areas
for exploration in text and multimedia including:
(1) Before the war: Japanese Americans in American
society; (2) Forced removal; (3) The camps; (4)
Friends: non Japanese Americans who spoke out on
the internee's behalf; (5)Life behind bars: vignettes
of daily life; (6) Concentration Camps; (7) Resistance:
Japanese Americans fight their imprisonment; (8)
Go for broke: Japanese Americans in the U.S. armed
forces; (9) Returning to America: the closing of
the camps; (10) The struggle for redress: work done
to obtain the formal apology. CD ROM 49
Father
Roy. 1997. 1 videocassette (55 min.). Describes
the protests of Father Roy against the military
assistance and training that the United States provides
to Latin American countries at the U.S. Army School
of the Americas. Richter, a human rights advocate,
believes that all too often the graduates of the
school have used their training in attacks against
their own people and seeks to have the school closed.
VHS 4666
The
Hidden costs of the military. 1993. 1 videocassette
(ca. 29 min.). Examines the indirect costs of the
military establishment including veterans' benefits
and the enormous cost of military weapons due to
the specialized research and special rules for defense
contractors. Recent attempts to create "dual
use" from military research may or may not
succeed. Includes film clips of statements by President
Eisenhower, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, Senator
James Sasser, and citizens. VHS 2523
High
crimes and misdemeanors. 1990. 1 videocassette
(90 min.). Summarizes the covert operations that
became the Iran-Contra Affair. Examines the involvement
of the Reagan administration in the arms-for-hostages
exchange, and explains the role of Iran, Israel,
and Nicaragua in the affair. VHS 1236
Hollywood
on trial. 1989. 1 videocassette (90 min.). Looks
at the story of "The Hollywood Ten," a
group of writers and directors who, in 1947, would
not cooperate when accused by the U.S. government
of possible communist loyalties. Details the hysteria
and paranoia of the blacklist era through presentation
of key events leading up to the cold war, actual
footage of the Hollywood Ten and the 1947 House
Committee on Un-American Activities hearings on
Communist infiltration into the movie industry.
Also has present-day interviews with formerly blacklisted
actors, writers, producers, and directors. VHS 5165
In
our children's food. 1993. 1 videocassette (56
min.). Traces the 30-year history of U.S. pesticide
use, regulation, and scientific study and explores
what is and is not known about the risks of agricultural
chemicals in our food. Also examines how the government
has failed to certify the safety of pesticides and
why the only source of data on pesticide safety
is the industry that profits from them. VHS 2552
Is
this any way to run a government? 1994. 1 videocassette
(57 min.). Focuses on excesses, abuse, and mismanagement
in one government agency. Examines how the attempts
to reorganize or downsize three sacred cows at the
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture--the commodity subsidy
programs, the Forest Service and the Rural Electrification
Administration, have made no progress in the era
of "reinventing government.". VHS 3106
Japanese
relocation. 1984. 1 videocassette (11 min.).
Japanese relocation: Presents the U.S. government's
official explanation for the removal of 110,000
persons of Japanese descent (two thirds of them
US citizens) from the potential combat zone of the
West Coast and their relocation in Arizona, Colorado,
and Wyoming. Tale of two cities: Record of the effects
of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
VHS 5900
Justice
for sale. 1999. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Frontline
and Bill Moyers investigate how campaign cash is
corrupting America's courts. In the 39 states where
judges are elected, special interest money is pouring
into judicial politics, threatening to compromise
judicial independence. This program focuses on three
states - Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania - and
documents efforts by special interest groups to
influence judges and their decisions. Includes a
rare interview with U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy who speak out
about the threat to judicial integrity. VHS 6158
Kent
State: The day the war came home. 2001? 1 videocassette
(47 min.). This program looks back on the reasons
for the violent attack on anti-Vietnam-war student
demonstrators on the Kent State University campus
in 1970. Shows the build-up of the protest against
the Vietnam War, especially by the youth of the
country and the Black Panthers, and follows the
stories of the four students who were killed by
National Guardsmen. Includes interviews with former
students who witnessed the events including a wounded
student-activist, a now paralyzed student, a former
National Guardsman and a sociology professor. VHS
6686
LAPD
blues. 2001. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Explores
what is reportedly the worst corruption scandal
in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department,
the so-called Rampart scandal, uncovered in 1999.
Reveals a police force disgraced and demoralized
by scandal but also questions the scale of the corruption.
VHS 6646
Latin
America: Intervention in our own backyard. Between
the wars. 1991? 1 videocassette (26 min.). Series
uses original newsreels, soundtracks and rare archival
footage to document the years between World War
I and World War II. This segment examines four decades
of U. S. intervention in Latin America from the
Spanish American War in 1898 until World War II.
For over a century, the Monroe Doctrine was invoked
to justify intervention in the Caribbean, Central
and South America. Pan-American relationships deteriorated
until 1933, when the policy of intervention is abolished
and FDR's "Good Neighbor" policy is launched.
VHS 630
The
Lynchburg story. 1993. 1 videocassette (55 min.).
In the early years of his century, authorities were
obsessed with a belief that the "racial stock"
of the country was in decline. By the 1930s, over
half the states had enacted eugenic sterilization
laws, giving states the right to forcibly sterilize
citizens they deemed "unfit" to reproduce.
Film tells the story of what happened at The Lynchburg
Colony for the Epileptic and Feebleminded in Virginia.
There, between 1927 and 1972, over 8,000 children
and young teenagers were forcibly sterilized. The
state claimed they had hereditary defects that would
be passed on to their potential offspring: in fact
most were simply poor, ill-educated and considered
a financial burden on the state. Sterilization victims
interviewed today indicate a devastating impact
on their lives and a profound loss of self worth.
These individual tragedies have a broader political
context. The sterilization law declared constitutional
in the U.S. in 1927 became the basis of Hitler's
eugenics program. It was the beginning of the Holocaust
as sterilization gave way to killing undesirables.
American biologist, Dr. Harry Laughlin, who drafted
the legislation was awarded an honorary doctorate
in Germany in 1936 for his contribution to "race
hygiene." Goebbels was the guest of honor.
VHS 5879
The
McCarthy years. Good night and good luck:
The Edward R. Murrow television collection.
1991. 1 videocassette (120 min.). Murrow's broadcasts
show McCarthy's abuses of power and signal the emergence
of television news as an influential force in American
life. Uses original footage from the CBS See it
now series to explore the roots and results of Senator
Joseph McCarthy's search for Communist influences
in the federal government. Cronkite highlights Morrow's
groundbreaking work in the television news of his
time. VHS 2955
The
Military and the environment. 1992. 1 videocassette
(ca. 29 min.). Looks at the military's handling
of toxic wastes, especially those developed at nuclear
facilities, that has led to environmental disasters
and health hazards. This creates enormous costs
for cleanup as well as the need to reduce the incidence
of pollution as a result of current and future military
operations. VHS 2522
Miss
Evers' boys. 1997. 1 videocassette (118 min.).
Based on a true story. In 1932, Nurse Eunice Evers
is invited to work with doctors on the "Tuskegee
Experiment" to study the effects of syphilis.
When she learns the patients are being denied the
treatment that could cure them, she is faced with
a terrible dilemma - to abandon the experiment and
tell her patients, or to remain silent and offer
only comfort. VHS 5068
The
Noriega connection. 199?. 1 videocassette (58
min.). Examines how agencies of the U.S. government,
using Noriega as an intelligence intermediary, consistently
ignored the heinous activities of the deposed dictator
for nearly twenty-five years. Working from U.S.
intelligence documents and interviews with sources
in the Drug Enforcement Administration, the CIA,
the Justice and State Departments, the film tracks
the U.S. government's long and duplicitous relationship
with the fallen dictator. VHS 787
Other
people's money. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.).
Explores the $300 billion savings and loan debacle
by profiling the financial schemes of Charles Keating
and his support from influential senators. Examines
the faulty government and regulatory interventions
that allowed Lincoln Savings to become a $2.5 billion
liability to the U.S. taxpayers. VHS 791
The
Panama deception. 1993. 1 videocassette (91
min.). Offers a view of the invasion of Panama that
was not given by the American media. Presents evidence
of mass burials of civilian casualties and internment
of homeless civilians, which was concealed by the
U.S. military or went unreported. Also claims to
reveal Pres. Bush's "secret agenda" behind
the invasion: to keep U.S. military bases in Panama
after the year 2000 in defiance of canal treaties.
VHS 2662
Point
of order: A record of the Army-McCarthy hearings
from the documentary file. 1984. 1 videocassette
(102 min.). Documents the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings
through excerpts from the television footage shot
by CBS News during the six weeks of hearings. Includes
an introduction by Paul Newman, who places the excerpts
in historical perspective. VHS 115
Poison
and the Pentagon. 1988. 1 videocassette (60
min.). The military is America's largest producer
of toxic waste. Frontline reporter Joe Rosenbloom
investigates the Pentagon's poor record of cleaning
up its pollution that contaminates the ground water
in communities across the country. Discusses the
mishandling of hazardous waste by the U.S. military
and the effects on the surrounding communities.
VHS 772
The
Politics of greed. 1987. 1 videocassette (60
min.). As corruption scandals rock New York City,
the careers of dozens of high officials are being
destroyed. Frontline takes an inside look at the
seamy side of urban politics and asks whether this
is any way to run a government. Takes an inside
look at the corruption scandal of politicians in
New York City. Detailed look at the investigation
of the Parking Violations Bureau. VHS 4965
Protectors
and polluters. 1993. 1 videocassette (29 min.).
In the process of protecting our nation, the U.S.
military has polluted thousands of sites within
and outside of our country. The program examines
efforts to clean up the mess and to reduce the amount
of pollution created (still one ton of toxic waste
per minute). Can this land be reclaimed or have
local economies been destroyed and permanent health
hazards created? VHS 2521
Public
lands, private profits. 1994. 1 videocassette
(60 min.). An investigation of the impact of the
mining laws pertaining to public lands, which have
not been changed since the late 1800's. Discusses
the pending legislation in the U.S. Congress that
would require companies to begin paying royalties
on gold extracted from public lands. Specifically
cites the increase in heap leach mining as a major
problem, and includes some discussion of the major
EPA cleanup project under way at a closed heap leach
mine near Summitville, Colorado. Those interviewed
include Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit,
and John A. Knebel, the current president of the
American Mining Congress. VHS 3469
Rabbit
in the moon. 1999. 1 videocassette (85 min.).
A documentary/memoir about the lingering effects
of the World War II internment of the Japanese American
community. Visually stunning and emotionally compelling,
the film examines issues that ultimately created
deep rifts within the Japanese American community,
reveals the racist subtext of the loyalty questionnaire
and exposes the absurdity of the military draft
within the camps. These testimonies are linked by
the filmmakers' own experiences in the camps and
placed in a larger historical context. VHS 5958
Scandalize
my name: Stories from the blacklist. 2000. 1
videocassette (ca. 60 min.). Looks at a troubled
period in American history, the 1950s -- a time
of blacklists, loyalty oaths, slandered reputations,
and the "Red Scare." Some of the hardest
hit people were African-American performers and
celebrities who were already victims of racial prejudice.
Film looks at the stories of these African-Americans,
like Paul Robeson, Hazel Scott, Jackie Robinson,
and Harry Belafonte, whose loyalties were questioned.
VHS 6177
So
you want to buy a president? 1996. 1 videocassette
(87 min.). Investigates the expected $500 million
flowing into the 1996 presidential campaign. Explores
what big financial donors want for their campaign
contributions, and documents how the process works.
VHS 4007
Summer
of judgment: The Watergate hearings. 1983. 1
videocassette (116 min.). Pt. 1: Covers the formation
of the Watergate Committee and the early days of
the hearing, including the testimony of John Mitchell
and John Dean. --Pt. 2: Describes the committee's
discovery of Nixon's taped conversations and recounts
the testimony of top aides John Ehrlichman and Robert
Haldeman on campaign procedures. Also examines
the House Committee impeachment procedures and effects
of Watergate on the American political system. VHS
4713
Waco,
the big lie. 1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.).
A critical look at the federal policy and role that
led to fire and death at the Branch Davidian Compound
in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. Film presents
an alternative view about the events as it argues
that the communal house was the property of a long
established religious group, several of the members
had outside jobs, the amount of ammunition present
was vastly overestimated, the group did nothing
to provoke the attack by the FBI and the details
about the final attack leading to the all consuming
fire were false as the fire was set by the FBI.
VHS 3430 pt.1
Waco,
the big lie continues. 1 videocassette. Another
look at the federal involvement in the Waco incident
and the subsequent cover-up. VHS 3430 pt.2
Waco:
the rules of engagement. 1997. 1 videocassette
(136 min.). A documentary film about the tragic
series of events that occurred outside Waco, Texas
in April 1993, in which 4 federal agents were killed
along with 86 men, women and children of the Branch
Davidian compound. DVD 1658, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 4820
Washington's
other scandal. 1998. 1 videocassette (60 min.).
Program reveals the heart of a Washington where
money - not sex - is the obsession. Shows how both
political parties, cynically and shamelessly, contrived
to bend and break campaign laws in the '96 election
to the point that some experts argue that money
- or access to money - has been so exclusionary
in the electoral process that it amounts to a denial
of basic civil rights. Uses White House videotapes
and candid interviews with White House insiders
to argue that Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign
was one of the most reckless fund-raising operations
in the history of American politics. On the Republican
side program exposes shell organizations like the
company called Triad which were established to accept
large donations outside the limits of the law and
offer anonymity to wealthy donors. Also looks a
the case of Oklahoma's impoverished Cheyenne/Arapaho
tribes engulfed not only by the frenzied chase for
campaign dollars, but also - after the '96 election
- by Washington operators who continued to try
to fleece them. VHS 5605
Watergate.
1994. 3 videocassettes (ca. 225 min.). In-depth
analysis of the notorious political scandal in the
words of the perpetrators and prosecutors. VHS 879-881
Watergate:
A third-rate burglary. Watergate. 1994.
1 videocassette (90 min.). President Nixon declared
war on his "enemies" and a secret police
force took shape in the White House. When the president's
men were caught red-handed in the Democrat's Watergate
offices, exposure threatened. A massive cover-up,
orchestrated by the President himself, seemed to
succeed with Nixon's landslide 1972 re-election.
VHS 2879
What
happened to Bill Clinton? 1995. 1 videocassette
(57 min.). Was it White Water or the media? Was
Clinton too liberal or too conservative? Was it
Hillary or Rush Limbaugh? Is there a character issue
or a backlash against the 1960s? Seven of the
country's sharpest political thinkers ask: What
happened to Bill Clinton? VHS 3011
When
cops go bad. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.).
Shows how the war on drugs is corrupting America's
cops and gives the story behind the largest current
police corruption scandal in the country, which
has seven Los Angeles sheriff's deputies on trial.
VHS 1229
Unfinished
business: The Japanese American internment cases.
America : a cultural mosaic. 1992. 1 videocassette
(58 min.). Tells the stories of three Japanese-Americans,
Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Minoru Yasui,
who resisted the military orders to intern the Japanese-Americans
and remove them from the West Coast after the attack
on Pearl Harbor. Focuses on the three men's lives
and the reasons behind their decisions to take their
cases to the Supreme Court. VHS 2950
Watergate:
The conspiracy crumbles. Watergate. 1994.
1 videocassette (90 min.). The cover-up begins to
crumble when John Dean, the designated fall-guy,
turns stool pigeon. The existence of the Oval Office
tapes is revealed. Nixon tries to strong-arm FBI
into shutting down the Special Prosecutor's office,
and a tarnished vice-president is forced to resign.
VHS 2880
Watergate:
The fall of a president. Watergate. 1994.
1 videocassette (45 min.). Nixon's next, hand-picked
Special Prosecutor uncovers evidence so damning
that the President's staunchest supporters begin
to defect. The House Judiciary Committee raises
the specter of impeachment and slowly tightens the
noose. A once-proud President Nixon resigns in disgrace.
VHS 2881
Who
owns our government? Listening to America
with Bill Moyers. 1994. 1 videocassette (60
min.). Bill Moyers examines the effect of political
contributions on public policy. Shows how campaign
contributions to key committee members of Congress
helped cause the savings and loan debacle; how a
loophole in the campaign finance law is permitting
large cash contributions to undermine the public
financing of presidential campaigns; and how special
interest money from the $700 billion health care
industry is preventing health care reform. VHS 3444
Corporate
Misbehavior
American
dream. 1992. 1 videocassette (98 min.). True
story of a workers 1985-1986 strike against Geo.
A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota. When
the company made $2 million in profits and then
cut their worker's salary by $2 an hour, the workers
had only one option: strike. VHS 2650
Bill
Moyers reports: Trading democracy. Baruch
video. 2002. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.).
"While the benefits of the North American Free
Trade Agreement are still being argued ... corporate
investors are using the obscure NAFTA provision
to challenge laws designed to protect the public
health, environmental regualtions and even jury
verdicts... This program details a system of private
justice that is enabling companies to obtain what
they have failed to achieve publicly America's legislatures
or courts"--Publisher's website. VHS 6898
Borderline
cases: Environmental matters at the United States-Mexico
border. 1997. 1 videocassette (65 min.). Filmed
in three border regions (Matamoros and Brownsville;
Tijuana and San Diego; Ciudad Juarez and El Paso),
documentary describes problems caused by factories
built in Mexico at the US - Mexico border which
did not need to comply with US environmental regulations
and also presents proposals and projects to remedy
the border's deteriorating environmental conditions.
VHS 4320
The
Buffalo Creek flood: An act of man. 1975. 1
videocassette (40 min.). Examines the February 26,
1972 flood caused by the failure of the Pittston
Company's coal waste dam on Buffalo Creek in Southern
West Virginia which killed 125 people and left 4000
homeless. Mixing actual footage of the flood and
its immediate wake with interviews with survivors,
union and citizens' representatives and Pittston
officials, the film probes the causes and effects
of the disaster. Evidence shows that company officials
knew of the hazard in advance of the flood and that
the dam was in violation of state and federal regulations,
yet Pittston denied any wrongdoing, calling the
disaster "Act of God.". VHS 3381
Buffalo
Creek revisited. 1984. 1 videocassette (31 min.).
Presents a documentary on the collapse of a company-owned
coal-waste dam that took more than 125 lives in
the West Virginia coalmining region of Buffalo Creek
in 1972. Uses newsreel footage, old photographs,
newspaper headlines, aerial views, and an automobile
tour. VHS 3382
Cigarettes
who profits? who dies? 1994. 1 videocassette
(49 min.). Looks at the dangers of smoking and the
power of cigarette advertising, featuring former
cigarette models who are now dying of cigarette-related
cancer. Discusses the tobacco industry's efforts
to promote smoking and export products to developing
countries. VHS 3726
Deadly
deception: General Electric, nuclear weapons and
our environment. 1993. 1 videocassette (29 min.).
Exposes the human and environmental effects of General
Electric Company's nuclear weapons facilities. Plant
workers have been poisoned by radiation and asbestos;
neighboring homes have experienced cancers and birth
defects. Shows the activists who worked to inform
the public and stop the company's dangerous activities.
After years of pressure, on April 2, 1993, GE sold
its Aerospace Division. VHS 3598
Death
in the West. 1982? 1 videocassette (VHS) (32
min.). Repeat of the documentary Death in the West
: The Marlboro man, originally broadcast by Thames
Television in 1976 as well as a follow-up of the
six cowboys characterized in the film as the Marlboro
man. VHS 6842
Erin
Brockovich. 2000. 1 videodisc (132 min.). Erin
Brockovich is a feisty young mother who convinces
attorney Ed Masry to hire her and promptly stumbles
upon a monumental law case against a giant corporation.
Erin's determined to take on this powerful adversary
even though no law firm has dared to do it before.
The two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious
fight that will bring a small town to its feet and
a huge company to its knees. DVD 306
Fear
and favor in the newsroom. 1996. 1 videocassette
(56 min.). Examines the need to protect freedom
of the press and investigative journalism in the
United States when newspapers and television stations
are owned and influenced by large corporations hostile
to media exposure. Examines case studies of investigative
journalists who have been dismissed or forced to
resign because of "too aggressive" journalistic
practices and cases of censorship mandated by television
and print media management. VHS 3989
Food
Lion vs. PrimeTime Live: Jury finds ABC guilty of
fraud. 1998? 1 videocassette (16 min). Using
segments of the ABC News PrimeTime Live broadcast
on Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 1992 and also segments edited
out, film discusses the fraudulent behavior of ABC
News PrimeTime Live during its investigation of
Food Lion supermarkets. Film, made for Food Lion,
points out that although there was over 43 hours
of tape, ABC edited it down to 10 min. of on-air
time. Film argues that ABC set out to create news,
not report it, and edited its material to support
a predetermined point of view. VHS 5616
Global
dumping ground. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.).
Program investigates America's shadowy new industry-the
international export of toxic waste-revealing how
shipping deadly wastes to third-world countries
has become an enormous business in the US. Moyers
interviews various people who are involved with
the disposal of toxic waste materials. VHS 6164
The
great American bailout. 1991. 1 videocassette
(58 min.). An inside look at the causes and costs
of the savings and loan scandal of the 1980's. Explores
similar problems in the banking industry. VHS 1859
Hand
that feeds. 1996. 1 videocassette (14 min.).
Chris Wallace interviews journalists, media executives
and others about the suppression of news reports
that criticize or offend advertisers. Most of the
examples involve auto dealers and the major concern
is that investigative journalism in television,
newspapers and other media is unable to protect
consumers if it cannot cover legitimate stories.
VHS 4228
Harlan
County U.S.A. 1980. 1 videocassette (97 min).
Documents the 1973 Kentucky coal miners' strike
against the operators of the Brookside mine and
the Duke Power Company, which resulted from the
company's refusal to honor the national contract
of the United Mine Workers of America. In the summer
of 1973, the men at the Brookside Mine, in Harlan,
Kentucky, voted to join the United Mine Workers
of America. Duke Power Company and its subsidiary,
Eastover Mining Company, refused to sign the contract.
The miners came out on strike. Viewpoints of mineworkers,
mine-owners, and union official are shown. VHS
39
Hidden
cameras, hard choices. 1997. 1 videocassette
(46 min.). ABC News looks at the way it collects
information - in particular its use of the hidden
camera in photojournalism. Discussion arises because
of the legal case in which Food Lion sued ABC News
because of hidden camera coverage used in a 1992
PrimeTime Live story. In that story Diane Sawyer
presented an undercover investigation of Food Lion
supermarkets, exposing internal labor problems and
major food handling blunders. Food Lion won the
case and received 5.5 million dollars in punitive
damages. 4853
How
to steal $500 million. 1994. 1 videocassette
(57 min.). Tells the story of Phar-Mor's rapid rise
and stunning fall, and reveals how the company's
top executives were able to hide a $500 million
shortfall from the company's auditors for five years.
VHS 3340
In
our own backyard: The first Love Canal. 1982.
1 videocassette (59 min.). Combines footage of public
events and interviews to examine the ways that residents
in the Love Canal area, their scientific and legal
advisors, and government officials understood and
responded to the discovery of toxic wastes in Niagara
Falls, New York. VHS 1609
Inside
the tobacco deal. 1998. 1 videocassette (60
min.). For forty years, Big Tobacco successfully
defeated every effort by the federal government
and the public health community to hold it responsible
for the deaths of millions. Then, on the strength
of a handshake, two Mississippi lawyers (Mike Moore,
Mississippi's Attorney General and attorney Dick
Scruggs) declared war on tobacco, eventually convincing
the industry in 1997 to hand over $368 billion,
while at the same time triggering a massive criminal
investigation of Big Tobacco. This program goes
inside their battle with Big Tobacco. VHS 5609
The
last cigarette. 1999. 1 videocassette (82 min.).
Shows segments of the 1994 U.S. House of Representative's
Health and the Environment Subcommittee hearings
on tobacco products and health, during which the
CEOs of the major tobacco companies testified.
Interspersed with the House hearing segments are
television advertisements and clips from motion
pictures showing people using tobacco products.
Includes discussion of the addictive effects of
nicotine, the industries' marketing strategies,
and the executives' statements that use of tobacco
products is neither addicting nor damaging to health.
There is no narration. Viewers are to draw their
own conclusions. VHS 6843
Marketing
booze to blacks. 1990. 1 videocassette (17 min.)
; sd., col. Beer, wine and liquor companies spend
more than $2 billion each year promoting their products
- and one of their main targets is Afro-Americans.
Film examines the impact of alcoholism and other
alcohol-related problems in the black community,
looks at the messages in alcohol ads and raises
questions about the industry's support of civic
groups. VHS 1897
Matewan.
1987. 1 videocassette (134 min.). A labor leader
seeking to organize the workers of a company town
sets off a powder-keg of racial hostility, corruption
and betrayal in this tale of the bitter clash between
unionist miners and the tyrannical coal company
owners in the hill country of Matewan, West Virginia,
in the 1920's. DVD 1651, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 511
The
Molly Maguires. 1990. 1 videocassette (123 min.).
A dramatized account of the Molly Maguires, a secret
society of Irish American coal miners in 19th century
Pennsylvania. James McParlan (Richard Harris) is
a detective on undercover assignment for the mine
owners; Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) is the leader
of the Molly Maguires. VHS 3891
The
Nicotine war. 1995. 1 videocassette (57 min.).
This program tells the story of Food and Drug Administration
chief David Kessler's attempt to regulate tobacco.
This industry has defied regulation for more than
thirty years. VHS 3141
Pack
of lies: The advertising of tobacco. 1992. 1
videocassette (35 min.). Expose of the advertising
strategies of the tobacco industry, revealing the
cynical and manipulative way in which the "pack
of lies" is spread, and new generations of
nicotine addicts are created. VHS 2049
The
Politics of tobacco. 1994. 1 videocassette (22
min.). The program is divided into three segments.
Part 1: Ms. Roberts interviews Congressmen who support
or oppose the tobacco lobby and shows news footage
of the declining influence of the tobacco industry
due to recent attacks on it. -- Part 2: Roberts
travels to Harrison County, Ky., where Congressman
Scotty Baesler and tobacco farmers discuss the economic
changes in the area in recent years due to changes
in the tobacco industry and in government policies
regarding it. -- Part 3: Norman Ornstein discusses
the political and economic impact of using tobacco
taxes as one of the three main sources of finance
for the proposed national health care system. Is
financing the most vulnerable part of the health
care bill? VHS 2667
Prescriptions
for profit. 1989. 1 videocassette (58 min.).
Goes behind the labels and hype to consider the
economic, social and ethical questions that arise
when big business is mixed with human suffering
and a large dose of advertising. The development,
approval and marketing of a new drug can take from
7 to 10 years and cost up to $125 million. To insure
adequate monetary return, drug companies have turned
to marketing techniques that include celebrity endorsement
and promotion that sometimes avoid mention of dangerous
side effects. VHS 774
Quiz
show. 199? 1 videodisc (133 min.). Fame and
fortune become a hotbed of scandal when a Washington
investigator uncovers corruption beneath the TV's
hottest quiz show's glittering facade. The scandal
implicates both the wildly popular champion and
the disgruntled ex-champ. DVD 164
The
Quiz show scandal. 1991. 1 videocassette (ca.
60 min.). When CBS premiered "The $64,000 Question"
in 1955, the show was a national phenomenon and
attracted 47 million viewers in ten weeks. A congressional
investigation revealed that many of the quiz shows
were a fraud. The scandal rocked television during
its formative years and had considerable impact
on the broadcast industry and a still naive America.
This documentary features Charles Van Doren, a contestant
on The $64,000 Question. VHS 1689
Silkwood.
1995. 1 videocassette (131 min.). Based on the true
story of Karen Silkwood who is poisoned by plutonium.
Silkwood worked at the Kerr McGee atomic plant in
Cimarron, Oklahoma. She wants to visit her children
in Texas but is told by her supervisor that she
must find somebody to work her hours. Returning
from the depressing visit, she finds the plant shut
down for decontamination. She is suspected of sabotaging
the plant to get time off. She voices her protest
at the indifference and denial of her company and
loses her job, many of her friends and her life
in a mysterious accident. DVD 1647, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 3496
Smoke
screen. 1996. 1 videocassette (12 min.). Lesley
Stahl shows scenes from motion pictures, mostly
recent ones, in which stars are smoking. She interviews
young smokers, Califano, and people involved in
movie-making about the influence movies have in
encouraging young people to smoke. VHS 4156
Toxic
trials. 1986. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This
program examines the origin of hazardous waste in
Woburn, Mass., and follows government and private
investigators as they try to assess the extent of
contamination. It also explores the controversial
subject of possible health effects, and whether
epidemiologists can identify these effects in a
scientifically reliable way. VHS 5145
TV
reality? Signal to noise: life with television:
Media literacy series. 1996. 1 videocassette
(ca. 57 min.). Signal to noise: the ratio of the
strength of a desired signal to that of unwanted
noise. Series evaluates the hold TV has had on our
perceptions of ourselves, our world, and the future.
This segment focuses on the information function
of television, and addresses concerns that the profit
motive has corrupted this public service. VHS 4722
Who's
killing Calvert City? 1989. 1 videocassette
(60 min.). Calvert City, Kentucky, is at war with
itself over the legacy of pollution and toxic waste
from the chemical plants that are the heart of its
economy. Program examines the struggle between citizens
and industry giants, like GAF and BF Goodrich. Looks
at the views of the politicians, plant executives,
chemical manufacturers, and concerned environmentalists
who fear the plants are jeopardizing Calvert City
citizens' lives, but who also insist that a pollution
panic has been stirred up that could ruin Calvert
City's economic future. VHS 885
Whistleblowers
The
A.C.L.U: A history. 1998. 1 videocassette (57
min.). Looks at the life of Roger Baldwin and surveys
the history of The American Civil Liberties Union
he founded, an organization that has supported the
rights of the individual against the majority and
the government. Traces the ACLU's history from its
inception through dozens of legal challenges over
the past century, including the Scopes trial, the
1930s labor strikes, Japanese internment, the HUAC
hearings and blacklisting, the Vietnam war crimes
trials, the American Nazi party's bid to march in
Skokie, Illinois, and others. VHS 5539
The
awful truth: the complete first season. 2000.
3 videocassettes (ca. 300 min.). Shot in his trademark
"guerilla video" style, each episode is
filled with observations that bridge comedy and
controversy and places Michael Moore in the middle
of today's hot topics. VHS 6761
The
awful truth the complete second season. 2002.
3 videocassettes (300 min.). Compilation of the
second season episodes of The awful truth, in which
Michael Moore skewers politicians and the public
alike as he places himself squarely in the middle
of today's most controversial issues and events.
The twelve half-hour episodes are filled with scathingly
funny observations and humorous rants that boldly
and ironically provide valuable commentary on today's
cultural landscpe. VHS 6762
Change
makers: The struggle for consumer rights. 1995.
1 videocassette (56 min.). The story of the historic
struggle to obtain and defend consumer rights since
World War II. Twenty five consumer leaders share
their successes, their failures, and their insights
on consumer issues. VHS 4146
Integrity
in public service earning the public's trust.
1993. 1 videocassette (20 min.). Discusses ethical
issues in government service. VHS 1974
Manufacturing
consent: Noam Chomsky and the media. 1992? 2
videocassettes (167 min.). Explores the political
life and times of the controversial author, linguist
and radical philosopher, Noam Chomsky. Highlighting
his analysis of media, Chomsky focuses on democratic
societies where populations not disciplined by force
are subject to more subtle forms of ideological
control. VHS 2507 pt.1,2
Necessary
illusions: Thought control in a democratic society.
1989. 3 videocassettes (159 min.). Professor Chomsky
lectures on how the press' interpretation of events
shapes societal views and the danger thought control
poses to democracy. In democratic societies, populations
are not disciplined by force but are subject to
more subtle forms of ideological control. VHS 2312
pt.1-3
Ralph
Nader. Talking with David Frost. 1994.
1 videocassette (57 min.). David Frost talks with
consumer advocate Ralph Nader. VHS 3281
Tell
the truth and run: George Seldes and the American
press. 1996. 1 videocassette (111 min.). A documentary
on the life and work of George Seldes, America's
most important press critic. The film includes archival
footage and photographs, and provides a fresh perspective
on 20th century history, while raising profound
questions about America's news media. VHS 4288
Best
of TV nation, vol. 1. 1994. 1 videocassette
(ca. 120 min.). Michael Moore, the creator of the
critically acclaimed "Roger & me,"
sets out with a TV crew and correspondents to "hilariously
expose the excesses of corporate America and examine
the absurdity of modern politics and popular culture"--Container.
VHS 4661
Best
of TV nation, vol. 2. 1995. 1 videocassette
(ca. 116 min.). Michael Moore, the creator of the
critically acclaimed "Roger & me,"
sets out with a TV crew and correspondents to "hilariously
expose the excesses of corporate America and examine
the absurdity of modern politics and popular culture"--Container.
VHS 4662
Whistleblowers.
1987. 1 videocassette (24 min.). Looks at the consequences
of telling the truth when people expose wrong doing
and corruption. Examines the treatment of employees
who reported the illegal dumping of sludge by the
Raritan Township Municipal Utilities Authority in
N.J and explores the role and fate of whistle blowers
in our society with author Alan F. Westin and engineer
Roger Boisjoly who warned against the launch of
the Challenger. VHS 705
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