Attention Winona-area listeners: Mid West Music Fest takes place April 15 and 16th in Winona. Fish Frye, the official band of Sounds of Cinema, will be playing on Saturday at 8pm at The Bookshelf/Blue Heron.
You can find out more about Mid West Music Fest here and you can find out more about Fish Frye here.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Supplements to the 'Lake of Fire' Screening
I have made two supplements to the Lake of Fire screening available online.
The first is an audio file of guest commentaries from various individuals including Winona State University faculty and pro-abortion and anti-abortion activists. You can find a downloadable mp3 file here.
Second, I have published an essay on Lake of Fire at Winona360, explaining why I showed Lake of Fire, why I think it is an important film, and what can be learned from it. Here is an excerpt:
Part 1:
Part 2
The first is an audio file of guest commentaries from various individuals including Winona State University faculty and pro-abortion and anti-abortion activists. You can find a downloadable mp3 file here.
Second, I have published an essay on Lake of Fire at Winona360, explaining why I showed Lake of Fire, why I think it is an important film, and what can be learned from it. Here is an excerpt:
Before screening Lake of Fire at Winona State I introduced the film to the audience and read a short excerpt from The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. He writes, “The true believer is everywhere on the march, and both by converting and antagonizing he is shaping the world in his own image.” This quote could well play as an epigraph to Lake of Fire as it encapsulates the underlying theme of the film. It also answers one of the main criticisms of the film: that it focuses on the extremists, particularly on the anti-abortion side of the debate.Also, related to the subject of Lake of Fire, check out Rachel Maddow's interview with Stephen Singular, author of The Wichita Divide, a new book about the murder of abortion provider George Tiller:
It may be true that most people who hold opinions about abortion one way or the other (which accounts for the majority of Americans) are not violent nor do they approve of violence toward those who hold opposing viewpoints. But the loudest voices have been those who have declared the abortion debate a holy war and their battle cries drown out the rational or moderate voices. In that respect, the extremists are setting the tone. Because the moderate voices cannot get a word in, they are like a television program that no one watches or a blog that no one reads. This source may have the best material or the most accurate information but if no one receives it, then it may as well not exist at all. Perception is reality and the extremists, by dominating the discussion, are in the process of reshaping reality, for themselves and for the rest of us, to fit this holy war perspective.
Part 1:
Part 2
Saturday, April 9, 2011
'Lake of Fire' Commentary on Sounds of Cinema
Depending on where you hear Sounds of Cinema, listeners will receive one of two episodes.
Listeners to 89.7 KMSU FM in Mankato will hear a special pledge drive edition of the show. If you listen to this station, please consider supporting its fundraising efforts.
Listeners to 89.5 KQAL FM in Winona will hear a follow up to the screening of Lake of Fire, including commentary on the film from viewers on either side of the abortion issue as well as several Winona State University faculty members analyzing the film based upon their academic specialties.
Listeners to 89.7 KMSU FM in Mankato will hear a special pledge drive edition of the show. If you listen to this station, please consider supporting its fundraising efforts.
Listeners to 89.5 KQAL FM in Winona will hear a follow up to the screening of Lake of Fire, including commentary on the film from viewers on either side of the abortion issue as well as several Winona State University faculty members analyzing the film based upon their academic specialties.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Support KMSU's Spring Pledge Drive
Listeners in the Mankato area are encouraged to support 89.7 KMSU FM's spring pledge drive. The station is dependent upon the support of its listeners in order to keep functioning.
This Sunday, Sounds of Cinema will broadcast a special pledge drive episode that will showcase what this particular program adds to the station as well as drawing attention to the other great programming on KMSU.
As I have pointed out in the past, how much you give is not nearly as important as the fact that you do give. While it would be easy if one particularly wealthy and generous individual could gift the station a large sum of money twice a year, it would be far more impressive if a large cross section of listeners made small contributions that resulted in a comparable sum because that demonstrates just how important the station is to the community. Your pledges not only keep the station on the air but they also justify its existence.
To make a pledge, call 507-389-5678, or 1-800-456-7810 or visit the website http://www.kmsu.org/.
This Sunday, Sounds of Cinema will broadcast a special pledge drive episode that will showcase what this particular program adds to the station as well as drawing attention to the other great programming on KMSU.
As I have pointed out in the past, how much you give is not nearly as important as the fact that you do give. While it would be easy if one particularly wealthy and generous individual could gift the station a large sum of money twice a year, it would be far more impressive if a large cross section of listeners made small contributions that resulted in a comparable sum because that demonstrates just how important the station is to the community. Your pledges not only keep the station on the air but they also justify its existence.
To make a pledge, call 507-389-5678, or 1-800-456-7810 or visit the website http://www.kmsu.org/.
Monday, April 4, 2011
'Lake of Fire' on April 5th
A reminder that the abortion documentary Lake of Fire will be showing on the Winona State University campus on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm in the Somsen Auditorium. The event is open to the public and admission is free. The film is not rated but viewer discretion is advised. Find out more about the film here.
Update: Thanks to all who came out to see Lake of Fire. Additional thanks to those that supported the screening by placing signage in their businesses or offices and otherwise promoted the event.
Update: Thanks to all who came out to see Lake of Fire. Additional thanks to those that supported the screening by placing signage in their businesses or offices and otherwise promoted the event.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Women's Studies Film Festival at Viterbo University
Viterbo University, located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, will be holding a Women's Studies Film Festival March 30th - April 20th. The descirptions of the films come from the press release:
Mai’s America
Showing in two parts: Wednesday, March 30, and Friday, April 1 at 11–11:50 a.m. in MRC 500
Thursday, March 31: 4:30–5:50 p.m. in MRC 444
Tuesday, April 12: 11 a.m.–12:20 p.m. in RCE 127 and at 12:30–1:50 p.m. in RCE 127
Mai’s America is an intimate portrait of Mai—a spunky, mini-skirted daughter of Ho Chi Minh’s revolution. Fueled by the opportunity for abetter education and enticed by MTV inspired visions of America, Mai travels to the U.S. for her senior year of high school. Nothing in her wildest imagination prepares Mai for her
crash landing in rural Mississippi where her relationships with white Pentecostal and black Baptist host-families, self-proclaimed rednecks, transvestites, and South Vietnamese immigrants challenge her long-held ideas about America, about herself, about freedom, and even about Vietnam.
The Codes of Gender
Tuesday, April 5: 10–11:50 a.m. in RC 233, 1–2:50 p.m. in RC 233, 3–4:50 p.m. in RC 233
Wednesday, April 20: 3:10–4:30 p.m. in MRC 500
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.
Women of Faith
Thursday, April 7: 12:30–1:50 p.m. in FAC 204B
Individual interviews with seven women explore how rebellion can happen within and outside the Church,
how women in the Church reconcile conflicting religious, personal, and political beliefs, and how
they view official Church positions on contraception, homosexuality, and women’s ordination as priests.
Both timely and insightful, the film provides a rare look at their experiences and current controversies
over tradition, change, and power within the Catholic Church.
I Was a Teenage Feminist
Thursday, April 14: 7–9:30 p.m. in RCE 127
Why is it that some young, independent, progressive women in today’s society feel uncomfortable
identifying with the F-word? Join filmmaker Therese Shechter as she takes a funny, moving, and very
personal journey into the heart of feminism. Armed with a video camera and an irreverent sense of humor,
Shechter talks with feminist superstars, rowdy frat boys, liberated Cosmo girls, and Radical Cheerleaders,
all in her quest to find out whether feminism can still be a source of personal and political power.
Angel in the Village
Showing in two parts Monday, April 18 and Wednesday, April 20: 11–11:50 a.m. in MRC 436
Angel in the Village follows the Chinese-born, Philadelphia-based artist, Lily Yeh, as she works
to create social change through art in distressed urban environments. Her primary canvas is the
Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia, an organization that builds community through
innovative arts-based programs in education, land transformation, and economic development.
Mai’s America
Showing in two parts: Wednesday, March 30, and Friday, April 1 at 11–11:50 a.m. in MRC 500
Thursday, March 31: 4:30–5:50 p.m. in MRC 444
Tuesday, April 12: 11 a.m.–12:20 p.m. in RCE 127 and at 12:30–1:50 p.m. in RCE 127
Mai’s America is an intimate portrait of Mai—a spunky, mini-skirted daughter of Ho Chi Minh’s revolution. Fueled by the opportunity for abetter education and enticed by MTV inspired visions of America, Mai travels to the U.S. for her senior year of high school. Nothing in her wildest imagination prepares Mai for her
crash landing in rural Mississippi where her relationships with white Pentecostal and black Baptist host-families, self-proclaimed rednecks, transvestites, and South Vietnamese immigrants challenge her long-held ideas about America, about herself, about freedom, and even about Vietnam.
The Codes of Gender
Tuesday, April 5: 10–11:50 a.m. in RC 233, 1–2:50 p.m. in RC 233, 3–4:50 p.m. in RC 233
Wednesday, April 20: 3:10–4:30 p.m. in MRC 500
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.
Women of Faith
Thursday, April 7: 12:30–1:50 p.m. in FAC 204B
Individual interviews with seven women explore how rebellion can happen within and outside the Church,
how women in the Church reconcile conflicting religious, personal, and political beliefs, and how
they view official Church positions on contraception, homosexuality, and women’s ordination as priests.
Both timely and insightful, the film provides a rare look at their experiences and current controversies
over tradition, change, and power within the Catholic Church.
I Was a Teenage Feminist
Thursday, April 14: 7–9:30 p.m. in RCE 127
Why is it that some young, independent, progressive women in today’s society feel uncomfortable
identifying with the F-word? Join filmmaker Therese Shechter as she takes a funny, moving, and very
personal journey into the heart of feminism. Armed with a video camera and an irreverent sense of humor,
Shechter talks with feminist superstars, rowdy frat boys, liberated Cosmo girls, and Radical Cheerleaders,
all in her quest to find out whether feminism can still be a source of personal and political power.
Angel in the Village
Showing in two parts Monday, April 18 and Wednesday, April 20: 11–11:50 a.m. in MRC 436
Angel in the Village follows the Chinese-born, Philadelphia-based artist, Lily Yeh, as she works
to create social change through art in distressed urban environments. Her primary canvas is the
Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia, an organization that builds community through
innovative arts-based programs in education, land transformation, and economic development.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
ANNOUNCEMENT: 'Lake of Fire' Screening at Winona State University
Sounds of Cinema is sponsoring a public screening of the documentary film Lake of Fire on the Winona State University Campus on April 5th at 7pm in the Somsen Auditorium.
Called "an enormous act of social conscience" by Time Out New York, "a significant piece of journalism" by Film Journal International, and "the most prismatic film ever made on the subject" by The A.V. Club, Lake of Fire is a sweeping exploration of the abortion debate. The film includes interviews with such diverse voices as political commentators Noam Chomsky and Alan Dershowitz, bioethicist Peter Singer, Roe v. Wade plaintiff Norma McCorvey, columnist Nat Hentoff, Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, law professor Douglas Kmiec, and attorney Sarah Weddington. Rather than appealing to one side of the issue or the other, the film is a caricature of the abortion debate itself, exploring the vicissitudes of a difficult topic. In the process, Lake of Fire forces its way past familiar and deep-rooted talking points and connects the abortion debate to broader issues such as our regard for the value of human life, conceptions of individual freedom and communal good, the way religious rhetoric impacts discourse, and the appeal of mass movements. By the end, Lake of Fire not only characterizes the abortion debate but also provides a look into what the debate reveals about who we are as a people.
The film is not rated but it does contains footage of a graphic nature. Viewer discretion is advised. Click here for further information about the film.
Called "an enormous act of social conscience" by Time Out New York, "a significant piece of journalism" by Film Journal International, and "the most prismatic film ever made on the subject" by The A.V. Club, Lake of Fire is a sweeping exploration of the abortion debate. The film includes interviews with such diverse voices as political commentators Noam Chomsky and Alan Dershowitz, bioethicist Peter Singer, Roe v. Wade plaintiff Norma McCorvey, columnist Nat Hentoff, Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, law professor Douglas Kmiec, and attorney Sarah Weddington. Rather than appealing to one side of the issue or the other, the film is a caricature of the abortion debate itself, exploring the vicissitudes of a difficult topic. In the process, Lake of Fire forces its way past familiar and deep-rooted talking points and connects the abortion debate to broader issues such as our regard for the value of human life, conceptions of individual freedom and communal good, the way religious rhetoric impacts discourse, and the appeal of mass movements. By the end, Lake of Fire not only characterizes the abortion debate but also provides a look into what the debate reveals about who we are as a people.
The film is not rated but it does contains footage of a graphic nature. Viewer discretion is advised. Click here for further information about the film.
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