The Library has recently subscribed to the Alexander Street Press Ethnographic Video Online database (EVO).  EVO provides the largest, most comprehensive resource for the study of human culture and behavior ? more than 750 hours and 1,000 films at completion. The collection covers every region of the world and features the work of many of the most influential documentary filmmakers of the 20th century, including interviews, previously unreleased raw footage, field notes, study guides, and more. This first release includes 404 videos totaling roughly 270 hours.  Access to the database is limited to UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff.

Enter the EVO Database Here (UCB users only)

Corporations/Big Business  in the Movies

In honor of the continuing economic apocalypse, MRC has compiled a videography of movies guaranteed to warm the heart of the coldest hedge fund manager: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/corporationsmovies.htm

John Carpenter BIbliography: 

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/horrorbib.html#carpenter

Steven Soderbergh:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/soderbergh.html

The Literature Online database (ProQuest/Chadwyk-Healey) has recently added the following two media collections.  Good stuff!  Try them out (available to UCB users only)

Shakespeare Audio Plays

Fully dramatised, unabridged audio recordings of each of Shakespeare?s 38 plays (Arkangel Shakespeare) [UCB users only]

Poets On Screen

Nearly 900 video clips of poets reading their own and other poets? works. [UCB users only]

The history of the movies is filled with frequently anxious images of women "overstepping boundaries"--whether these boundaries be social, economic,  sexual, or framed by gender.   These cinematic female transgressions have popped up internationally in nearly every film genre, from comedy, to melodrama, to horror films.  It's fascinating to chart the changes (or non-changes) in these images over the history of the movies--from Virgina Corbin baring her knees in 1928, to Sharon Stone baring considerably more in 1992; from Betty Davis and Joan Crawford bitchery to Uma Thurman's samouri sword-wielding "Bride" in Kill Bill; from film noir femmes fatales to the dyke hoods of the Wachowski brothers' Bound.

For a sampling of films featuring vamps, tramps, hookers, femmes fatales and kick-ass Gurrrls

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/transgressivewomen.html

Among the many strengths of the UC Berkeley Media Center's  collections is the Center's holding on topics related to the environment and environmental activism.  This collection includes a large number of videos from distributors such as Bullfrog Films that specialize in independently produced documentaries related to environmental issues.  Some of the more interesting and thought-provoking  new acquisitions in this area include:

The Cove

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan is a highly guarded secret. During the night, Taiji fishermen engage in an unseen hunt for thousands of dolphins. Their work is so horrifying, a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep it hidden from the outside world. When a team of elite activists, filmmakers, and free-divers embark on a secret mission to penetrate the cover, the shocking discoveries they find there are just the tip of the iceberg.  96 min. 2009. DVD X2519

Milking the Rhino

A ferocious kill on the Serengeti; warnings about endangered species... These clichés of nature films ignore a key landscape feature: villagers just off-camera who endure the dangers and costs of living with wild animals. The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Namibia's Himba -- two of earth's oldest cattle cultures -- are emerging from a century of 'white man's conservation,' which threw them off their lands, banned subsistence hunting and fueled resentment. They are discovering that earnings from wildlife tourism can rival the benefits of livestock. But change is not easy. Charting the collision of ancient ways with Western expectations, this film offers complex, intimate stories of Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation. Directed, produced, written and edited by David E. Simpson. Dist.: Kartemquin Films. 2008. 83 min. DVD X1879

The Last Days of Shishmaref

A documentary on the first victims of global warming. The filmmakers travel to a small village in northwest Alaska, home to an Inupiaq Eskimo community, where homes are literally falling into the sea. The entire village is expected to disappear within 10 years. The Inupiaq community is now facing a very difficult and expensive decision ? whether to move the entire village to the mainland, an act that will irreparably change their community, their livelihood, culture and traditions. Director, Jan Louter. Dist.: Cinema Guild. 2008. 90 min. DVD X2114

Weather Report

Takes a journey to the front-lines of our climate changing world - in the Canadian Arctic, Montana, Northern Kenya, China and India - visiting communities and ordinary people whose lives and livelihoods are being impacted in the most dramatic ways. Special features (31 min.): extended interviews with Bruce Sterling (5 min.), James Howard Kunstler (7 min.), Sunita Narain (7 min.), Sheila Watt-Cloutier (6 min.) & Wangari Maathai (6 min.). Director, Brenda Longfellow. 2008. 52 min. DVD X2145

Homo Toxicus

Everyday, tons of chemicals are released into the environment, without ever knowing how toxic they are in the long term to living organisms. Moreover, the majority of the 100,000 industrial compounds developed since World War II which are used in daily products have never been tested. Some of them have found their way into our bodies and into fetuses. Up to 247 toxic substances have been found in new-borns. We are today bequeathing our toxic load to our children along with our DNA. This hard-hitting investigation explores the links between those toxic substances and some rising health problems such as cancer, allergies, hyperactivity and infertility. Directed by Carole Poliquin. 2008. Includes 88-minute original version and 52-minute short version. DVD X2161

The World According to Monsanto

Monsanto Company is the world's leader in agricultural chemicals, seed and genetically modified crops, as well as being one of the most controversial companies in industrial history. This film uses hitherto unpublished documents and testimonies of victims, scientists and politicians to expose Monsanto's lack of care in protecting the environment and the health of those exposed to their products. Shows how the company promoted such products as Roundup (glyphosate), bovine growth hormone, and genetically modified plants. Directed by Marie-Monique Robin. Dist: National Film Board of Canada. 2008. 109 min. DVD X277

The Story of Sprawl.

This series of historic films, ranging from 1939 until 1952, gives a unique look at the forces that created urban sprawl. Each film includes an optional commentary track by experts in the field of urban development. 2009. DVD X1344

Dead in the Water

Examines the growing trend to privatize water resources in response to water shortages throughout the world. Looks at three multinational companies that want to solve the world's water problems by taking over supply and delivery from government bodies. In some places, "private water" seems to be working, but in others, the result has been nothing short of disastrous. Directed by Neil Docherty. Dist: National Film Board of Canada. 2006. 52 min. DVD X276

Flow: For Love of Water

Builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis... begging the question: Can anyone really own water? Special features: Optional audio commentary by Salina & Dixon; 3 deleted scenes; 5 expanded interviews (with Maude Barlow, Jean Luc Touly, Vandana Shiva, Oscar Olivera, Basil Bold); 2 activism featurettes; excerpt from "City water supply" (1941); excerpt from "Water" (1953); trailer. Directed by Irena Salina. 2008. 83 min. DVD X719

Crude

Tells the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet: the infamous $27 billion 'Amazon Chernobyl' lawsuit pitting 30,000 rainforest dwellers in Ecuador against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. Directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. 2009. 104 min. DVD X2713

20% Renewable Energy by 2020

The European Union has set itself the goal of raising the share of renewable energy sources in the final overall energy consumption of the Union from 8.5% in 2005 to 20% in 2020. This is an ambitious objective, but it is also a necessary contribution to the global fight against climate change and towards better control over energy dependence. The various uses for renewable energy sources are examined: electricity for wind and hydraulic energies; electricity or heat for geothermal and solar energies; multiple applications: electricity, heat, and biofuel for biomass, the "Sleeping Giant". Brussels : European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, c2008. 4 min. DVD X1273

Coal Country

This film reveals the truth about modern coal mining. The story is told by the people directly involved, both working miners and activists who are battling the coal companies in Appalachia. Tensions are high. It's a 'new civil war,' as families and communities are deeply split over mountaintop removal mining (MTR). What does this mean for America and the rest of the World? The coal industry is spending millions to promote what it calls 'clean coal.' Is it achievable? At what cost? Written, produced, and directed by Phylis Geller 2009. 85 min. DVD X2503

Addicted to Plastic

A lively, engrossing look at everything plastic: the many forms it takes; its history and evolution as a 20th Century mainstay; and, above all, its massive environmental impact. Filmed in 12 countries over three years, the film reveals the worldwide scope of plastics pollution, examines its toxicity and explores practical and cutting-edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability. Produced & directed by Ian Connacher. 2007. 85 min. (also includes 53 min. version) DVD X809

Garbage!: The Revolution Starts at Home

Examines the problem posed by the vast amounts of garbage produced in the industrialized world and the effects of this output on nature, by following an average urban family in Toronto -- and the garbage they produce over a three month period. As they discover where their garbage goes and at what cost to the environment, the viewer is encouraged to revolutionize their lifestyle for the sake of future generations. Directed by Andrew Nisker. Dist.: The Video Project. c2007. 76 min. DVD X2491

The Greening of Southie

The story of The Macallen Building, Boston's first LEED certified residential 'green' building, and the people who made it possible. From wheatboard cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, the Macallen building is something different: a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design. But Boston's steel-toed union workers aren't sure they like it. And when things on the building start to go wrong, the young developer has to keep the project from unraveling. Directed by Ian Cheney. 2007. 72 min. (also includes 46 min. version of the film) DVD X811

American Savannah

Looks at the cultural meaning and environmental consequences of lawns in the United States. Lawns are parks, gardens, cemeteries, golf courses, sports? fields. They?re places to play on, and to picnic on, but they do have a dark side! Every year, lawns drink twice as much water as the average family. Every year, American lawns absorb seventy million pounds of pesticides, endangering the lives of the kids playing on them and the adults living around them. Directed by Ian Lagarde and Jean-François Méan. 2007. 52 min. DVD X2868

The Garden

Reveals the ways greedy developers, inept politicians, and self-serving "community" leaders can run roughshod over the lives of working-class families fighting to save the largest urban farm in America: a 14-acre oasis in South Central Los Angeles that was created in the wake of the 1992 L.A. riots. Produced & directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy. 2008. 80 min. DVD X2423

No Impact Man

Colin Beavan, a New York City writer and self-proclaimed liberal, decides on a grand experiment: to live one year with as little impact on the environment as possible. The problem is, the project requires his wife Michelle, an espresso-guzzling, Prada-worshipping business writer, and their young daughter to be fully on board. The family embarks on a year of no electricity, television, cars, toilet paper, elevators, or newspapers. 2008. 93 min. DVD X2778