What's in
Common?. 2003. This is a collection of various sounds,
video, and images collected off the internet.
Clip 1. What do all of the
things presented here have in common?
Murder by Numbers.
2002. Richard and Justin have committed a gruesome
murder.
Clip 1. The police interrogate
Richard and Justin at the same time in separate rooms.
Return to Paradise.
1998. Vacationing in Malaysia, Lewis McBride, John
"Sheriff" Volgecherev, and Tony Croft become friends. Two
years after Sheriff and Tony return to New York, they are informed
by Beth Eastern that Lewis has been imprisoned for posession of
hashish. If neither Sheriff or Tony return to Malaysia to
admit responsibility for some of the drug posession, then Lewis
will be executed for drug trafficking.
Clip 1. The three friends
together in Malaysia. Later, Beth explains the situation to
Sheriff as he drives his limousine.
Clip 2. Tony makes an offer to
Beth.
Clip 3. They visit the prison,
and Beth reveals something which changes the situation for Tony
and Sheriff.
Clip 4. Sheriff tells Beth why
he made the decision he did.
Strictly Ballroom.
1992. Scott and Fran want to show their new dance
steps at the national ballroom dance tournament. However, their
new steps threaten the ballroom dance establishment, whose
authority depends on people only dancing the officially approved
ballroom steps (hence the title "Strictly Ballroom").
Clip 1. Scott wavers but finally
decides to risk it with Fran. The ballroom judges almost
succeed in stopping them, but Doug, Scott's father, intervenes,
with the help of Rico and Ya Ya, Fran's parents.
Rebel Without a Cause.
1955. Jim Stark is a newcomer to town and is trying to
fit in.
Clip 1. Jim somehow ends up in a
"chickie-race" with Buzz Gunderson.
Clip 2. Plato, carrying a gun, has
fled inside the Griffith Observatory Planetarium. Police
officers, wary of his weapon, wait outside and encourage Plato to
surrender peacefully. Jim and Judy try to gently coax him
out.
Footloose.
1984. Ren McCormack, from Chicago, ends up in a small
town where dancing is prohibited.
Clip 1. Ren somehow ends up in a
chicken race with Chuck Cranston.
A Beautiful Mind.
2001. Based (somewhat loosely) on the life of John
Nash, who came up with the idea of Nash equilibrium.
Clip 1. Nash models the
choice of whether he and several other male friends should
approach a blond woman or her brunette friends.
The Princess Bride.
1987. Westley tries to save the Princess Bride from
her kidnapper Vizzini by challenging him to a battle of wits.
Clip 1. Vizzini engages in
some iterative reasoning and Westley later reveals his source of
confidence.
Mario
Party. 1999. A classic Nintendo 64 game.
Clip 1. Mario, Luigi, Princess
Peach, and Yoshi each choose either 1 or 2 fruits. If you
pick a beehive, then the bees chase you out of the game and you
lose.
Speed. 1994.
Police officers Jack Traven and Harry Temple are after
arch-criminal Howard Payne, who threatens to blow up an elevator.
Clip 1. Jack and Harry talk about
what to do in a hostage situation, and Jack gets to try out his
theory.
Hunt for Red October.
1990. Captain Marko Ramius and his crew of officers
plan to defect to the US on their submarine.
Clip 1. Ramius and his officers
talk secretly over dinner.
Dr. Strangelove or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
1964. Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper launches an unprovoked
nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. President Merkin Muffley
has invited Soviet ambasador Alexi de Sadesky to the War Room to
explain that there has been a mistake. However, Alexi
explains that the Soviet Union has just installed a "doomsday
device."
Clip 1. Dr. Strangelove
explains what a doomsday device requires.
The Fantasticks.
2000. The circus comes to town, led by El Gallo.
Luisa has a sudden compulsion to run away with him.
Clip 1. El Gallo asks Luisa to
give him a present as a token to assure that Luisa will return
before the circus leaves. Luisa is also uncertain about
whether the circus will take her along or leave without her.
Manhattan Murder
Mystery. 1993. Larry and Carol Lipton live in
Manhattan.
Clip 1. Larry promises to sit
through an entire Wagner opera with Carol if Carol promises to sit
through a New York Rangers game.
Mary Poppins.
1964. Mr. George Banks takes his children Jane
and Michael to visit the bank where he works.
Clip 1. Mr. Banks encourages
Michael to give his money to Mr. Dawes, the chairman of the bank,
as a deposit. Jane and Michael refuse and chaos ensues.
Salt of the Earth.
1954. This film was based on an actual strike by
Mexican American workers against the Empire Zinc Mine in New
Mexico.
Clip 1. The company's new
policy is for miners to work alone, even though the miners' lives
are placed at risk. Ramon Quintero argues that the union
must fight.
Clip 2. After the union
goes on strike, the company issues a Taft-Hartley
injunction making the strike illegal. The entire
community decides what to do next. Teresa Vidal makes a
proposal and Esperanza Quintero makes a crucial tactical move.
Thirteen Days.
2000. This film is loosely based on the Cuban missile
crisis of 1962 (for a review which points out the movie's
inaccuracies, read Michael
Nelson's review in the Chronicle of Higher Education,
February 2, 2001).
Clip 1. After the US
discovers Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, John F. Kennedy and
advisors discuss options.
Clip 2. Kenny O'Donnell, an
adviser to President Kennedy, argues that the Joint Chiefs of
Staff have different objectives than the administration (in his
review, Nelson points out that O'Donnell's call to the pilot is
entirely fictitious).
Clip 3. The Soviets decide
whether to test the US naval blockade of Cuba.
Clip 4. One last attempt at
diplomacy is attempted, and Robert Kennedy goes to talk with
Anatoly Dobrynin, Soviet ambassador to the US.
The Maltese Falcon.
1941. Sam Spade, private detective, becomes involved
in a plot to obtain the priceless Maltese Falcon, in which his
partner, Miles Archer, was killed.
Clip 1. Only Sam knows
where the falcon is, but Kasper Gutman has him at gunpoint.
Clip 2. Sam tells Brigid
O'Shaughnessy that he knows that she killed Miles.
Il Buono, Il Brutto,
Il Cattivo [The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly]. 1966.
Clip 1. A three-way duel.
Zoolander.
2001.
Jacobin Mugatu desperately wants Derek Zoolander to represent his
new "Derelicte" line, and makes a stunning offer.
Clip 1. Derek's misunderstanding
is not unusual in social science.
Oklahoma!.
1999. Aunt Eller is auctioning off lunch baskets to raise money
for the town schoolhouse.
Clip 1. Will Parker tries to
flamboyantly win Ado Annie's hand, but doesn't think carefully.
Ali Hakim bails him out.
World
Cup
2002: South Korea vs. Spain. 2002. The quarterfinal match
ends in a penalty kick shootout.
Clip 1. The teams trade penalty kicks.
The Trials of
Henry Kissinger. 2002. Henry Kissinger is one of the key US
policymakers during the Vietnam War.
Clip 1. Nixon and Kissinger come up
with the "madman theory".
Crocodile Dundee
II. 1988. The gangster Rico is after Crocodile Dundee.
Clip 1. Dundee shoots his friend
Walter in order to save his life.
The Graduate.
1967. Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson were previously involved, and
Mrs. Robinson made Benjamin swear to never take out Elaine, Mrs.
Robinson's daughter. Benjamin now has feelings for Elaine,
however.
Clip 1. Mrs. Robinson threatens
Benjamin and Benjamin responds in the best way he can.
Ransom.
1996. Tom Mullen's son Sean is kidnapped.
Clip 1. Tom almost agrees to the
kidnappers' demands for $2 million, but then pursues a different
approach.
Ronin. 1998.
Sam and Spence are a group of operatives hired to steal a
briefcase.
Clip 1. Sam explains what an ambush is to
Spence.
Burr, William and Jeffery Kimball. 2003. "Nixon's Nuclear Ploy." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January/February 2003.
Curry, Jack. 2003. "It's Not Just About Bonds, It's About Who's on Deck." New York Times, April 15.
Epstein, Edward
Jay. 2005. "Hollywood's Death
Spiral." Slate.com,
July 25.
Fisher,
Max. 2013. "9 Questions about
Syria You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask." Washington
Post, August 29.
Fishman,
Charles. 2003. "Which Price is
Right?" Fast
Company, March. (This is an excerpt; for the full article,
click here).
Isikoff, Michael and Mark Hosenball. 2004. "No More Orange, Yellow, and Red?" Newsweek, January 14.
Lipton, Eric. 2004. "Report Calls Recycling Costlier than Dumping."New York Times, February 2.
Mallaby, Sebastian. 2004. "George Soros: Is the Billionaire Speculator the Democrats' Most Powerful Weapon?" Slate.com, March 10.
McCook, Alison. 2003. "You Yawn, We All Yawn---And Empathy May Explain Why." Reuters Health, March 14.
McMillan Cottom,
Tressie. 2013. "Does
Blanket 'Don't Go to Graduate School!' Advice Ignore Race and
Reality?" Chronicle of Higher Education, April 15.
Nagourney,
Adam. 2006. "To Hold Senate,
G.O.P. Bolsters Its Most Liberal." New York Times, September 10.
Reza, H.G., Christine Hanley, and James Ricci. 2004. "Drifter Jailed on Girls' Lies Set Course of Desperation."Los Angeles Times, February 23.
Roan, Shari. 2003. "Erasing the Past." Los Angeles Times, December 8.
Saletan, William. 2003. "Running Mates: The Clark-Lieberman Iowa Jailbreak." Slate.com, October 20.
Saletan, William. 2004. "Kerried Away: The Myth and Math of Kerry's Electability." Slate.com, February 10.
Tapper, Jake. 2003. "The Wishy-Washy Strategy." Salon.com, February 26.
Valdes-Dapena, Peter. 2003. "Fun With (More) Car Lighters." CNN/Money, November 4.
Wright, Richard.
1993 [1945]. Black Boy. New York: Harper
Perennial. [pages 233-243]