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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
Course title:
Course times:
Course Instructor:
Amy Hart
Public Health through Film & Fiction 3 TR, COURSE: PUHE-GE 2315 (4536)
Monday and Wednesday, 6:45pm-8:25pm, May 29 – July 3rd . Location: TBD
Amy Hart ah113@nyu.edu c: 518-221-0163.
(Off season email: amyhart@me.com www.CenterPeaceFilms.com, FB: amy.hart.5496)
Public Health through Film and Fiction 2013
Course Objectives:
Students are expected to demonstrate the following competencies by the end of the course:
1. View film and fiction through a public health/population health (PH) lens.
2. Identify a central public health issue, as well as other less prominent PH issues, in a given
story and think critically about how the issues are portrayed.
3. Develop insight into how the technique and style of filmmaking influences the emotional
response to a story – and to the public health issue addressed.
4. Compare the presentation of a PH topic in a film/novel to relevant research on the topic.
5. Examine the value of personal stories in conveying public health issues.
Course Description:
Narrative film or fiction has the capacity to raise awareness of a public health issue to a broad,
mainstream audience. For example, while countless papers have been written about the horrific conditions
of impoverished street children in India, many Americans saw this world for the first time in Danny
Boyle’s Academy-Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. Whether it was an accurate portrayal or not,
it presented images and story lines that mainstream audiences were unaware of prior to seeing the film.
In this course we will examine the presentation of public health issues in film and fiction and
discuss how public perception may be influenced by stories. How does the story help bring attention to a
public health issue? Is it effective? Is it accurate? Is the portrayal of the characters perceived as advocacy
or exploitation? Who is the filmmaker and what is their relationship to the issue? What was your
perception of the issue before viewing the film? Did your perception change after viewing the film?
These are some of the questions to be discussed in Public Health Through Film and Fiction. We
will watch films (or clips) through a public health lens and share open discussions after each screening in
which students will identify and discuss the PH issues presented in the film and answer a set of questions.
Between classes, students will be expected to read articles and explore the background of the topic, the
filmmaker and the story before the next class. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions,
write a 2-3-page paper each week and participate in discussions online via Blackboard.
In addition to viewing the films and participating in class discussions, students will be expected to
read one novel entitled Gardens of Water by Alan Drew. A 5-page paper on the book is due during the 4th
week of class focusing on one of the PH issues raised in the story. (Topics will be selected.) Students are
advised to read the book early in the course.
Students will be expected to give a final presentation during the 6th week of class. The final
presentation is to be 15-20 minutes long and include 5 key elements. (Specific details below.) For
example, a student may illustrate how The Jungle, a 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair, helped to raise
awareness of the deplorable working conditions of laborers in meatpacking plants, as well as the health
concerns for both the workers and the consumers; another student may interview people of Indian descent
about how they feel about the portrayal of life in India in Slumdog Millionaire; or perhaps investigate how
African-Americans feel about Precious or The Blindside, or show clips from Stop Loss and share stories of
actual vets returning from Iraq or Afghanistan; or use clips from Beasts of the Southern Wild to explore the
public health impact of climate change on marginalized communities.
Course grade will be based on class participation and group discussions (20%), assigned 2-page
papers based on particular elements of the film questionnaire (30%); final individual or small group
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
Amy Hart
presentations (30%); and 5-page paper on a public health issue addressed in Gardens of Water (20%).
There will be no final examination.
Instructor: NYC based photographer/filmmaker, Amy Hart, is the director of CenterPeace Films
(www.CenterPeaceFilms.com) and the founding director of Public Health Productions at the New York
Academy of Medicine, (http://www.NYAM.org/PHP); she is also an independent documentary filmmaker
of Water First: Reaching the Millennium Development Goals (www.WaterFirstFilm.org). Hart was the
Producer/Director of Public Health broadcast programs at the University at Albany School of Public
Health funded by the NYS DOH and CDC from 2002-2008. In the 90’s, Hart worked at Miramax Films,
Fine Line Features, New Line Cinema and as a freelance news writer/producer. Prior to working in film
and television she worked in theater as a writer/performer of socially relevant, international theater. Her
clients include UNICEF, IOM (Institute of Medicine), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, GMHC (Gay
Men’s Health Crisis), Health and Hospitals Corportation, NY Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Working
Mother Media, International Society on Urban Health and many other health-related organizations.
Novel:
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew, Random House 2008
FILMS to be Screened:
Due to time constraints, films will not screened in their entirety.
PLEASE WATCH THE FILMS* BEFORE CLASS. (*Films listed first for each week should be viewed ahead of time.)
Week 1:
POVERTY & STREET CHILDREN
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Directed by Danny Boyle
Oliver! (1968) Directed by Carol Reed
Salaam Bombay! (1988), Directed by Mira Nair
Week 2:
HEALTH DISPARITIES/ Poverty & Race
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (2009) Directed by Lee Daniels
The Secret Life of Bees (2008) Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
Week 3:
CLIMATE CHANGE/Public Health Impact on Marginalized Communities
Beasts of the Southern Wild. (2012) Directed by Benh Zeitlin
When the Levees Broke (2006) Directed by Spike Lee
Week 4:
FOOD & WATER
Food, Inc. (2009) Directed by Robert Kenner
Promised Land (2012) Directed by Gus Van Sant
Water First (2008) Directed by Amy Hart
Gasland and Gasland 2 – Directed by Josh Fox
Week 5:
MEDICAL ETHICS / Clinical Trials
The Constant Gardener (2005) Directed by Fernando Meirelles
City of God (2002) Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Week 6:
Final Presentations:
Students, or groups of up to three students, are expected to give an oral presentation on a
public health topic addressed in this course. Students are encouraged to think creatively
about their presentation. Original video productions may be presented in lieu of an oral
presentation. Presentations should integrate the following:
ƒ One or more film clips or a short passage from a novel that conveys a specific PH
topic or concern
ƒ Brief commentary about the background of the filmmaker/storyteller and his/her
relationship to the subject
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
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Amy Hart
Commentary on public perception of the topic and audience response to the story
Relevant academic research on the topic, citing at least one source
Exploration of the accuracy of the presentation of the public health topic in
comparison to available research
Commentary on the value of the story in addressing the PH issue.
Introduction to an organization that is actively addressing the issue.
Assigned Reading:
Note: articles below should serve only as a starting point. Please do your own searches and find articles
that are relevant to the given topic.
Novel:
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew, Random House 2008
Week 1:
POVERTY & STREET CHILDREN
•
Slum Voyeurism?
Fareed Sakaria, Newsweek, January 30, 2009
http://www.newsweek.com/id/182341/output/print
•
Danny Boyle, Tasha Robinson, AVClub, November 26, 2009
http://www.avclub.com/articles/danny-boyle,14337/
•
Interview with Mira Nair (excerpt), Bonnie Greer, The Guardian, June, 12, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/jun/12/guardianinterviewsatbfisouthbank1
NPR Discussion: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100276269
•
Street Children – Community childre, Worldwide Resource Library
Pangaea, May 17, 2009
http://www.pangaea.org/street_children/kids.htm
•
Search for homes for ‘Slumdog’ children picks up
Yahoo News, May 26, 2009
•
When the Little Ones Run the Show
Children’s Parliament Offers Disillunioned Indians a Rare Example of Clean Politics
Emily Wax, The Washington Post, May 14, 2009
•
Causes and Characteristics of the street child phenomenon: a global perspective
Johann L Roux Cheryl Sylvia Smith. Adolescence, Fall 1998 v33 i131 p683(6)
HEALTH DISPARITIES / Poverty and Race
Week 2:
•
Pushing Away
Interview with Lee Daniels, Director of ”Precious”
Jason Guerrasio, Filmmaker magazine, Fall 2009, Page 30-35
•
Fade to White
Critical essay on the movie “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire’
Ishmail Reed, The New York Times, Feb 5, 2010; pA25(L).
This Honey’s Saccharine
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post, October 17, 2008
•
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
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•
A Golden Dollop of Motherly Comfort
A.O. Scott, The New York Times, October 16, 2008
•
‘Precious’ Spawns Racial Debate: She’s ‘Demeaned’ or ‘Angelic’
Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, November 21, 2009, 159.54866; pC1(L)
•
Strengthening Communities and The Roles of Individuals in Community Life
Robert Aronson, Kay Lovelace, John Hatch, Tony Whitehead
Social Injustice and Public Health, Edited by Barry S. Levy, Victor W. Sidel
Pages 433-448.
•
Introduction to Health Disparities
Along with other relevant reports by the CDC including:
Health Disparities Experienced by Black Children, Youth, and Adults
(see packet for details)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
•
The Poverty Clinic – Can a stressful childhood make you a sick adult?
Paul Tough, The New Yorker, March 21, 2011
•
Various stats - from Black Health Care
www.blackhealthcare.com
•
Week 3:
Epidemiology and Health Statistics of African-Americans
Interview with Lee Daniels, Director of ”Precious”
Jason Guerrasio, Filmmaker magazine, Fall 2009, Page 30-35
CLIMATE CHANGE – Impact on Marginalized Communities
•
She’s the Man of this Swamp
Review of Besasts of the Southern Wild
A O Scott, The New York Times, June 26, 2012
http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/movies/beasts-of-the-southern-wild-directed-by-benhzeitlin.html
•
No Love in the Wild
bell hooks, new Blackman Bog Spot, September 5, 2012
http://newblackman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bell-hooks-no-love-in-wild.html
•
One Health: Interdependence of People, Other Species, and the Planet
Meredith A. Barrett and Steven A. Osofsky, Chapter published in 2013
*****Please read this chapter!
FOOD & WATER
Week 4:
•
Exploring the Corporate Powers Behind the Way We Eat
The Making of Food, Inc.
Robert Kenner, Food, Inc. Page 27-40
•
How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains
Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times, June 23, 2009
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
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•
The Halliburton Loophole
Ediorial, The New York Times
•
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act
Wikipedia – please see references referred to on the site.
•
Millennium Development Goals: progress towards the health-related MDGs
WHO Media Center, Fact sheets, fs290, May 2010
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs290/en/index.html
•
Promoting Equitable and Sustainable Human Development
Richard Jolly, Social Injustice and Public Health, Edited by Barry S. Levy and Victor Sidel
Pages 493-507
MEDICAL ETHICS / Clinical Trials
Week 5:
•
Meirelles on the Constant Gardener
Emanuel Levy interview, www.EmmanuelLevy.com, 2005
http://www.emanuellevy.com/search/details.cfm?id=321
•
‘The Constant Gardener’: What the Movie Missed
Sonia Shah, The Nation, August 30, 2005
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050912/shah
•
Trials by Fire: The Case of Unethical Clinical Trials in the Countries of the South
Behzad Hassani, Philosophy and Medicine
•
African women with HIV coerced into sterilisation
David Smith, reporting from Johannesburg, The Guardian, June 22, 2009
•
Is Capitalism a Disease? (PLEASE READ THIS CHAPTER.)
Richard Levins, Health and Social Justice, Richard Hofrichter, editor; pages 365-384
Week 6:
Final Presentations.
Additional topics – optional extra study:
MILITARISM / Veteran’s Mental Health:
Stop Loss (2008) Kimberly Pierce
Hurt Locker (2009) Kathryn Bigelow
•
War and public health: our responsibility to those who serve
Linda Degutis, The Nation's Health, August, 2008, v38 i6 p3(1)
•
Growing Public Health Crisis of Domestic Violence and Suicides by Returning Veterans
Elinor Stout, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Reuters, July 21, 2008
•
Stop-Loss – An interview with Kimberly Pierce
Miles Fielder, The List, April 2008
http://www.list.co.uk/article/7955-stop-loss-an-interview-with-kimberly-peirce/
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
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Film Questionnaire
1.
Viewing the film from a public health (PH) perspective:
a.
What PH issue is most central to the story?
b.
List other PH topics included.
c.
Was the central public health topic depicted accurately? Cite at least one source.
d.
Which character was most affected by the PH issue? Their socio-economic status?
2. Public perception of the PH topic:
a. Identify a PH topic in the film and elucidate on the public perception of the topic.
b. What is the common public response to this topic?
c. Has this film altered public perception?
d. Did this film seem to err on the side of advocacy or exploitation?
3. Entertainment and production values of the film:
a. What was the tone of the film?
b. How did the production (lighting, sound, pace, etc) affect the story?
c. Who was/were the central character(s) and how were they portrayed?
d. What was at the center of the story other than the PH issue that made it interesting?
e. How well did the film balance entertainment and the delivery of a ‘message’?
4. The role of the storyteller/filmmaker:
a. Who is the filmmaker/storyteller – what is his/her background?
b. What is the filmmaker’s relationship to this particular issue?
5. Your personal response to the film:
a. What was your personal awareness of the PH topic before viewing the film?
b. How did you feel about the topic after viewing the film?
c. What do you think about the topic and the film after doing further research?
6. What is the value of personal stories in conveying public health issues?
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NYU – Public Health through Film and Fiction, Summer 2013
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Style:
Title section:
Please include your name, date, and a TITLE for your paper – creativity encouraged.
Also include standard info: course title, professor, etc.
Format:
1.5 spacing; 1.25 inch margins; 11 or 12 pt font. Staple hard copy please.
Film titles:
Please italicize film titles. Actors’ names may be included, but are not required.
Michael Mann’s 1999 film, The Insider, offers a dramatized account of 60 Minutes producer
Lowell Bergman’s (Al Pacino) struggle to release an interview with tobacco-industry whistleblower
Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe).
Works cited:
Please use footnotes and include details at the end of your essay or the bottom of the page.
If referencing a website, include the date referenced. Footnotes should include:
Last name, first name. Date. Title. Publication, page.
Duke, Lynne. (2006, August 21). Breach of Faith: Spike Lee Channels a Storm Surge of
Anger in ‘When the Levees Broke.’ The Washington Post, p. C01.
Submit:
Hard copy in class and electronic copy via email: ahart113@nyu.edu
SAVE AS:
YourName_FilmTitle.doc or PDF.
Example: JaneDoe_Beasts.doc – or if your name is really long JDoe_Beasts
Rubric for grading papers:
NAME:
Week # and Film:
TITLE of Paper:
Score:
Addressed specific element of assignment:
Included relevant academic research and cited reference(s):
Wrote essay in a compelling, literary style:
Used proper formatting, footnotes, grammar, punctuation:
Completed assigned number of pages:
Submitted paper on time:
Total:
Comments:
Possible Points:
40
20
15
10
10
5
100
Given Points:
7