Humanities (Video)

America’s pre-WWII anxieties, Depression-era economic disparity, and the potential for positive social movements arise in this conversation about Frank Capra (director) and Robert Riskin’s (screenwriter) film Meet John Doe (1941) between author Victoria Riskin (Robert Riskin and Fay Wray: A Hollywood Memoir) and film scholar Charles Wolfe. Riskin and Wolfe discuss the multiple endings shot for the film, and Riskin reads passages from her father’s England-based radio broadcasts amidst the Battle of Britain. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35397]

E-cigarettes have become popular and widely used so fast that the safety testing on them is practically non-existent. While researchers rush to define the toxicities and potential health effects of e-cigarettes, should we be advising everyone against these nicotine delivery devices? Or should we try to be positive and hopeful, in case e-cigarettes have fewer adverse health effects relative to conventional tobacco cigarettes, and thus advise current smokers to switch to e-cigs as a harm reduction strategy? Beyond that, what are the risks of the different e-cig flavors and types of devices? Is vaping caffeine and THC more or less dangerous than vaping nicotine? What are the specific dangers of e-cig use for children, teenagers and young adults? Laura E. Crotty Alexander, MD examines the evolution of e-cigarettes and and shares a physician's view. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 34999]

UCLA history professor Brenda Stevenson studies slavery and the Antebellum South, some of our country’s most painful moments and eras. Because there is not much in the way of documentary evidence of the lives of women of color, enslaved women and women from the South, Stevenson must work as an investigator to discover their inner lives and experiences. This is often done through stories told through the age, some of which she shares in this UCLA Faculty Lecture. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35126]

The difficulty of restaging real world trauma on a film set, the challenge of character development based on individuals with non-disclosure agreements, and the power of women speaking truth to power all arise in this conversation about Bombshell (2019) between director Jay Roach and Pollock Theater director Matt Ryan. In this video, Roach discusses the amazing reaction of the cast and crew of Bombshell after the films initial studio backer pulled out weeks before production was set to start. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35410]

Contextualizing the fight for healthcare reform, honoring the connection between nurses and patients, and personalizing the struggles with the US healthcare system all arise in this conversation between activist Ady Barkan, Uncovered: Healthcare Conversations with Ady Barkan series creator Liz Jaff, director Nick Bruckman, and Carsey-Wolf Center Associate Director Emily Zinn. This powerful discussion explores the complex challenges of navigating healthcare in the US and the urgency of political reform. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35393]

Preproduction collaboration on spatial design and character development, the value of bending rules in a supernatural narrative, and the potential for on-set innovation all arise in this freewheeling discussion about the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Russian Doll between production designer Michael Bricker and Carsey-Wolf Center assistant director Wesley Jacks. In the video, Bricker talks hidden easter eggs in set construction and the joy of finding the right construction material at the right moment. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35396]

Advances in film restoration technology, the challenges of matching black and white footage with shades of military khaki, and the depth of Peter Jackson’s passion for all things World War I arise in this conversation about They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) between assistant editor Elliot Travers and Ross Melnick (Film and Media Studies, UCSB). Travers describes the convoluted path the film took from its initial conception as a 30-minute museum commission for England’s Imperial War Museum to an internationally-distributed feature-length film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35411]

Around the world, individuals and families are fleeing their countries of origin because of war, violence, natural disasters, and climate change. As their numbers swell, host countries face calls to exclude them. Two prominent local religious leaders of especially targeted and vulnerable populations Bishop Robert McElroy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego speak about a common path forward for our society, based on the wisdom of their respective traditions. In the United States, recent political decisions and governmental policies have worsened the prospects of both those seeking to immigrate legally as well as the millions of undocumented immigrants already here or those still coming. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35228]

By virtually any measure, prisons have not worked. They are sites of cruelty, dehumanization, and violence, as well as subordination by race, class, and gender. Prisons traumatize virtually all who come into contact with them. Abolition of prison could be the ultimate reform. Georgetown Law Professor Paul Bulter explores what would replace prisons, how people who cause harm could be dealt with in the absence of incarceration, and why abolition would make everyone safer and our society more just. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35147]

As societal stresses have increased, loneliness and social isolation have become silent killers. Dilip Jeste, MD, a geriatric neuropsychiatrist who specializes in successful aging, explains how loneliness has become an epidemic, the risk factors, helpful interventions, and how we can harness wisdom for compassion, self regulation, and more. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35226]