Inside PBS Blog
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Community Through Cinema
Think back to the last time you were so gripped or inspired by something you saw on television that you felt compelled to get involved - but sitting alone in your living room, you weren’t sure what action was possible.
Enter Community Cinema.
Run by the Independent Television Service (ITVS), producers of the PBS documentary film series Independent Lens, Community Cinema combines screenings of selected Independent Lens films with panel discussions about the important social issues the films explore. Past discussions have addressed everything from the experiences of female combat soldiers (Lioness) to wrongly-accused prisoners re-entering society (Tulia, Texas). (Full disclosure: my brother is the Regional Outreach Coordinator in Seattle, WA.)
ITVS recently partnered with Philadelphia PBS station WHYY to present a Community Cinema event tied to the broadcast of Crips and Bloods: Made in America, a film about the complicated 40 year feud between the notorious south central Los Angeles gangs. Other event partners included the Philadelphia Anti-Drug Anti-Violence Network, Scribe Video Center and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Experts from these organizations served on the post-screening panel to answer questions from the audience and provide resources about gang prevention in Philadelphia.
The high attendance at the screening, and participation during the panel discussion, demonstrated the need for awareness and involvement in such a serious issue in Philadelphia. After attending the event, ITVS encouraged attendees to visit the Independent Lens website to continue the discussion, and explore the topic of gang violence and prevention further.
At a time when social media is changing the landscape of communication and people are connecting more and more online, Community Cinema is actually bridging broadcast and the web to bring people together face-to-face to discuss real issues that affect the way we live.
To find out where Community Cinema may be in your area, check out the schedule of upcoming films. And let us know - how do you get involved in issues affecting your community?
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Taxpayer
It is good that Community Cinema is actually bridging broadcast and the web to bring people together face-to-face to discuss real issues that affect the way we live. Maybe the issue of paying the tax comes to cross their minds.
The American taxpayer is part of the building blocks of the U.S. financial system, and the sole reason for the existence of Federal and state governments. Without this taxes being paid by us, it will not be possible to build bridges/roads, government hospitals/schools and many more. The taxpayer, who has had their tax dollars allocated to aid large businesses short of cash, as a payday loan to improve the economy, has also had to worry about their employment being terminated by these very same companies.
Neil Barosky was appointed as oversight for the bailout by Timothy Geithner, and he hasn't come out with a report yet that explains why it is getting so much harder for the average taxpayer to get personal loans from the companies that we all paid for to bailout. Let’s just hope and work our best to gain back the firmness of our nations economy.
Hooray!
This is excellent, I can't wait to get involved in my community.
Nie job!
Nie job!