Immigration: Myths and Realities
Are immigrants dramatically less educated than native-born Americans? Does immigration cause unemployment to increase? We take a look at some of the most repeated myths about immigration and delve deeper to discover the realities underlying the immigration debate. (from P.O.V.'s Made in L.A. website)
Ensuring a Credible Election
The United Nations advised the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq in its work to conduct elections in January 2005. Carlos Valenzuela, who headed the UN team and appears in P.O.V.'s "My Country, My Country," talks about the day-to-day work and obstacles involved with conducting elections in Iraq. (from P.O.V.'s My Country, My Country website)
Perspectives on a Living Wage
Experts speak with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman about poverty, the minimum wage, ten years of welfare reform and the outcomes of living wage campaigns across the country in a special series of P.O.V. podcasts. (from the P.O.V.'s Waging a Living website)
Many P.O.V. films are related to important issues up for debate in this election year. Check out the following films, some of which are available through our Community Engagement lending library.
2008 Films
Election Day combines 11 stories — shot simultaneously on November 2, 2004, from dawn until long past midnight — into one. The result: an entertaining, inspiring and sometimes unsettling tapestry of citizens determined on one fateful day to make their votes count.
In Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep South, filmmaker Katrina Browne makes a troubling discovery — her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Her journey offers a powerful new perspective on the black/white divide.
The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández asks whether the U.S. military should guard our borders. In 1997, U.S. Marines patrolling the Texas-Mexico border shot and killed an 18-year-old U.S. citizen they mistook for a drug runner. The film explores the tragic death and its aftermath.
Campaign shows democracy — Japanese style— and provides an insider's view of Japanese electoral politics. The film tells the story of a man plucked from obscurity by the ruling political party to run for a critical city council seat.
Critical Condition asks: What if you fall sick and you are one of the 47 million people in America without health insurance? The film offers a moving and invaluable exposé at a time when the nation is debating how to extend health insurance to all Americans.
Soldiers of Conscience explores the inner moral dilemmas of eight U.S. soldiers, some who have killed and some who said no. Five years into the Iraq War, the film transcends politics to explore the tension between spiritual values and military orders.