By Noelle Cruz, Adjunct Librarian
Burned out from binging on Netflix? Watched reruns of This is Us too many times and ready for a break from all the ugly crying? Are the local movie theaters not showing enough diverse movies to make you spend $25 on a night out? (Because #representationmatters)
Don’t worry, CSN Libraries has you covered! You can access ad-free, on-demand streaming content through our Kanopy Videos database. If you access it off-campus, log in using your Canvas username and password, and watch away.
If you’re looking to expand your movie experience and you’re ready to explore films beyond the mainstream choices, Kanopy Videos is a terrific place to begin. They carry 26,000 movies, documentaries, independent and foreign films, classics, and educational videos specifically for CSN students and faculty.
In keeping with the celebration of Women’s History Month, Kanopy Videos created a Special Collection of content for, by, and about the female experience. In a time when diversity, inclusion, and equality are often viewed as partisan issues, you can use the Kanopy database as an education tool to further your understanding about race and gender relations in America (and it’s a perfect way to practice analyzing bias and alternative facts, and then apply what you learned in your library instruction session!).
Below are examples of some films Kanopy carries to help you understand the world around you:
The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which can make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself. (Miss Representation)
Ida B. Wells: a Passion for Justice
Check out CSN Libraries’ spotlight blog post featuring Ida B. Wells and watch a documentary about her life and her activism.
(un)veiled: Muslim Women Talk About Hijab
In a time when Islam and especially Muslim women are often represented as monolithic, the women in (un)veiled show the diverse, lively, argumentative debates in Muslim societies about the meanings of modernity, emancipation, and feminism ((un)veiled: Muslim Women Talk About Hijab).
The Purity Myth: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women
In this video adaptation of her bestselling book, pioneering feminist blogger Jessica Valenti trains her sights on a movement that exploits irrational fears about women’s sexuality to roll back women’s rights (The Purity Myth: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women).
Filmmaker Emiko Omori asks her older sister and other detainees to reflect on the personal and political consequences of America’s Japanese concentration camps. Visually stunning and emotionally compelling, Rabbit in the Moon uses eyewitness accounts to examine issues that created deep rifts within the community (Rabbit in the Moon).
Throughout the course of the film, three young transitioning FTMs (female to males) in New York City–Nicco, Norie and Keegan–go through major junctures in their transitions, discussing everything from their relationships with their bodies, feminism, and the intersection of race and class with their transgender identity (Boy I Am).
Bring It to the Table – Republicans & Democrats, Dialogue not Diatribe
A fresh, provocative, even humorous study of political identity, Bring It to The Table features Americans from all walks of life sharing their beliefs and values about the hot-button topics of today. In this time of increasing hyperpartisanship and gridlock, Bring It to The Table offers an antidote to negativity and a hopeful way to move our democracy forward (Bring It to the Table).
Kanopy also has a complete Gender Studies collection, with films on Women’s Studies, Men’s Studies, Transgender Studies, Gender Roles and Representation, and more! So cuddle up in a cozy blanket and a bowl of popcorn, and try logging into Kanopy Videos instead of Netflix to begin your movie marathon today!
Work Cited
“(un)veiiled: Muslim Women Talk About Hijab.” Dir. Ines Hofmann Kanna. 2007. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/unveiled-musilm-women-talk-about-hijab.
“Boy I Am.” Dir. Julie Hollar, Sam Feder. 2006. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/boy-i-am.
“Bring It to the Table – Republicans & Democrats, Dialogue Not Diatribe.” Dir. Julie Winokur. 2014. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/bring-it-table.
“Ida B. Wells: a Passion For Justice. Dir. William Greaves.” 1989. Kanopy Videos. Web. 17 Mar 2017.
“Miss Representation”. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. 2011. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/miss-representation-0.
“The Purity Myth: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women.” Dir. Jason Young, Jeremy Earp, Jessica Valenti, Sut Jhally. 2011. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/jessica-valentis-purity-myth.
“Rabbit in the Moon.” Dir. Emiko Omori. 1999. Kanopy Videos. http://csn.kanopystreaming.com/video/rabbit-moon-0.
