I have suggested that we should engage and be engaged by those persons who see and understand the world differently from those who sit comfortably within a dominant we society so that we might (re)imagine or discover a new place for democratic politics. And as film-goers who find ourselves more susceptible emotionally to the stimuli presented in a movie theatre, we can at times experience vicariously, yet deeply, the events, the stories, the lives of those who are different from ourselves. As individuals living in a multicultural and diverse society we should consider opening ourselves up to and welcoming such engagement and the possibilities for personal transformation in our individual sensibilities. Such a transformation might occur when one considers and compares the experiences of his or her life and the impact of those experiences on his or her identity next to those raw materials that make-up or construct the identity(ies) of those who are different from them, specifically those who have been marginalized, disregarded, and silenced by a dominant we society. I have suggested that when one truly sees Other, sees and hears the stories of difference crafted and told by the Other in film, one might come to respect the different voices and stories of those lives and thus allow him or herself to see and experience life from a new position, a transformed sensibility, where politics transcend convention. In other words, when we consider our lives next to those who are different from us, when we frame those different human stories next to our own personal human narrative we may come to understand how a particular human uncertainty and vulnerability informs all of our lives.

In 300-500 words share whether or not you believe film has the potential to transform one’s political sensibilities.  And if you believe that your personal sensibilities have been (re)shaped or transformed by a particular film, say so.   The objective here is to share your thoughts pertaining to the major thesis presented in Democracy and Difference.

Recommended Feature Length Film Texts:

Beach Rats, 2017; Directed by Eliza Hittman

Boys Don’t  Cry, 1998; Directed by Kimberly Pierce

Boyz ‘N the Hood , 1991; Directed by John Singleton 

Call Me By Your Name, 2017; Directed by Luca Quadagnino

Cesar Chavez: An American Hero , 2014; Directed by Diego Luna

Do the Right Thing, 1989; Directed by Spike Lee

Get Out, 2017; Directed by Jordan Peele

Loving , 2016; Directed by Jeff Nichols

Milk, 2008; Directed by Gus Van Sant

Moonlight, 2016; Directed by Barry Jenkins

My Own Private Idaho, 1991; Directed by Gus Van Sant

Selma, 2014; Directed by Ava DuVernay

Smoke Signals, 1998; Directed by Chris Eyre

Stonewall: Where Pride Began, 2015; Directed by Roland Emmerich

Straight Outta Compton, 2015; Directed by F. Gary Gray

The Birth of a Nation, 2016; Directed by Nate Parker

Twelve Years a Slave, 2013; Directed by Steve McQueen

Required Documentary Film Texts (Democracy and Difference website):

*13th, 2016; Directed by Ava DuVernay

A Place of Rage, 1991; Directed by Pratibha Parmar

America in Black &White: A Question of Identity, 2003; Films for Humanities and Science

A Family Portrait, 2011; Directed by Melissa Leu and Jeff Haig (Student Film)

Cultural Criticism & Transformation, 1997; Featuring bell hooks and Directed by Sut Jhally

Ethnic Notions, 1986; Directed by Marlon Riggs

Exploring Society: Gender, 2005

Exploring Society: Race and Ethnicity, 2005

Exploring Society: Social Class, 2008

Further Off the Straight and Narrow: New Gay Visibility on Television, 2006; Katherine Sender Generation M: 

Misogyny in Media and Culture, 2013; Directed by Thomas Keith 

How Racism Harms White America, 2013; Directed by John Bracey 

*

I Am Not Your Negro, 2016; Directed by Raoul Peck

Latinos Beyond Reel: Challenging a Media Stereotype, 2012 

Off the Straight andNarrow: Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Television, 1998 

On White Privilege, 2008; Featuring Tim Wise

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, 2006; Directed by Sut Jhally

Responding to Diversity; 2011; Directed by Rise Sanders Weir and Tracy Ullman

Soundtrack for a Revolution, 2009; Directed by Bill Guttentag

The Brandon Teena Story, 1998; Directed by Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir

The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men, 2011; Directed by Thomas Keith 

*

The Celluloid Closet, 1995; Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

The Empathy Gap: Masculinity & The Courage to Change, 2015; Directed by Thomas Keith 

The Origins of Cultural Studies, 1989 ; Featuring Stuart Hall

*

The Times of Harvey Milk, 1984; Directed by Rob Epstein

White Like Me, 2013; Featuring Tim Wise and Directed by S. Morris