Social Issues: Videos & News About Social Issues // Current

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10 days ago

Celtic Christianity Today Homily “The Cost and Joy of Discipleship” By Rev. Dr. George Cairns

(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers Sunday homily entitled “The Cost and Joy of... more

Yoopernewsman
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Welcome to the New Cultural Film Channel!

Hello Everyone, I'm pleased to welcome you to the new Cultural Film Channel. The Cultural Film Channel presents short... more

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Terror 2008 - Drury's Response and Quick Summary

Terrorists attacked Mumbai, the financial and entertainment capital of INDIA. This video is a quick glance and summary of that... more

LnNaru
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ACTION

It's a 6 minutes 40 seconds short film, and the genre is Crime and Suspense. It revolves around 5 characters. One of the main... more

LnNaru
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Living(/dying?) for 'A' meal

"When a person sitting in a A/C room throughout the day is paid 15000 Rupees or more, why shouldn't people like me earn... more

LnNaru
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Dailymotion - Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays

Maybe this is a better song choice for today. I mean it is Monday and we have the Swine Flu thing and Climate Change and economic... more

Mike_Johnston
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Are your balls fair-trade?

How many of you think about where your sports balls come from? Well now you can and not feel guilty. Fair Trade Sports has just... more

thechicecologist
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Schmurgen's Blog

My Blogsite

Schmurgen
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I Get Wet: A Love Story for the Ages

“I Get Wet” is a short film that was co-written by an amazing afterschool class of elementary school children at the... more

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Green to Blue: A Modest View of a Serious Problem

“Green to Blue” is an animated short, which was named to the Top-Ten Shortlist of Friends of the Earth’s 2008... more

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AIG Greed Redux: John Law and the Mississippi Bubble

A national outcry of public outrage has forced the Obama administration to take action on the large bonuses that AIG has given to... more

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Pure Detroit: When Old Things Get Broken

“Pure Detroit” is a short film by Ivan George with gorgeous cinematography, but also one which confronts the viewer... more

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The Economist tells us how to stop the drug wars

Prohibition has failed; legalisation is the least bad solution "The failure of the drug war has led a few of its braver... more

ninthstate
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The New Boy: One Day When I Was Lost

“New Boy” has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Live Action Short Film category. The film has already won numerous awards, including Best Irish Short at the Foyle Film Festival 2007, Best Short Film at the prestigious Irish Film and Television Academy Awards 2008, Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival 2008 (USA), Best Short Film at the 2008 Rhode Island Film Festival (USA), the Melbourne International Film Festival 2008 (Outstanding Short Film Promoting Human Values) and a Special Mention at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival.

“New Boy” takes us inside the mind of a young boy named Joseph during his first day in a new classroom. But Joseph’s not just any new boy, he’s an immigrant African child in an Irish classroom, seated right in front of the local bully. He’s also a boy who recently had lost his father (who was also his teacher) to war. Joseph witnessed first-hand the brutality of soldiers against his father in Africa, saw his father’s crumpled body and learned something about dealing with a potential enemy.

Joseph has to negotiate between a violent past and a future that looks as though it’s headed the same way. Straddling two worlds, the new boy must struggle to fit in without giving in. And living with the ever-present memory of his father, Joseph must find a way to stand up for himself while acting responsibly, just as his father would have wanted. The day that Joseph initially felt he was lost eventually came to be a day that he ultimately found a renewed sense of self, as well as the fulfillment of deep yearnings for reconciliation with his lost father.

While this deeply touching short film illuminates the more particular feelings of being the “new kid” at school, it also stands as a broader metaphor for our struggles with feelings of being an outsider in more general settings (at work, in a group, in a different city or country), as well as for the painful feelings of alienation suffered by persons and groups experiencing rejection by society. The film is an excursion into complicated contemporary multicultural realities. However, rather than attempting to teach or preach about simplistic lessons in social tolerance, "New Boy" shows how very tricky such lessons can be, either to teach or to learn.

This piece includes a number of photographs, a wonderful slideshow of images from the ten contending Academy Award Short Films and the extremely touching Academy Award nominated short film, “New Boy.”“New Boy” has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Live Action Short Film category. The film has already... more