Grasping for the Wind

Winner of two Silver World medals from the New York Film and Video Festival
A Seven-part Documentary
Video/Discussion series

An innovative and stimulating series which explores humanity’s search for meaning over the last 200 years through an exploration of Western philosophers, writers, artists, filmmakers, politicians, and musicians. The series covers diverse artists and celebrities such as Rembrandt, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Jr., The Beatles, and Stanley Kubrick. Cultural marvels such as MTV and the Internet are also examined.

John W.Whitehead, author, lawyer, and civil libertarian, video host
Elizabeth Eisen, Community Services Librarian, discussion leader
Appleton Public Library, lower level meeting room Series Schedule

Wednesday mornings ~10:00am-12:00noon

September 3 Breaking with the Past
When a culture abandons its religious traditions, something must replace those traditions to give people a sense of meaning. What is it that gives us our sense of worth?

September 10 Where Are We Going?
Examines the 20th century search for answers to the questions: where do we come from, where are we going, and who are we?

September 17 Children of the Machine
This episode explores the relationship between culture and technology. Is humanity floating on a ship with no mooring?

September 24 The Lost Generation
A new American generation responds to its shaken moral base and alternatives to Western Capitalism. Have old forms been exhausted leaving rebellion as the only way to create something new?

October 1 The Fat Dream
Unable to make sense of destruction from war, people begin to seek escape through spectator sports, music, gambling, and drugs. Enough weapons have been stockpiled to destroy life many times over. Has this changed the consciousness of mankind?

October 8 The Winds of Revolution
The youth movement of the 1950s escalates into rebellion against traditional values in the 1960s. Was Dylan correct to say, “The Times They Are A-Changin”?

October 15 The Narcissistic Culture
America’s culture is in a search for absolutes. People turn to weight loss, sex advice and religious television. Must we be slaves to the consumer culture?

Suggested reading and viewing in preparation for this series:

Books:

Fiction-

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
1984 by George Orwell
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

Non-fiction

150.1952 Fre Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
575 Dar Descent of Man by Charles Darwin
616.891 Har I’m O.K., You’re O.K. by Thomas Harris

Films: VHS & DVD formats available for most titles

Apocalypse Now
Big Chill
Blackboard Jungle
Bonnie and Clyde
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Nosferatu
Picture of Dorian Gray

Music: Compact discs

EA/STRAV/RS/G 52-The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinksy
MA/COLL/RNR/T 03-Rock ‘n’ Roll Classics, 1954-56 featuring Bill Haley
MA/DOORS/BD/D 52-The Best of the Doors featuring Jim Morrison
MA/DYLA/FBD/D 86-Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
MA/NIRV/NEV/N 25-Nevermind by Nirvana
MA/SMIT-P/HOR/S 72-Horses by Patti Smith
MC/MONR/BM/M 82-Blue Moon of Kentucky by Bill Monroe

Contact Community Services at 832-1695 for further information