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Intolerance, Social Justice
and Reconciliation in Film
by Francis G. Lu, M.D., and Br. David Steindl-Rast
Since 1990 Dr. Francis Lu and Brother David Steindl-Rast have led annual 5- or 7-day film seminars at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. Films on a particular spiritual theme
(such as Healing Through Gratefulness) are shown and discussed, focusing on the participants’ personal experiences. In 2008 "Intolerance, Social Justice and Reconciliation in Film"
was the theme.
Objectives:
-
To understand how film can function to evoke experiences of intolerance, social justice, and reconciliation across cultures and across time in both the film characters and in the lives of the participants
- To understand the importance of social justice and reconciliation for positive states of mind/body.
Description:
The current state of world affairs, marked by racial/ethnic, political, and religious irrational hatred, cries out for social justice and reconciliation. Yet how can this be achieved? Nelson Mandela has said, “True reconciliation does not consist of merely forgetting the past.” This workshop will face with compassion human darkness worldwide, from past eras to the present moment. What emerges from the films originating from the United States, Germany, Canada, South Africa/Britain/Italy, and Britain, is a message of timely hope. Again and again, tiny miracles of humanity are revealed in these films, in accord with the words of the Talmud: “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world.”
Films shown in tbis order:
Intolerance (1916)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Far From Heaven (2002)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Water (2005)
Jesus Camp (2006)
Mother Teresa (1986)
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
The Lives of Others (2006)
Gandhi (1982)
Common Man, Uncommon Vision (2001)
Long Night’s Journey Into Day (2001)
Late-night bonus films shown:
Crash (2005)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
The Tramp and the Dictator (2002)
Brahms: A German Requiem (Abbado, 1997)
Amazing Grace (2007)
See these other film themes:
Twenty Favorite Films from the Esalen Film Seminars 1990-2011
Healing Through Gratefulness,
Exploring Nirvana and Salvation,
Learning to Forgive,
Renewing Integrity Through Film: The Vision of Truth,
Exuberance, Creativity and Delight,
Renewing Wholeness: The Spiritual Experience of Viewing Great Films,
Families in Film: Now and Forever,
Wisdom & Compassion,
Imagining the Feminine,
Films Envisioning a Hopeful Future