I Never Thought of It That Way
Explore themes from 2024's First Year Common Reader selection, I Never Thought of It That Way, via documentaries, films and video games from the Film & Video Collection.
In I Never Thought of It That Way, Mónica Guzmán uses her own experiences as the daughter of parents who embrace a political ideology different from hers as a springboard to develop a roadmap for difficult conversations. She encourages us to approach others with curiosity and openness, and dissects different aspects of society that can sometimes derail deeper understanding of our family, friends and neighbors. Films and video games provide ways for us to learn about our world and examine shared experiences, even if we have not been in similar situations ourselves. Through the titles highlighted here, you can take a deeper dive into the ideas Guzmán discusses in her book. All are available for you to view or play on site or watch via Library-licensed streaming services.
The Farewell
Guzmán talks about the power of movies to communicate peoples’ experiences and foster empathy: “When you know their stories, people make sense.” She discusses her parents’ stories, and how their shared family history results in different values. One film that explores the interconnectedness of family members across generations and cultures as well as the tensions that arise when those bonds are tested is The Farewell. After her beloved grandmother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, a young Chinese-American woman played by Awkwafina returns to China for a family gathering secretly designed to say goodbye to the matriarch. However, when it becomes apparent that the grandmother is the only one unaware of her diagnosis, she struggles to keep the secret.
District 9
In the chapter about othering, Guzmán describes the action film Independence Day, in which a disparate group of survivors unite to defeat an alien attack: “Othering can save the day when it rallies us against a shared threat.” It can also lead to oppression. The science fiction thriller District 9, which was inspired by events that took place in Cape Town, South Africa during the apartheid era, uses allegory to comment on the xenophobia that gives rise to social segregation and allows dehumanizing camps to thrive. In the film, aliens arrive on Earth to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in an area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with their welfare. The company will do anything to master the aliens’ advanced technology -- including spreading fear and misunderstanding, uniting humans in their dislike and mistrust of these insect-like creatures.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Swank Digital Campus
Guzman shares an illuminating experience she had watching the hit film Kill Bill: Volume 1 and observing audience members’ reactions to the film’s climactic scene. These films (and many more) are available to you via the Library’s subscription to Swank Digital Campus, which provides streaming access to over 1000 movies ranging from current feature films to classics.
Video Games: Undertale & Journey
When we think of video games, we might be more likely to think of battles with magical creatures or quests in far-away lands than everyday reality, but many explore how we relate to and communicate with others.
Undertale may be one of those games that features magical creatures, but it allows the gamer to choose how they address the characters they meet as they traverse an underground world. This game, released in 2015, is notable for being one of the first where obstacles can be overcome without violence.
Journey is an unusual game that continues to defy expectations more than 15 years after its release -- forgoing conflict and competition and choosing emotional depth over violence. Players begin the game in a sweeping desert landscape. A brief cut scene hints at someone or something off in the distance. The player encounters others at random, wordlessly traveling from discovery to discovery together.
These games (and more) are part of the Library’s console-based video game collection. You’re welcome to check out these and others, from current to legacy consoles, or play them on site in the Film & Video area’s viewing and gaming carrels.
After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News
At the start of her book, Guzmán discusses how misinformation finds its audience: “False stories soar because good people relate to something in them that’s true. A fear, or value, or concern that’s going unheard, unexplored or unacknowledged.” This documentary explores how fake news is enhanced and amplified by modern information technology.
Social Media Films
Guzmán zeroes in on the outsized effect sites like TikTok and YouTube have on our lives and how we relate to one another. “What makes [social media] so strong? Or rather who? When I thought about it for another second, the answer was obvious: I did.” She refers to the addictive nature of social media as ‘dopamine lollipops’. Two documentaries which examine how social media platforms develop over time are TikTok, Boom and The YouTube Effect. TikTok Boom features influencers like Feroza Aziz, Spencer X, Deja Foxx and Merrick Hanna, taking a close look at its algorithmic, socio-political, economic and cultural impacts. Likewise, The YouTube Effect looks at how the powerful platform enriches culture, while also discussing the dangers and challenges it presents. The Social Network is a feature film that presents an account of how the first of these disrupting social networks, Facebook, was created and the interpersonal costs to those who played a part in its earliest iteration.
TikTok, Boom available as Streaming Video.
The YouTube Effect available as DVD & Streaming Video.
The Social Network available as Blu-ray, DVD & Streaming Video.
The Great Muslim American Road Trip
Although social media platforms are designed to make their audiences feel intimately involved with content creators, they’re not a substitute for direct connection and communication. As Guzmán writes: “The story of the world feels like it’s the experts’ to tell. It’s not. It’s all of ours. The trick then, is just to scoop it up and add it up, to leave our harbor, and learn from each other about each other for each other’s own sake.” Some documentarians have taken on this challenge, traveling across the country to expand their understanding of their fellow citizens. This series follows rapper Mona Haydar and her husband as they traverse Route 66, the iconic highway that stretches from Chicago to the west coast, to collect knowledge about the country’s rich Muslim American history.
Films of Errol Morris
As a fledgling reporter, Guzmán quickly learns some important lessons about how to interview her subjects in a way that encourages open and fruitful conversations. Documentarian Errol Morris became well known for his interview techniques, redefining the art of documentary filmmaking while producing an insightful, humanistic body of work throughout the course of his ongoing career. Morris invented a camera system called the Interrotron, which allows his subjects to look directly into the camera lens and, at the same time, have eye contact (through an image projected on a teleprompter) with Morris. Whether he is exploring the historical impact of a controversial figure like former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the Oscar-winning Fog of War; finding common ground amongst a group of eccentrics including a wild animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot designer and an expert on the naked mole rat in Fast, Cheap & Out of Control; or exploring the wrongful conviction of a condemned man in The Thin Blue Line, Morris is an expert at using the art of the interview to illuminate the human psyche.
The Fog of War available as DVD & Streaming Video.
Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control available as DVD & Streaming Video.
The Thin Blue Line available as Blu-ray, DVD & Streaming Video.
5 Broken Cameras
Some documentarians strive to tell their stories and connect at great personal costs. A Palestinian farmer captures the turmoil in his West Bank village over five years via five cameras, each violently destroyed. His Israeli co-director edits this portrait of life under military occupation, which received accolades, awards, and its share of controversy following its release in 2011.
Films of Jafar Panahi
Another filmmaker who has put his life and career at risk in order to tell stories of connection amidst societal oppression is Iranian New Wave director and screenwriter Jafar Panahi.
This is Not a Film is a documentary shot partially on an iPhone and smuggled into France on a usb drive hidden in a cake for a last-minute submission to the Cannes Film Festival. It shows day-to-day life during Panahi’s house arrest in a Tehran apartment following his conviction on charges of creating propaganda against the Iranian government). While filming the documentary, he appeals his 2010 sentence in which he received six years in prison and a 20-year ban from filmmaking.
Offside is one of Panahi’s earlier feature films. It explores gender politics in Iran through the eyes of a group of young soccer fans who happen to be teenaged girls. This spirited, smart and humorous film shows how the young fans attempt to subvert a ban on women’s attendance at soccer matches, and the unlikely connections they make as their plans go awry.
La Règle du Jeu / The Rules of the Game
In her chapter ‘Paths’, Guzmán writes about the power of film to breed empathy. She quotes one of her favorite films, the 1939 French farce by Jean Renoir, La Règle du Jeu / The Rules of the Game: “The awful thing about life is this: everyone has their reasons.” She describes this as “an inconvenient truth about all human beings”, and something we all must reckon with as we seek common ground with our friends, families and neighbors. The movie, which criticized upper-class French society during the approach to World War II, hit a nerve with its audience, according to the director’s biographer. It showcases characters “who might have had an influence in shaping the world, [but] did nothing to prevent an advance of Fascism; some of whom, indeed, actually welcomed it". Yet, Renoir intended all the characters to be sincere and that the film would have no villains. This empathy helped construct a sharp, comical film reflecting on a pivotal point in history, which is widely celebrated one of the best of all-time.