Women’s Independent Press

Business Program Series
Summer Film Festival

August 2011
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Thursday, August 4 Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
(DVD – 55 minutes)

When Rachel Carson, a biologist for the Federal government, became aware of the devastating effects of the indiscriminate use of DDT and other toxic pesticides on the natural world, she was compelled to write Silent Spring, a stinging indictment of the chemical industry that produced them. This American Experience documentary reveals how she raised the country’s ecological consciousness despite strenuous efforts to discredit her findings.

Thursday, August 11 Surviving the Dust Bowl
(DVD – 55 minutes)

Beginning in 1931, the seasonal rains that replenished the rich soil in the Southern Plain states never came, resulting in a severe drought that lasted almost seven years. The lack of rain, combined with ferocious winds, blew away millions of tons of precious topsoil, making farming impossible. Severe dust storms called ‘black blizzards’ darkened the sky even at mid-day. While many farmers migrated to California to find work, this American Experience documentary chronicles the struggles and determination of those who remained on their own land during this grim period of the Great Depression.

Thursday, August 18 Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (Part 1)
(DVD – 60 minutes – a Ken Burns PBS production)

Thursday, August 25 Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (Part 2)
(DVD – 60 minutes – a Ken Burns PBS production)

Join us for both parts of Ken Burns’ fascinating documentary about three dynamic men: an inventor, an engineer, and a hard-driving Russian immigrant who shared responsibility for the invention of the radio. Their story is complicated by jealousy, greed, lawsuits and tragedy. Jason Robards is the narrator who ties together archival footage, newsreels of the period, and on-air interviews with those who knew them