Browse Titles - 3 results
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The Guestworker
directed by Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003 and Charles Thompson; produced by Charles Thompson and Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 2006), 53 mins
When President Bush and some members of Congress proposed guest worker programs as part of new immigration reform legislation, it was as though nothing like this had existed before. Yet since 1986, thousands of Mexican men have legally entered the United States to work here, because of the little known H-2A guestw...
Sample
directed by Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003 and Charles Thompson; produced by Charles Thompson and Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 2006), 53 mins
Description
When President Bush and some members of Congress proposed guest worker programs as part of new immigration reform legislation, it was as though nothing like this had existed before. Yet since 1986, thousands of Mexican men have legally entered the United States to work here, because of the little known H-2A guestworker program, put in effect during the Reagan years. Filmed on both sides of the border, the documentary chronicles the life of such f...
When President Bush and some members of Congress proposed guest worker programs as part of new immigration reform legislation, it was as though nothing like this had existed before. Yet since 1986, thousands of Mexican men have legally entered the United States to work here, because of the little known H-2A guestworker program, put in effect during the Reagan years. Filmed on both sides of the border, the documentary chronicles the life of such farm- workers while looking at the issues surrounding the program. The film focuses on a 66-year-old Mexican farmer, Candelario Moreno Gonzales, who works on the tobacco, cucumber and pepper fields of the Western Farms in North Carolina . He has made this annual trip for forty years, initially as an undocumented immigrant for which he was jailed three times. Now too old to risk illegal crossings, he has paid as much as a thousand dollars for his bus fare and other costs of participating in the program. Although he is twenty years older than most of his fellow workers, he puts in the same grueling hours with no hope of citizenship and the benefits that go along with it. The film also shows the troubles of his employer, Len Wester, who may loose his farm because of drought. Wester, like many US farmers, is dependent on foreign farm laborers to sustain his farm. Candelario loves his home and family but the deteriorating condition of Mexico's rural economy leave him little choice but to continue his yearly trek. As he says " I need to go as long as I can work. I'm old. The work has worn me down and made me tired. My family needs me at home in Mexico, but I need to be here too." High School College Adult
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Field of Study
American History
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Charles Thompson, Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003
Author / Creator
Cynthia Hill, fl. 2003, Charles Thompson
Date Published / Released
2006
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Topic / Theme
Mexico and the United States Border, Farm workers, Migrant life, Immigration laws, Sociology, Politics & Policy, Ethnic Studies, Mexicans, 21st Century in World History (2001– ), 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2006. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
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Monkey Dance (Director's Version)
directed by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013; produced by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 1 hour 4 mins
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of...
Sample
directed by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013; produced by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 1 hour 4 mins
Description
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of Cambodian refugees, the three teens inhabit a gritty blue-collar American world that is indelibly colored by their parents' nightmares...
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of Cambodian refugees, the three teens inhabit a gritty blue-collar American world that is indelibly colored by their parents' nightmares of the Khmer Rouge. Traditional Cambodian dance links each of them to their parents' culture, but fast cars, hip consumerism, and young romance pull them even harder into American popular culture. Their parents fled the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s, trekking through the jungle to refugee camps in Thailand. In the early 1980s, they resettled in Lowell, a historic New England mill city now home to America's second-largest Cambodian community. For these immigrants, Lowell offered hope of safety and employment and a chance to rebuild some of what was shattered by the Khmer Rouge. But for their children, the city offers a dizzying array of choices -- many of them risky. Deftly interweaving scenes of great poignancy and scenes of engaging drama, "Monkey Dance" examines how the three teenagers navigate the confusing landscape of urban American adolescence and ultimately start to make good on their parents' dreams. Linda Sou is a freewheeling 17-year-old who struggles to overcome the shame cast on her family when her older sister was imprisoned for murdering an abusive boyfriend. Linda has been dancing since age three, when her father founded the Angkor Dance Troupe in an attempt to preserve traditional Cambodian culture. Over time, Linda is lured away from the dance troupe by the excitement of fast cars and hot dates. Her wild ways intensify until she and a friend are injured in a serious car accident. A trip to Cambodia with her family to meet her village relatives endows Linda with some perspective on her life and a new awareness of her parents' losses and sacrifices. Samnang Hor, an athletic 16-year-old born in a refugee camp in Thailand, is driven to achieve to make up for his two older brothers, who dropped out of high school because of their involvement with gangs and drugs. Sam works hard, and his mentors encourage him to see education as a way out of the ghetto. On the exciting day he receives his college acceptance letters, he also realizes that getting into school is only part of the challenge -- finding money to pay for it may be even more difficult. Sochenda Uch, a lanky, fashion-conscious 16-year-old, works a series of part-time jobs to pay for the necessities and accessories of teen life -- while his mother worries that he doesn't study enough. Hungry to reinvent himself, Sochenda drops out of Angkor Dance Troupe and becomes a backup dancer in a hip Cambodian-American band. Too many distractions soon take their toll: Sochenda's grades start to slide, leading him to be rejected from all the colleges he applies to. Only after another year-and-a-half of hard work does he begin to understand what success or failure means to himself and his family. Dance -- both traditional and modern -- is ultimately what makes a difference for the three teenagers. The Angkor Dance Troupe to which they belong provides rigor and structure in their lives. Sam performs the troupe's signature piece: the Monkey Dance, a traditional tale about a folk hero figure that has been electrified and transformed by Sam's addition of hip-hop choreography. Cambodian dance provides Linda, Sam, and Sochenda with a unique connection to their parents' culture at a time when many children of immigrants reject their traditional culture as irrelevant to their lives in America. By making the dance their own, the three teenagers forge a link with the past while also finding their way in America.
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Field of Study
American History
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013
Author / Creator
Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013
Date Published / Released
2004, 2005
Publisher
Berkeley Media
Topic / Theme
Cambodia and Thailand Border, Cultural identity, Immigrant life, Cultural assimilation, The Arts, Sociology, Cambodian, 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2005 Berkeley Media
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Monkey Dance (PBS Version)
directed by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013; produced by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 57 mins
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of...
Sample
directed by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013; produced by Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 57 mins
Description
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of Cambodian refugees, the three teens inhabit a gritty blue-collar American world that is indelibly colored by their parents' nightmares...
This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America. With keen sensitivity to detail and a sharp eye and ear for nuance, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as they come of age in Lowell, Massachusetts. Children of Cambodian refugees, the three teens inhabit a gritty blue-collar American world that is indelibly colored by their parents' nightmares of the Khmer Rouge. Traditional Cambodian dance links each of them to their parents' culture, but fast cars, hip consumerism, and young romance pull them even harder into American popular culture. Their parents fled the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s, trekking through the jungle to refugee camps in Thailand. In the early 1980s, they resettled in Lowell, a historic New England mill city now home to America's second-largest Cambodian community. For these immigrants, Lowell offered hope of safety and employment and a chance to rebuild some of what was shattered by the Khmer Rouge. But for their children, the city offers a dizzying array of choices -- many of them risky. Deftly interweaving scenes of great poignancy and scenes of engaging drama, "Monkey Dance" examines how the three teenagers navigate the confusing landscape of urban American adolescence and ultimately start to make good on their parents' dreams. Linda Sou is a freewheeling 17-year-old who struggles to overcome the shame cast on her family when her older sister was imprisoned for murdering an abusive boyfriend. Linda has been dancing since age three, when her father founded the Angkor Dance Troupe in an attempt to preserve traditional Cambodian culture. Over time, Linda is lured away from the dance troupe by the excitement of fast cars and hot dates. Her wild ways intensify until she and a friend are injured in a serious car accident. A trip to Cambodia with her family to meet her village relatives endows Linda with some perspective on her life and a new awareness of her parents' losses and sacrifices. Samnang Hor, an athletic 16-year-old born in a refugee camp in Thailand, is driven to achieve to make up for his two older brothers, who dropped out of high school because of their involvement with gangs and drugs. Sam works hard, and his mentors encourage him to see education as a way out of the ghetto. On the exciting day he receives his college acceptance letters, he also realizes that getting into school is only part of the challenge -- finding money to pay for it may be even more difficult. Sochenda Uch, a lanky, fashion-conscious 16-year-old, works a series of part-time jobs to pay for the necessities and accessories of teen life -- while his mother worries that he doesn't study enough. Hungry to reinvent himself, Sochenda drops out of Angkor Dance Troupe and becomes a backup dancer in a hip Cambodian-American band. Too many distractions soon take their toll: Sochenda's grades start to slide, leading him to be rejected from all the colleges he applies to. Only after another year-and-a-half of hard work does he begin to understand what success or failure means to himself and his family. Dance -- both traditional and modern -- is ultimately what makes a difference for the three teenagers. The Angkor Dance Troupe to which they belong provides rigor and structure in their lives. Sam performs the troupe's signature piece: the Monkey Dance, a traditional tale about a folk hero figure that has been electrified and transformed by Sam's addition of hip-hop choreography. Cambodian dance provides Linda, Sam, and Sochenda with a unique connection to their parents' culture at a time when many children of immigrants reject their traditional culture as irrelevant to their lives in America. By making the dance their own, the three teenagers forge a link with the past while also finding their way in America.
Show more
Show less
Field of Study
American History
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013
Author / Creator
Julie Mallozzi, fl. 2013
Date Published / Released
2004, 2005
Publisher
Berkeley Media
Topic / Theme
Cambodia and Thailand Border, Cultural identity, Immigrant life, Cultural assimilation, Sociology, The Arts, Cambodian, 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2005 Berkeley Media
×
