UMaine peace group offers series of provocative films

ORONO – The Maine Peace Action Committee’s 2005 Peace and Justice Film Series at the University of Maine will offer provocative,, sometimes humorous films that analyze and challenge American foreign and corporate policies. The films include work by Michael Moore, Stanley Kubrick and members of the “Hollywood Ten” blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

The series is sponsored by the Maine Peace Action Committee,.

These movies, shown at 7 p.m. Thursdays at 110 Little Hall on the Orono campus, are free and followed by discussions of each film.

. Feb. 10: “The Big One,” a challenging, humorous film by Michael Moore examining why certain big corporations, claiming that they long for a better America, close productive and profitable plants in America and move them to Third World nations.

. Feb. 17: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a film that captures U.S.-backed attempted coup d’etat of elected president Hugo Chavez, the man the Wall Street Journal credits with making Venezuela “Washington’s biggest Latin American headache after the old standby, Cuba.”

. March 17: “Salt of The Earth,” a film banned in the United States and focussed on the strike of Mexican-American zinc mine workers in New Mexico, shows connections between gender, race and class. Directed by members of the “Hollywood Ten” blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Part of Women’s History Month.

. March 24: “Control Room,” a chronicle focusing on Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s most popular news outlet, that shows news coverage and perceptions of the Iraq War rarely seen in the United States.

. March 31: “The Corporation,” a film that analyzes the nature of corporate institutions, their impact on the planet and how people respond. Features Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Vandana Shiva, Howard Zinn and Milton Friedman.

. April 7: “Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” a film starring Peter Sellers, a satirical comedy-fantasy regarding doomsday and Cold War politics.

For additional information, call Professor Doug Allen, faculty advise,, University of Maine, 581-3860, or visit www.umaine.edu/MPAC/films.htm.