111 Films That Changed America

10/24/18 • 25 min

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While most works of cinema are produced for mass-entertainment and escapism, a peculiar minority have had a profound influence on our culture. Whether intentionally or not, some movies have brought social issues to light, changed laws, forwarded ideologies both good and bad, and altered the course of American history through their resounding impact on society. Renowned Yale Film Professor Marc Lapadula discusses several films that, for better or worse, made their mark. The Jazz Singer, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Easy Rider, The Graduate, & Jaws Marc Lapadula is a Senior Lecturer in the Film Studies Program at Yale University. He is a playwright, screenwriter and an award-winning film producer. In addition to Yale, Marc has taught at Columbia University's Graduate Film School, created the screenwriting programs at both The University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins where he won Outstanding Teaching awards and has lectured on film, playwriting and conducted highly-acclaimed screenwriting seminars all across the country at notable venues like The National Press Club, The Smithsonian Institution, The Commonwealth Club and The New York Historical Society.

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110 Women of the American Revolution

One of the remarkable myths of the American Revolution is that it was an all male affair. Really? An eight year home front war and American women didn't notice it? In fact, women played vital roles throughout the war - from enforcing the boycotts of British imports to writing and publishing propaganda, from nursing the soldiers at Valley Forge to scavenging active battle fields for usable clothing and weapons. Carol Berkin dispels the myth that the success of the war rested solely on the shoulders of "great men" and explores the valuable contributions that women made to the effort - and beyond. Carol Berkin is Presidential Professor of History at Baruch College and a member of the history faculty of the Graduate Center of CUNY. She has worked as a consultant on several PBS and History Channel documentaries, including, The "Scottsboro Boys," which was nominated for an Academy Award. She has also appeared as a commentator on screen in the PBS series by Ric Burns, "New York," the Middlemarch series "Benjamin Franklin" and "Alexander Hamilton" on PBS, and the MPH series, "The Founding Fathers." She serves on the Board of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Board of the National Council for History Education.

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112 Eight Books that Changed the World

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Professor Joseph Luzzi uncovers the mysteries of 8 books that, in one way or another, changed our world. He explores the creative processes behind these masterpieces, traces their impact, and helps reveal their remarkable riches.: The Bible The Odyssey by Homer The Divine Comedy by Dante Hamlet by Shakespeare To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Catch 22 by Joseph Heller Joseph Luzzi is a Literature and Italian Professor at Bard College, and was previously a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the Scaglione Prize for his teaching. He is also the author of the audio course, "The Art of Reading." Professor Luzzi previously taught at Yale University, where he was awarded a Yale College Teaching Prize.