HumanDocs series back with political documentary ‘Silenced’

Lipscomb University’s HumanDocs Film Series picks up again this week with the political documentary, “Silenced”. The film follows three whistleblowers: one in the NSA, another in the CIA and the third in the Department of Justice. These three people saw questionable practices being committed by the government and decided to draw attention to them. It is a story of dealing with the backlash of government superiors when calling attention to a potentially bad practice. Ted Parks, one of Lipscomb’s Spanish professors and head of the Lipscomb Human Docs Film Series, says these three people did not agree with the moral values of the government system put in after Sept. 11, 2001. Specific issues covered in the film include civil liberties and the use of torture and waterboarding. Parks goes into detail about what a whistleblower actually does. “A whistleblower is a person in some kind of organization who sees practices that are illegal or unethical or out of character with the institution,” Parks said, “And because of that, feels like he or she has to call attention to those practices with the hopes that they get stopped.” “It’s a very precarious position to be in, because often your superiors may be the ones involved in these practices, and you just as a personal conscience say ‘Hey, this is not right, and I can’t keep doing this.’” After the film screening, Parks will introduce a panel of guests to reflect on the film with a question and answer session. The panel will include an ethicist, an attorney representing whistleblowers, a counselor and a political science/history professor. “I’m really grateful that...
Lipscomb’s HumanDocs film series continues quest to educate

Lipscomb’s HumanDocs film series continues quest to educate

To co-curator Ted Parks, Lipscomb’s documentary screening series HumanDocs means far more than an earned chapel credit. Now, students who attend an installment of the series, typically nestled in a time-friendly slot on a Wednesday night, do earn a credit, but like most chapel opportunities, the impact goes far beyond the met requirement. The HumanDocs film screening series aims to teach its attendees about issues facing our world through the art of the documentary, which fits right in with the genesis of the documentary form. “My sense is that documentary has always been a form that has had an alternative distribution to commercial film,” Parks said, “and it’s always, from what I know about it, been used to raise consciousness about issues.” Parks says that at the beginning of the documentary, filmmakers were more able to pursue the issues and topics that they were passionate about because of the leniency of not working within the confines of commercial requirements. “Documentary filmmakers are not in it to make a buck,” Parks said. “They’re in it because they want to tell a story that they think will impact the world, and I really like that part of documentary film in contrast with commercial filmmaking.” Parks, an associate professor, said that HumanDocs was born out of his Hispanic Cinema class. He would have students volunteer at the Nashville Film Festival as part of the course, which got Parks wondering if Lipscomb could forge a more formal bond with the festival. “I wanted to try to develop a closer relationship between Lipscomb and the Nashville Film Festival, so talking to my colleague and...

HumanDocs returns for first movie of season with ‘Big Men’

Briefly: Big Men will serve as HumanDoc’s first film of the season Wednesday night. The documentary, selected for the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, will screen for free in Shamblin Theatre at 8:30 p.m. A panel will follow. “Over the course of five years, director Rachel Boynton and her cinematographer filmed the quest for oil in Ghana by Dallas-based Kosmos,” Janel Shoun-Smith wrote for Lipscomb’s website. “The company developed the country’s first commercial oil field, yet its success was quickly compromised by political intrigue and accusations of corruption. As Ghanaians waited to reap the benefits of oil, the filmmakers discovered violent resistance down the coast in the Niger Delta, where impoverished Nigerians have yet to prosper from decades-old oil fields.” The news story says the film “provides an unprecedented inside look at the global deal making and dark underside of energy development — a contest for money and power that is reshaping the world.” For more information on the screening, visit Lipscomb’s website. Photo courtesy of...

Screening of ‘Ineqality for All’ up next for HumanDocs

HumanDocs is set to continue its spring lineup this Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 8:30 p.m., in Shamblin Theatre with a screening of the documentary Inequality for All. This film is a non-partisan take on the extremely wide and growing income gap from Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under former President Bill Clinton, and it’s negative impact on our country’s economy. Emily Wilson, an English major who helps organize HumanDocs, had this to say about the film. “The film is eye-opening, accessible and very informative about what is going on with the American economy,” Wilson said. “It gives suggestions on how to personally take steps to try to make a change.” A panel discussion will follow the film. The screening is free and open to the public and is also an opportunity for a chapel credit. Photo courtesy of...

HumanDocs begins spring slate with ‘Homegoings’

HumanDocs returns Wednesday night to begin their spring slate with the PBS Point-of-View film Homegoings.  The screening will take place in 8:30 p.m. in Ward Hall. As Black History Month is just around the corner, Homegoings focuses on Isaiah Owens, a funeral director in Harlem, and his experiences through his work in the community. Ted Parks, a Spanish professor and curator of the HumanDocs program, speaks on behalf of the challenging questions that will be covered on Wednesday night. “How do we integrate the end of life into life itself in a culture that prefers not to talk about death?” Parks said would be something to consider. “Can a person’s passing really be a time of celebration as well as mourning?” Following the film, there will be a panel for a brief discussion including people such as Joy Samuels, Jackie Conwell, Greg Rumburg and Donnetta Hawkins. “Our panel includes social workers and psychologists who have not only worked professionally with grieving people, but have experienced loss themselves,” Parks said. “I think Wednesday night will not only be a chance to see an engaging documentary, but to think about who we are, the hope we have and the preciousness of life.” HumanDocs will host another film in February, tentatively selecting Inequality for All, a close look at the growing income gap in the United States. It is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 8:30 p.m., in Shamblin Theatre. Both screening are free and open to the public. Photo courtesy of...