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Notes & Quotes
News from the AV Library
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by Kate Pourshariati, PT AV Cataloger
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“A film is a petrified fountain of thought.”
Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), French author and filmmaker, in
Esquire, 1961.
Assigning subject headings to catalog records for audiovisual material is a primary task for catalogers in the AV Library. We try to figure out how to categorize a documentary or feature film so that it will be easy to find in the online catalog (WebCat) when a student or faculty user does research using subject terms. The wonderful thing about this work is the opportunity to consider the “about-ness” of things, an exercise in taxonomy. Often in the course of this work, certain thematic trends emerge, which can result in a thread of subject headings, which could prove very useful to a student looking for a paper topic, or in support of a paper topic.
As an example, consider the topic of “paternity,” in the psychological
and sociological sense. What is the nature of fatherhood today, and what does
it mean to be a father?
We are fortunate to own the entire series of films by American film auteur,
Wes Anderson. His films include Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums,
and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. A critical view of these
films reveals an exploration of the role of the father in the late 20th and
early 21st centuries. In a dramatic and comedic framework, they ask the questions:
what does it really mean to father a child and what do we expect of a father?
Corollary questions might be: what has divorce, sequential monogamy, step-parenting,
sperm donation, surrogate fathering, and the absenteeism of divorced fathers
done to redefine the nature of fatherhood as we know it?
The first large generation of divorced families, at the rear of the baby
boom generation, is now reaching their mid-forties, and this look at families
and fathers is spilling into cinema from many sides. Looking at our online
catalog for the subject of “paternity” brings up the recent American
films, TransAmerica, and Broken Flowers, which give quite
different narratives from the same starting point—a child results from
a single sexual encounter, and returns to confront the “father”
as a nearly grown man. In the French film from 2001, Wasabi, a grown
child and her father learn of each other just in time to develop a meaningful
connection. Searching the online catalog under the more general subject heading
of “fathers,” we learn of many other useful titles to illustrate
the many sides of fatherhood as portrayed in cinema as well as in documentaries
from earlier decades up to the present day.
The above is only one example of the way that our rich and varied Audiovisual
collection could be used in a humanities or social sciences context by identifying
subject material in the catalog. Please feel free to stop by the AV Library.
We are always happy to talk with students and professors about film resource
subjects in the collection.
Global Warming: AV Resources
In light of the initiative to incorporate the subject of global warming into courses and campus life, we have compiled a list of AV Library resources on the topic. Please come to AV for additional material on related topics.
The Film Which Started the Campus Discussion
An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning. (2006) |
DVD 1707 |
Former Vice President, Al Gore, explains the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global warming have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments, Gore discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing anecdotes from his experiences. AV has one copy on reserve for use in AV this semester, and we will be adding a second copy for the circulating collection. | |
Other Titles
After the Warming. (1987) |
VIDEO TAPE 2127 |
Part 1 of this series presents various warming scenarios of the year 2050 by using the virtual reality computer model; Part 2 looks back to the 1990's from 2050, and traces various ways that man could respond to the growing environmental crises. | |
Cycles of Life: Exploring Biology. The Human Factor. (1996) |
VIDEO TAPE 2706 |
In the final segment of this 26-part series, topics covered include ozone layer reduction, global warming, microbial volatilization, an experimental hydrogen powered car, and the possibility of using fusion reactors. | |
The Fragile Planet: Drought and Flood. (1990) |
VIDEO TAPE 2819 |
Part 3 of this 6-part series examines the fragile interdependence of water, air and life, and specifically addresses global warming and its effect on this balance of elements. | |
Future Car. (2004) |
DVD 1752 |
This television documentary hosted by Alan Alda explores the latest developments by the Big Three automobile companies; Ford, G.M. and Daimler-Chrysler, in automobile design technology that replaces gasoline with non-fossil fuels such as hydrogen or electricity. | |
Global Warming: the Signs and the Science. (2005) |
DVD 1219 |
Filmed across the U.S., Asia, and South America, this program brings the reality of climate change to life and offers viewers a variety of ways to make a difference in their own communities. | |
Greenhouse Crisis, the American Response. (1989) |
VIDEO TAPE 1109 |
An examination of the energy policy of the United States in the 1980s, and its response to the problems associated with global warming. | |
Hot Planet—Cold Comfort. (2005) |
DVD 696 |
In this episode of the PBS program, Scientific American Frontiers, attention is paid to glaciers in Alaska which illustrate the effects of climate change. | |
Hydrogen Hopes. (2005) |
DVD 1753 |
Actor Alan Alda meets with hydrogen enthusiasts working toward a future when hydrogen can be made in unlimited quantities from renewable, non-polluting resources. | |
Race to Save the Planet. (1990) |
VIDEO TAPE 1218 |
This 10-part pioneering series shows ways that the physical environment of the earth is being changed by man and suggests actions to preserve it. Issues addressed are global warming, pollution, extinction of species, and energy waste. | |
