'Untold Stories' Movie Series Focuses on Media and U.S. Intervention

09/23/2009 

"Untold Stories," a movie series on media and U.S. interventions, is being sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement throughout October and November in Old Main Brown Auditorium. All the movies begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

"Each year, SUNY Cortland chooses an academic theme that shapes the various educational programs on campus throughout the year," explained Main Street SUNY Cortland Community Outreach Coordinator Timothy Rodriguez, who organized the movie series. "In previous years, the themes have focused on the environment and issues of fundamentalism. This year the academic theme is 'Walls.'"

SUNY Cortland Associate Professor of History Kevin Sheets, who chairs the College's Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee, explains that the "Walls" concept includes all types of "walls, fences, borders, limits, boundaries and barriers."

"'Untold Stories' will show perspectives of societal and world events that aren't often articulated in the dominant mainstream culture of the United States," added Rodriguez. "Relating to the academic theme, this series can be used to break down some of the ideological walls that exist today."

The six-film series opens on Thursday, Oct. 8, with "Manufacturing Consent," a documentary based on the work of MIT professor and linguist Noam Chomsky. The series continues on Thursday, Oct. 15, with the documentary "Outfoxed," which focuses on Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch and Fox News. On Thursday, Oct. 22, the documentary "Orwell Rolls in His Grave," which features information from media specialists, will be shown.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, a documentary titled "The War on Democracy" will focus on U.S. intervention in Venezuela, Guatemala, Chile and Bolivia. "Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land," a documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the U.S. media that report it, will be shown on Thursday, Nov. 12. The movie series concludes on Nov. 19 with the film "Breaking Ranks," which features testimony from Iraq War veterans who have deserted the military to oppose the current wars.

For more information on "Untold Stories," contact Rodriguez at (607) 753-4271.