Spring Break
King Library gets human rights films
Anna Molin
Daily Staff Writer
Each film is shown once on a big screen in room 225 or room 255/257, after which it is made available for borrowing by educational organizations in the following year, said Ken Beck, coordinator of general collections unit at the King Library.
"(The films) are very poignant documentaries about violations of human rights in this country and internationally," Beck said.
According to a press release from the King Library, the film series was acquired through a grant from The Human Rights Video Project, a nationwide program organized by National Video Resources and the American Liberty Association.
The program aims to educate the public about the meaning of human rights in America and in the world, according to The Human Rights Video Project's Web site.
"These certain films open your eyes to the rest of the world and make you aware of issues that other people aren't aware of," said Joan Bowlby, a senior librarian in the San Jose Public Library division of the King Library.
Bowlby said the screenings present educators and local human rights organizations with an opportunity to preview the videos and decide whether to use them for their own programs.
"It is a great opportunity to take these films and make them available to organizations so that people can recognize and have a chance to discuss human rights issues," Bowlby said. I
n addition, the showings provide a chance for students and members of the public to see the films before they become reserved, Bowlby said.
The terms of the grant specify that, in the first year after the initial screenings, the films are made available for planned programs offered by human rights groups and educational institutions.
For example, an instructor could reserve a film for classroom use or a human rights group could borrow a video or DVD for their individual screenings and open forums. Students and the general public, however, would not be allowed to check out any of the fi lms until the end of October 2005.
"The focus is to encourage cooperation between libraries and outside organizations," Bowlby said.
Despite these advantages, the turnout has been low with only about five to seven people per showing, Beck said.
"It may be that people don't know about it," Beck said, adding that many of the films contain violent or sexual content and are unsuitable for children.
"It is for high schools and colleges," Beck said.
Beck, who has seen four of the seven documentaries so far, said most people are silent as they leave after viewing one of the films.
"They are moved by what they have seen," he said, adding that the collection consists of two DVDs and 11 video tapes.
David Estrella, who watched "Justice and the Generals" on Monday, said the film series interested him because of its unique focus on human rights.
"It is something that I don't see much about in the news," he said. "It seems like there was a human rights revolution in the '60s, but I don't hear much about it anymore."
Estrella, who has seen four films in total, said the videos help to remind people that violations of human rights still occur.
Estrella said some of the films' subjects relate to contemporary issues. For example, the legal processing of torture cases discussed in "Justice and the Generals" relates to the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, he said.
Charles Kapp, a San Jose State University graduate who also attended the screening of "Justice and the Generals," said the issue of human rights violations is still ripe both in the United States and in the world.
"Basic human rights are violated every day in some part of the world," he said. "And we all need to take a look at those issues."
The video project kicked off on Sept. 11 when San Jose District 3 council member Cindy Chavez joined about 15 others, the highest turnout to date, to watch "Face to Face." That film compares the experiences of Japanese-Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the reactions of Middle Eastern Americans following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bowlby said.
She said the documentaries contain valuable materials that could be integrated into the curriculum of a range of subjects.
The College of Business as well as the departments of humanities, social sciences, history, sociology and political science might find the films useful for their courses, Beck and Bowlby said.
Beck said those individuals or groups who meet the criteria of the grant will be able to borrow a video or DVD for up to 48 hours.
"Plenty of them are only an hour or two long, and the demand may be such that somebody else might be waiting to show them," Beck said, adding that those who are interested can book a film in advance through the library's reservation system.
One can go onto the King Library's Web site to view the film screening schedule and to obtain information about the human rights video project, Bowlby said.
In addition, Bowlby said one
can read a description of each
film along with miscellaneous
information, such as interviews
with the filmmakers and essays
to accompany the films.
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