African American History Month

February is African American History Month! Celebrate all aspects of African American history in MCPL's Movies and Music area. We currently have a special display of DVDs featuring related titles. These DVDs range from documentaries, like Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and The Jack5ons: A Family Dynasty, detailing the rise of the Jackson family, to feature films including Malcolm X and Amistad. You might also enjoy some films by these African American directors: Spike Lee, John Singleton or Kasi Lemmons. There are many other DVD titles about African American history in our catalog.


Don't forget we also have a huge number of music CDs by African American artists. This wide variety includes artists like Robert Johnson, Nicki Minaj, David Baker, and Billie Holiday. You can also find numerous African American musicians on Freegal. These artists include Usher, Aretha Franklin, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Beyonce, Bessie Smith, Marvin Gaye, and many more. With Freegal you can download their songs for free! 

Aaah! Zombies

We've all seen them- stumbling zombies with their arms and limbs falling off causing mayhem and destruction and death as they come. We watch as they come close to the heroes who wait ready to take off their heads or smash their brains in thus ending their horrible half-life. Zombies are ugly things too. It's not much wonder we hate them along with their diet of brains and flesh. But have you ever thought about the zombies?

Meet John Doe

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Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" is to Christmas what "Meet John Doe" should have been for New Year's Eve. Starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck and supported very well by Walter Brennan, Meet John Doe is a story that would fit right in with today's headlines. Stanwyck plays reporter Ann Mitchell who receives her pink slip because her stories no longer have any relevancy. Out of anger she makes up her last story about a man who is so fed up with the political and financial wrongs in society that he decides to jump from the top of a newspaper building on New Year's Eve as a protest statement.

Nature: A Murder of Crows

You can always count on the PBS Nature series to be interesting and have beautiful videography. But I was especially captivated when I recently watched A Murder of Crows. It didn't sound that interesting- a documentary about crows, but when I read the description of crows as "apes with feathers" I was intrigued. I had no idea how intellligent these birds are.
 

A Thousand Clowns

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A Thousand Clowns has long been at the top of my favorite movie list. Based on the play by Herb Gardner it is the story of Murray Burns, a former television writer for a local Children's show and his nephew "Nick." There is a reason for the quotes around Nick's name which becomes apparent as you watch the movie. Murray has been unemployed by choice for a considerable length of time because he wants to have fun in life. His philosophy can be summed up by the following exchange between Murray and Nick at the beginning of the film,

Murray: "Nick, you are about to see a horrible thing."
Nick: "What's that Murray?"
Murray: "People going to Work."

The Housemaid (2010)

Currently I'm a little in love with pretty much anything coming out of South Korea. Whether it's Thirst, The Host, Oldboy, or 3-Iron, I love pretty much everything I see. South Korean directors manage to make some of the most deliciously weird movies I've seen. The latest batch of weirdness comes courtesy of The Housemaid, the latest from Sang-soo Im.

"...a song that was a hit before your Mother was born."

Image 2011 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Robert Johnson. He has been called the "King of the Delta Blues Singers". Legend has it that he sold his soul to the Devil. It has been said that he faced away from his audience when he played certain licks on his guitar so that no one could copy his style. People claim that he died as a result of being poisoned by a jealous husband. but what of his music and its legacy?

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