Media Education Foundation Movie Trailers

Rich Media, Poor Democracy Trailer (2003)

01 January 2003

Robert McChesney lays the blame for the US's current state of affairs squarely at the doors of the corporate boardrooms of big media, which far from delivering on their promises of more choice and more diversity, have organized a system characterized by a lack of competition, homogenization of opinion and formulaic programming.

Digital Disconnect Trailer (2018)

08 April 2018

In this era of Facebook privacy breaches, "fake news" and filter bubbles, this essential film trains its sights on the relationship between the internet and democracy.

Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music Trailer (2001)

01 January 2001

The hallmarks of popular music - artist independence and diversity of voices - are threatened by a contracting marketplace of record companies, radio ownership and playlists, as well as increased use in advertising.

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL Trailer (2022)

23 September 2022

Celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee.

Edward Said: The Myth of "The Clash of Civilizations” Trailer (1998)

01 January 1998

In this important lecture delivered at the University of Massachusetts, Edward Said takes aim at one of the central tenets of recent foreign policy thinking -- that conflicts between different and "clashing civilizations" (Western, Islamic, Confucian) characterize the contemporary world.

Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women Trailer (2000)

01 January 2000

Jean Kilbourne's pioneering work helped develop and popularize the study of gender representation in advertising.

Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships Trailer (2012)

01 July 2012

Social and developmental psychologist and author Lynn Phillips explores the line between consent and coercion in this thought-provoking look at popular culture and the ways real girls and women navigate their heterosexual relationships and hookups.

The Man Card Trailer (2020)

20 October 2020

For years, right-wing politicians and pundits have repeatedly criticized the left for playing “the race card” and “the woman card.

The Bystander Moment: Transforming Rape Culture at its Roots Trailer (2018)

05 November 2018

The #MeToo movement has shined much-needed light on the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and abuse and created unprecedented demand for gender violence prevention models that actually work.

The Occupation of the American Mind Trailer (2016)

19 January 2016

Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world—except the United States.

White Like Me Trailer (2013)

31 July 2013

In White Like Me, anti-racist educator Tim Wise explores race and racism in the US through the lens of whiteness and white privilege.

Freedom of Expression: Resistance & Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property Trailer (2007)

05 May 2007

In 1998, university professor Kembrew McLeod (Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa) trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression" - a startling comment on the way that intellectual property law restricts creativity and expression of ideas.

Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial Trailer (2000)

01 January 2000

Hollywood movies are rapidly becoming vehicles for the ulterior marketing and advertising motives of studios and their owners, rather than entertainment in their own right.

bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation Trailer (1997)

01 January 1997

bell hooks is one of America's most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism.

Stuart Hall: Representation & the Media Trailer (1997)

01 January 1997

Cultural theorist Stuart Hall offers an extended meditation on representation. Moving beyond the accuracy or inaccuracy of specific representations, Hall argues that the process of representation itself constitutes the very world it aims to represent, and explores how the shared language of a culture, its signs and images, provides a conceptual roadmap that gives meaning to the world rather than simply reflecting it.

Girls: Moving Beyond Myth Trailer (2004)

01 January 2004

This compelling new documentary focuses on the sexual dilemmas and difficult life choices young girls face as they come of age in contemporary American culture.

A Burning Question Trailer (2012)

01 January 2012

This fascinating and clarifying look at the debate surrounding global warming explores the striking disconnect between the relatively clear-cut concerns of the world's most prominent scientists and the maze of speculation, rhetorical posturing, and outright misinformation that attaches to this issue whenever it's taken up by politicians, PR specialists, and political pundits.

Tough Guise 2 Trailer (2013)

12 January 2013

In this highly anticipated update of the influential and widely acclaimed Tough Guise, pioneering anti-violence educator and cultural theorist Jackson Katz argues that the ongoing epidemic of men's violence in America is rooted in our inability as a society to move beyond outmoded ideals of manhood.

Advertising and the End of the World Trailer (1998)

01 January 1998

Focusing directly on the world of commercial images, Sut Jhally asks some basic questions about the cultural messages emanating from this market-based view of the world: Do our present arrangements deliver what they claim -- happiness and satisfaction?

Wrestling with Manhood Trailer (2003)

11 April 2003

Wrestling with Manhood is the first educational program to pay attention to the enormous popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence and probing the social values that sustain it as a powerful cultural force.

Beyond the Straight and Narrow Trailer (2023)

26 September 2023

How did the rise of LGBTQ visibility, political progress, and digital technologies in the 2000s come together to offer the abundance of complex queer and transgender representations we see today? Media scholar Katherine Sender shows how LGBTQ visibility and political progress have combined with new digital media technologies and television platforms to produce an increasingly complex range of queer and transgender representations.

Playing Unfair Trailer (2002)

01 January 2002

Sports media scholars look at the persistence of heterosexism and homophobia in perpetuating gender stereotypes.

The Codes of Gender Trailer (2010)

13 October 2010

Arguing that advertising not only sells things, but also ideas about the world, media scholar Sut Jhally offers a blistering analysis of commercial culture's inability to let go of reactionary gender representations.

Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse Trailer (2018)

20 March 2018

In this highly anticipated sequel to his groundbreaking, ADVERTISING AND THE END OF THE WORLD, media scholar Sut Jhally explores the devastating personal and environmental fallout from advertising, commercial culture, and rampant American consumerism.

Pornland Trailer (2014)

01 January 2014

An examination of the modern pornography industry and its affect on culture.

The Mean World Syndrome Trailer (2010)

01 July 2010

For years, debates have raged among scholars, politicians, and concerned parents about the effects of media violence on viewers.