It used be that everyone knew what it meant to be a man. A man was rugged and reliable and got the job done. But then came the worst recession in 80 years. So what happens now that the job is gone? The End of Men is a compelling new documentary that takes a profound look at how men are coping with the evolving role of masculinity in today's world, where the old rules no longer apply.
Tasha Diamant's Human Body Project (2010)
Gandhi said: 'Be the change you wish to see in the world.' In this experiential open forum shot at a fringe theater festival, Tasha Diamant, a mother, artist, and educator, models human vulnerability by appearing naked and unscripted. Diamant has bravely chosen to 'be' or embody the humanity we all share: physicality, fragility, mortality. The goal: authenticity, compassion, peace. Engaged audiences connect and participate.
Radical Vulnerability (2019)
Performance artist Tasha Diamant is the first person in the world to stand naked on the street with the Extinction Symbol, which she started in 2012. This mini-doc was shot in 2019 in Montreal. Her work confronts privilege, capitalism, state oppression, obliviousness, whiteness, to name a few. Ask yourself: why 10 cops?
Ain't No Time For Women (2020)
The hairdressing salon “Saïda” is a space where people speak openly, laugh and argue. The subject rarely is hair. In the run-up to the presidential elections in Tunisia the shop turns into a political arena where the women – young or old, conservative or with a modern outlook – indulge in discussions about the pros and cons of the candidates. Their clever and witty statements reflect a young democracy with all its rifts and fault lines.
Retreat (2019)
Marina and Perla join thousands of women on an annual Catholic pilgrimage. Perla's coming of age accentuates a generational divide as she struggles to assert her independence as a woman.
The Other Song (2009)
Journeying across Varanasi, Lucknow, and Muzzafarpur in India, this documentary film traces the lost traditions and the culture of tawaifs (courtesans of North India), particularly through a song sung by Rasoolan Bai, "Lagat karejwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" and its lesser known, earlier version "Lagat jobanwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" (recorded in a 1935 Gramophone recording). Weaving the past with the present, the film spans between personal stories as it interacts with historical events, ultimately leading to the decline of a great art form.
The Codes of Gender (2010)
Arguing that advertising not only sells things, but also ideas about the world, media scholar Sut Jhally offers a blistering analysis of commercial culture's inability to let go of reactionary gender representations. Jhally's starting point is the breakthrough work of the late sociologist Erving Goffman, whose 1959 book The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life prefigured the growing field of performance studies. Jhally applies Goffman's analysis of the body in print advertising to hundreds of print ads today, uncovering an astonishing pattern of regressive and destructive gender codes. By looking beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that tend to focus on either biology or objectification, The Codes of Gender offers important insights into the social construction of masculinity and femininity, the relationship between gender and power, and the everyday performance of cultural norms.
Boobs (2022)
A witty, forthright dive into the wonderful world of boobs by singer and filmmaker Elizabeth Sankey - from enhanced boobs to 'free the nipple', bras, Baywatch, and the stars of reality TV.
Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (2013)
The compelling story of an extraordinary woman's journey from her birth in a paper thin shack in the cotton fields of Georgia to her recognition as a key writer of the twentieth Century.Walker made history as the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her groundbreaking novel, The Color Purple.
Not Bad for a Girl (1995)
A documentary on women musicians of the 1990s from the indie rock music genre, grunge and riot grrrl including Hole, Babes in Toyland, L7 and more.
Linda's Film on Menstruation (1974)
This is an educational short released by the Los Angeles Public Library explaining what to expect when you get your first period.
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006)
Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment
Pornography: Andrea Dworkin (1991)
Radical feminist Andrea Dworkin's expose on the pornography industry.
Make Love Not Porn (2024)
Against the stereotypes of the “ideal” woman and the symbols of Pornography, the women in the works of Greek comic artist Stavros Kioutsioukis preserve their personality: they are the girls next door who try and get their rights in Happiness and Love.
Delphine and Carole (2020)
In the 70s, actress Delphine Seyrig and director Carole Roussopoulos, both militant feminists, were the pioneers of video activism in France. They documented the demonstrations of French feminists and used the new technologies to counter the poor representation of women in the public media.
After Winter Comes Spring (1989)
A locomotive journey traversing the North to the South of the German Democratic Republic on the eve of its dissolution. Labourers, punks, mothers, intellectuals, young and old are implored to reflect on their life choices, the sacrifices they've made, and their place in the world. Despite everything, hope persists.
Working Class (2011)
Loosely based on Charles Dicken’s book “A Tale of Two Cities”, Working Class tells the tale of underground street artists Mike Giant and Mike Maxwell and their decade long friendship that started with a tattoo. The story is told through the cities they call home by, cutting back and forth between the neighborhoods of San Francisco and San Diego, as the artists talk about their life philosophies and the work they create.
This is What a Feminist Sounds Like (2012)
This is What a Feminist Sounds Like is the story of 80 year old social activist Pat Noonan and it is a guided tour of the burgeoning of woman's rights and gender equality in North America during the twentieth century, set in the small automotive town of Windsor, Ontario.