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How an Engelbert Humperdinck B-side became New Zealand’s unofficial national anthem. The Secret Life of Ten Guitars (RNZ, 24’11, radio programme) [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Feb 5, 2018 - 10 comments

Eat Your Cake; I'm a Vietnamese Refugee (2010) (10’09) This documentary is about courage and survival and having the will and perseverance to succeed despite considerable obstacles. The story of Mitchell Pham's remarkable journey is told through the evocative use of stop-frame animation, created from a Vietnamese traditional folded paper craft, mixed with live action to show an innovative account of his harrowing but ultimately inspirational journey from Vietnamese prison camp, to a life in New Zealand after the Vietnam war. [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Dec 14, 2017 - 2 comments

The Story of Seven-Hundred Polish Children (1966) (18’05, Black & White) [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Dec 3, 2017 - 7 comments

Patterns in Flax (10’55, Black & White) (1947) This Weekly Review pays respect to the traditional Māori art of raranga (or weaving), and looks at the industrialisation of New Zealand flax (harakeke) processing. The episode features a factory in Foxton where Māori designs are incorporated into modern floor coverings. Patterns in Flax features some great footage of the harvesting and drying of flax plants, and shots of immense (now obsolete) flax farms. [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Nov 30, 2017 - 5 comments

The US had Reagonomics, the UK had Thatcherism, while New Zealand had Rogernomics and Ruthanasia.... [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Oct 16, 2017 - 12 comments

For a time in the 1860s there were more British troops in New Zealand than almost anywhere else in the empire outside India. And the Waikato war was the defining conflict in New Zealand history – a battle between two competing visions of the nation’s future. British victory paved the way for settler and European hegemony, casting aside Māori aspirations for partnership and shared prosperity for at least the next century. Instead, sweeping and indiscriminate land confiscations pushed Māori tribes to the margins of colonial society, condemning generations to lives of poverty. [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Sep 14, 2017 - 11 comments

Rape on the Night Shift: Every night, as most of us head home, janitors across America, many of them women, begin their night shift. They are often alone or isolated in empty buildings — and vulnerable to sexual violence. On Tuesday, a PBS Frontline/Reveal investigation explored ways sexual violence against janitors is going unreported and unpunished. All content is SFW, but some may find descriptions in the links in this post disturbing. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 26, 2015 - 10 comments

Moa’s Ark (1990) [more inside]
posted by Start with Dessert on Jun 29, 2014 - 3 comments

Rape in the Fields is a Frontline documentary that explores the persistent allegations that female agricultural workers in the U.S. are frequently sexually assaulted and harassed by supervisors who exploit their (often undocumented) immigrant status. Victims typically do not seek help from US law enforcement, either out of fear that they will be fired, deported or worse, or from a lack of understanding of U.S. law. Reviews: Popmatters. NY Times [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 26, 2013 - 18 comments

The Revival Tour documentary celebrates the annual acoustic folk-punk Revival Tour that was founded by Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan. Now in its fifth year, The Revival tour has featured musicians like Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon, Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace, and British star Frank Turner. This year's lineup includes Chuck Ragan, Rocky Votolato, Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath, Streetlight Manifesto's Toh Kay, Jenny O, Loved Ones' Dave Hause and Jenny Owen Youngs. Folk-punk previously.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants on Feb 3, 2013 - 2 comments

"I'm just looking for a second chance. Other people get second chances. Alcoholics. Drug addicts. Spousal beaters. Not gamblers, though. But, if you want to put something on my tombstone that was very important to me, it’s 1,972. That’s how many winning games I’ve played in. So that makes me the biggest winner in the history of sports. No one else can say that." Here, Now is a short documentary that looks at baseball legend Pete Rose, as he lives his life today. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 23, 2012 - 45 comments