Film & TV Lunch Club: Feb 2020 - Social Justice
Film & TV Lunch Club: Feb 2020 - Social Justice
The Florida Project, Spotlight, 13th
The titles to watch for discussion of this month’s theme of ‘Social Justice’ in order to mark the World Day of Social Justice are listed below. As before, you can watch just one or all three of them (as well as supplementing with your own TV and film choices if you wish – see the list of suggestions below).
🎞February Selection🎞
The Florida Project | Official Trailer HD | A24
1. The Florida Project (2017; Dir: Sean Baker)
Drama: Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World. Available on Prime.
2. Spotlight (2015; Dir: Tom McCarthy)
Biography/crime/drama: The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. On Netflix.
3. 13th (2016; Dir: Ava DuVernay)
Documentary: An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality. On Netflix.
🎬 Optional Extras 🎬
Other notable films/TV shows suggested for the theme:
o Three Billboards - A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.
o The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
o Fruitvale Station - The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. On Netflix.
o Fahrenheit 9/11 - Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
o The Wind that Shakes the Barley - Against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces.
o Vice - The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.
o Son of Saul - Oscar-winning film drama. A prisoner in Auschwitz becomes obsessed with saving the body of a young boy from cremation to give it a proper Jewish burial. Watch on BBC iPlayer.
o I, Daniel Blake - After having suffered a heart-attack, a 59-year-old carpenter must fight the bureaucratic forces of the system in order to receive Employment and Support Allowance.
o Groundhog Day - A weatherman finds himself inexplicably living the same day over and over again.
o The Stanford Prison Experiment - In 1971, twenty-four male students are selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
o Mississippi Burning - Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
o Erin Brokovich - An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply. Watch on Netflix.
o Hotel Rwanda - Paul Rusesabagina was a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.
o Blood Diamond – A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
o BlacKkKlansman - Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.
📽 At the Movies 📽
Current films out at the cinema, or as the Americans say, ‘in theatres’, which fit this theme are:
Bombshell - A group of women take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network. Out now.
Queen & Slim - A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over. Out 27/01/2020.
Just Mercy - World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner. Out now.
Richard Jewell - American security guard Richard Jewell saves thousands of lives from an exploding bomb at the 1996 Olympics, but is vilified by journalists and the press who falsely reported that he was a terrorist. Out 31/01/2020.