New Releases at the Library

The end of poverty? is a daring, thought-provoking documentary by award-winning filmmaker Philippe Diaz, which reveals that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery, and colonization that resulted in forced labor and the seizure of land and minerals. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade, and tax policies--in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries. The end of poverty? asks why 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate.

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This cinema verité documentary follows a year and a quarter in the life of a Secwepemc (Shuswap) reserve in the interior of British Columbia. Eleven large, intermarried families form the population of the 550 Secwepemc living at Alkali Lake. Struggling under the paternalistic system devised in the 19th century by the Canadian Government, they have never signed a treaty formalizing their existence and live much like interlopers on their own land. Framed against the lingering malaise of the residential school system's policy of cultural genocide, the film follows 14 major characters over the course of 15 months, revealing the complexity of reserve life with its vast web of communal roots, its cultural contradictions, its nepotism, and its feuds--but ultimately, its deep spiritual resources. The film is structured by seasons of the year and its long running length may best be digested in sections that way.

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Subjects of desire explores the cultural shift in North American beauty standards towards embracing Black female aesthetics and features, while exposing the deliberate and often dangerous portrayals of Black women in the media. From society's new fixation on the "booty," fuller lips, the dramatic rise of spray tanned skin, ethnic hairstyles, and athletic bodies, some argue that Black women are having a beauty moment. But others, primarily Black women, argue that traditional Black features and attributes are seen as more desirable when they are on White women. Told from the point of view of women who aren't afraid to challenge conventional beauty standards, the film explores the positive and negative portrayals of Black women in media and asks: What is the impact today?

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Stephanie Harpe is a singer, songwriter, inspirational speaker, MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) advocate, an actor, and a proud member of the Fort Mckay First Nation. She is a survivor and role model who has never given up on her dreams even when times were difficult. As a child, she spent her summers in Fort McMurray with her aunt, Chief Dorothy MacDonald who was an activist and leader that challenged governments to protect the traditional territory of her people.

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Requiem for the American dream is the definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as the most important intellectual alive, on the defining characteristic of our time--the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality, tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority, while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation.

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No women in any country have seen their lives change so radically as have Chinese women. "Women are half the sky,'' declared Mao Zedong, "and they are absolutely the equal of men." Equal they may have been but by regimentation--to the point of the virtual abolition of womanhood and femininity. Today, economic reforms have given young women a degree of independence unknown to any previous generation. For the first time, they are conscious and outspoken about their role and position in society, and they make their demands known. This film explores these changes within the lives of four generations of women in the Jiang family over the last 50 years in China. Half the sky focuses on the women's individual experiences of marriage, children, work, love, and self-esteem.

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One hundred years after the two-day Tulsa Massacre, one of America's most violent racial conflicts, this documentary explores the role of media during these early 20th century events and today's revived call for justice and anti-racism.

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An intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker, rose from humble beginnings to create the world's largest religious broadcasting network and theme park, and were revered for their message of love, acceptance and prosperity. Tammy Faye was legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, it wasn't long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire.

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A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch" magazine..

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One night, in the depths of Mushnik's Floral Store, young Seymour pricks his finger on a rose and Audrey II gets her first slurp of RH negative. Audrey II grows and demands more and more and more. This is one mean plant!.

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In 1984, after saving the world in Wonder Woman (2017), the immortal Amazon warrior, Princess Diana of Themyscira, finds herself trying to stay under the radar, working as an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Museum. With the memory of the brave U.S. pilot, Captain Steve Trevor, etched on her mind, Diana Prince becomes embroiled in a sinister conspiracy of global proportions when a transparent, golden-yellow citrine gemstone catches the eye of the power-hungry entrepreneur, Maxwell Lord. Now, as a dear old friend from the past miraculously enters the picture, and Barbara Minerva, Diana's insecure gemologist colleague gives in to desire, suddenly, deceit, greed, and false promises catapult Maxwell into the limelight. More and more, cataclysmic events push the world to the brink, and emotionally vulnerable Diana must address a cruel dilemma. Can mighty Wonder Woman save humankind once again?

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Eric Butler, a Hurricane Katrina survivor and pioneer of the restorative justice movement, relocates to Oakland, California, to counsel vulnerable Black and Latino teenagers. The film follows Butler's impassioned efforts to nurture troubled youth and keep them in school, fighting racial discrimination, but when his own teenage son is arrested and beaten in jail, he begins to question his methods and ability -- not just as a teacher, but also as a father. With incredible access, Circles is an inspirational portrait of a father desperate to provide his son with the leadership and compassion he never received from his own.

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In the year 2043, in a dystopian future, a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are considered property of the regime, which trains them to fight. A desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a State children's academy and get her daughter back. A parable about the experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America, this is a female-driven sci-fi drama about resilience, courage and love.

DVD

Host Neil deGrasse Tyson features his interviews with the author of "Hidden Figures," Margot Lee Shetterly, and Grammy-nominated singer Janelle Monáe. Tyson is joined in the Hall of the Universe by comedian co-host Sasheer Zamata and NASA historian Bill Barry to discuss NASA's human computers and their space race legacy. To add to the conversation about modern space programs, NASA engineer Tracy Drain joins via video call.

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