Human Communication

Furrowed brows, widened eyes, clenched teeth-such signals reveal a great deal about our leaders, and they also influence our reactions to media images. This program investigates ways in which facial expressions and nonverbal communication determine political charisma and power. Presenting examples from a wide range of historical and current sources, the film shows how psychologists diagram and analyze media images of politicians. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton are studied, as well as French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Commentators include the eminent psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman and renowned political philosopher Dr. Roger D. Masters. Not available in French-speaking Canada. (48 minutes)

Comedy is the complement of tragedy, and tragedy is one of the oldest forms of ritual in the Western world. However, while tragedy is linked to the sacred, comedy is often linked to the profane and sometimes even the sacrilegious. This program explores comedy, from Aristophanes and Cicero to the Christian ban on humor. The Feast of Fools and Carnival as Christian institutions that celebrate the profane are examined, along with the role of the Fool in the Renaissance court. The work of Rabelais as a Reformation-era text examines satire as a form of social critique and political tool that verges on the blasphemous. Literary figures such as Moliere and more recent icons, such as Charlie Chaplin, are discussed, along with societies like Japan that suppress laughter and consider it subversive. (53 minutes)

Peaceful solutions to conflict are wonderful, in theory, but how do they work in the real world? Using actual case studies, this program examines conflict and conflict resolution on four different levels: global, community, workplace, and school. Applying a novel teaching approach, it features a pair of news desk anchors and four different reporters, each covering a specific conflict scenario. Topics include diplomacy, peaceful protest, and mediation. (28 minutes)

This program looks at a society inundated with visual images. From billboards to bus stops, from rock videos to newsstands, mass-produced images have become the very air we breathe. What is this cultural atmosphere saying to us and about us? Why should we care? Ever since the pioneers of public relations and advertising spoke about the engineering of consent," social critics have analyzed its effects. For some, it reveals pure manipulation-the appropriation of language and meaning, the trivializing of life and thought. For others, it is the dawning of a new era-the printed word is dead and art and commerce are now joined in ever more sophisticated ways. (60 minutes)"

This four-part series provides an excellent overview of all forms of communications. The series presents facts and skills in all areas of communication and suggests ways to overcome communication problems. A Meridian Production.

Language is a social construct. It unites the individuals of a given community through a code that is understood by those who use it, ranging from street slang to the prescribed usage of grammar by an elite. This program examines language in a historical context and as a political tool. Since the advent of the printing press and, most recently, the Internet, English has become the universal language, replacing French. This has in turn meant the loss of many languages. Today only 6,000 are still spoken, and it is estimated that by the end of the 21st century, 90 percent of these will have disappeared. (53 minutes)

This program examines the power of professional pollsters to influence public opinion. Public opinion pollsters and market researchers serve virtually every facet of American culture. Nearly everyone-from the makers of cake mix to television executives and candidates for public office-seeks to become the intimate of our private opinions for the purposes of their own strategies. In the hands of campaign consultants, the sophisticated techniques of market research become tools of political persuasion and leaders" wind up finding out what we think, so they can tell us what they think is what we think, too. "If the toothpaste doesn't live up to your dreams, you are out a dollar fifty-seven," notes one observer. "With political candidates, the stakes are much higher." (60 minutes)"

All communities embrace organizing principles that are indispensable to their cohesion, imposing order on chaos and allowing individuals to function in groups. Many of these principles are related through myths. In this program, the transformation of the earlier savior" myth into the modern myth of the "hero" is examined. How social myths such as "progress" facilitate modern industrial societies, and the myth of the "star" as a social construct that provides the audience with an object on which to project its ideals, are also discussed. (53 minutes)"

Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North created the very genre of film documentary, with its documentation of Nanook the Inuit and the Eskimo traditions which were even then being threatened by the influences of whites. This program revisits the site of Flaherty's filming, and learns that he staged much of what he filmed, sired children to whose future he paid no heed, and is himself now part of Inuit myth. (60 minutes)

Explores the ability of body language to reinforce or contradict the message we are sending verbally. Students will understand the importance of how we dress and present ourselves in order to make a good impression. Differing eye expressions are examined as a powerful body language tool, as is the sense of touch. Mixed messages are also investigated. (13 min.) A Meridian Production.

Since the first written account of public relations-like activities in ancient Greece, PR professionals have been on record as shapers and reshapers of public opinion. This program defines the role of public relations, differentiating it from advertising, and examines the way in which PR operates. In addition, industry professionals discuss the contributions of Ivy Lee and the founder of modern PR, Edward L. Bernays; the role of public relations in America's two world wars; the shamefully successful Lucky Cigarettes campaign to make smoking in public fashionable for women; and the Ad Council and public service announcements. Crisis intervention is examined, as in the well-handled case of the tainted Tylenol scare, and the botched damage control of the Exxon Valdez disaster. The program does an excellent job of explaining a difficult-to-understand and often-maligned industry. (28 minutes)

What specific skills enabled a young state senator to become, in the space of four years, President of the United States? This program reveals a set of methods and attitudes at the core of successful communication. Presented by renowned public speaking coach Richard Greene, the video incorporates passages from many of President Obama's finest speeches-and uses these examples to explore tone of voice (varying volume, pace, pitch, and resonance); body language (improving eye contact, openness, and listening); verbal language (avoiding jargon and using sensory-specific words); message content (sharing feelings and heartfelt goals); and fluency in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic communication styles. Includes a link to viewable/printable educational materials. (47 minutes)

All societies have engaged in formalized types of communication through telling stories about their histories, whether it is an oral saga of a dynastic family or an annual ritual such as Greek tragedy. With the advent of writing, the oral tradition was transcribed and became less permeable. As certain alphabets became dominant, many minority languages were lost, along with their literary corpora. This four-part series examines language, writing, modern myths, and comedy in their historical contexts, from the ancient world to contemporary culture. 4-part series, 53 minutes each.

This series explores image and reality in America"-how public opinion is formed through the mingling of fact and fiction in a society saturated with images. The series examines the impact on democracy of a mass culture whose basic information comes from image-making, the media, public opinion polls, public relations, and propaganda. According to host Bill Moyers, "Our public discourse and our ability as a political culture to face reality depend upon our information system. If it gives us an inadequate picture of reality, we wind up in trouble. Our own willingness to face reality has been deeply affected by the triumph of the visual image as the grammar of the times." The series explores the following issues: Are we able, any longer, to distinguish between truth and fiction? When the line is steadily and pervasively blurred, what happens to the consent of the governed? Do we even know we are ill-informed? 4-part series, 60 minutes each."

The public mind is often deceived by those who manipulate it, and it deceives itself, as well. This program examines how deception has influenced some of the major events of our recent past and how self-deception shapes our personal lives and the public mind. Why do trusted people in public life lie to us and to themselves? Can a society die from too many lies? Do our institutions demand loyalty at the expense of the truth? The program explores such events as Watergate, the war in Vietnam, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, and reveals the pressures that led to the denial of truth and the distortion of reality. Among those interviewed are John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, and Roger Boisjoly, a Morton Thiokol engineer who tried to postpone the launch of the Challenger. (60 minutes)