The First Tuesday Social Justice Films putting together its line-up for 2015. Each first Tuesday of the month STARTING AT 7:OO pm, a free presentation, open to the public, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff (UUCOC), 3839 W. Kiest Blvd., Dallas and are sponsored by the UUCOC’s Social Justice Ministry and the Dallas Peace Center http://dallaspeacecenter.org /. The films are selected based on their socially relevance and range from environmental concerns to gay issues to civil rights and animal rights and more. Refreshments are provided. Donations of used ink/toner cartridges are welcome. Following each film, there is an audience discussion. So far three films have been confirmed.
JANUARY 6 at 7:OO PM - GASLAND
“In this explosive follow-up to his Oscar®-nominated film GASLAND, filmmaker Josh Fox uses his trademark dark humor to take a deeper, broader look at the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil, now occurring on a global level (in 32 countries worldwide).
“Gasland Part II”, which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, shows how the stakes have been raised on all sides in one of the most important environmental issues facing our nation today. The film argues that the gas industry’s portrayal of natural gas as a clean and safe alternative to oil is a myth and that fracked wells inevitably leak over time, contaminating water and air, hurting families, and endangering the earth’s climate with the potent greenhouse gas, methane. In addition the film looks at how the powerful oil and gas industries are in Fox's words ‘contaminating our democracy’.” http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/about-the-film
- “A must watch for all the environmentally conscious” –Examiner
- “Haunting and Provocative” – LA Times
- “The movie builds on Fox's Academy Award-nominated “Gasland,” further making the case of how the shale industry's hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) boom is busting up peoples' livelihoods, contaminating air and water, polluting democracy and serving as a “bridge fuel” only to propel us off the climate disruption cliff.” – DeSmogBlog
FEBRUARY 3 at 7:OO PM - PAY2PLAY
This documentary examines our Monopoly-inspired system of government, how money in politics obstructs meaningful change, and how the primary function of the pay to play politics is to provide a substantial return on the donor’s investments.
“Looking into the Pay 2 Play System, Ennis learns about The Powell Memo, a treatise written by Lawrence Powell in 1972 as a strategy to create the appearance of broad public support for a corporate agenda through think tanks, academic stooges, and anti-union laws. As Ennis is watching this agenda unfold in new anti-union laws in 2011 in Wisconsin and Ohio, he feels helpless to get the word out, so he turns to the exciting but dangerous underworld of street art as an effort at “ubiquity” of the message, as described in the Powell Memo.
“Revelations from the Wisconsin protests lead to identifying a long running shadow organization known as ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, which writes corporate friendly legislation and brings it to lawmakers across the country. While the corporate money and legislative power of ALEC make them seem invincible, Ennis observes how the individual efforts of citizens brings the law-writing giant to its knees.” http://www.pay2play.tv/issues
Noam Chomsky & Van Jones
MARCH FILM TO BE ANNOUNCED
APRIL 7 at 7:00 pm - "NUCLEAR SAVAGE"
“Nuclear Savage” - initially released in 2011 - presented by the First Tuesday Social Justice Films – will be shown free of charge on April 7, 7:00 pm, at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff (UUCOC), 3839 W. Kiest Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75233.
The Marshall Islands, a tiny collection of Pacific Ocean atolls, was a nuclear testing ground for the United States. The film documents the Pacific Islanders struggle for survival, dignity and justice after decades of human radiation experiments conducted by the U.S. government.
The film won festival awards in Paris, Chicago and Mexico City. Refreshments are provided. Audience discussion follows.
“ ‘Nuclear Savage’ . . . explores American nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands, 1946-1958, and particularly the secret Project 4.1: an American experiment in exposing Pacific Islanders to overdoses of radiation -- deliberate human radiation poisoning -- just to get better data on this method of maiming and killing people. . . .
“Filmmaker Adam Jonas Horowitz spent 25 years collecting material -- including original footage, archival clips, and unpublished secret documents -- to create this unforgettable and ironic portrait of American cynicism, arrogance, and racism. Winner of festival awards in Paris, Chicago and Mexico City." http://www.opednews.com/articles/Nuclear-Savage-by-William-Boardman-Broadcasting_Navy_Nuclear-Arms-Race_Nuclear-Attack-140110-941.html
Pacific Islanders in Communications summarizes the film this way: "Some use the term "savage' to refer to people from primitive cultures, but nuclear experimentation pushed savagery to new levels. In the 1950s, the U.S. conducted 67 atomic and hydrogen bomb tests in the Marshall Islands, vaporizing islands and exposing entire populations to fallout. The islanders on Rongelap received near fatal doses of radiation from one test, and were then moved onto a highly contaminated island to serve as human guinea pigs for 30 years. Filmmaker Adam Jonas Horowitz spent 25 years collecting material -- including original footage, archival clips, and unpublished secret documents -- to create this unforgettable and ironic portrait of American cynicism, arrogance, and racism.”
