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We the People 2007

Border Lines - A Film Discussion Series

The five-part Border Lines series explores invisible borders in American life through the lens of popular Hollywood film.  We all negotiate borders, whether they are drawn on a map or more subtly defined by race, gender, or economic status.  What compels us to cross borders—or to choose to live within them?  These movies explore the challenges of living along the border lines of society and tradition.

Each program begins with a free meal, followed by the film showing and audience discussion.  Locations are Cheyenne, Evanston, Gillette, Jackson, Laramie, Lusk, Riverton, and Rock Springs (complete schedule below).

 

Movies in order of showing at each site:

  • The Terminal (PG-13, 2004) starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Eastern European traveler Viktor Navorski finds himself stranded for months at New York's Kennedy Airport.  Gradually, Viktor surmounts the barriers of language, bureaucracy, and suspicion to build unlikely alliances among the airport’s multi-ethnic work force.

 

  • Lone Star (R, 1996) starring Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson and Elizabeth Pena, directed by John Sayles.

Sam Deeds, the modern-day sheriff of a town on the U.S.-Mexican border, investigates a 30-year-old murder. He uncovers secrets that challenge the borders between fact and truth, love and enmity, and the town’s Anglo minority and Hispanic majority.  

 

  • North Country (R, 2005) starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand, directed by Niki Caro (Whalerider).

Josey Aimes is harassed by the male miners when she goes to work at a Minnesota iron mine.  When she confronts the abuse, her family, friends, and reputation suffer, and she must weigh the risks of crossing the border between men’s and women’s work.

 

  • Mississippi Masala (R, 1992) starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, directed by Mira Nair.

Meena is an Indian immigrant born and raised in Uganda, Demetrius an African American. Their unlikely romance forces both families to face a legacy of prejudice that crosses three continents.

 

  • Smoke Signals (PG-13, 1998) starring Adam Beach, Irene Bedard and Gary Farmer, directed by Chris Eyres.

Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire leave their Idaho reservation on a road trip across the border between past and present, truth and reality, the America of the reservation and the America outside.  The first film written, directed and acted by Native Americans

 

Funded by the We the People Initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities

For more information, contact Jenny Ingram, (307) 721-9247, jingram@uwyo.edu

Statewide Schedule

Cheyenne, Laramie County Library
Mondays: October 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.  Programs start at 6 p.m.

Evanston, Evanston Education Center (BOCES)
Thursdays: September 13, October 4, 25, November 15, and December 6.  Programs start at 6 p.m.

Gillette, Campbell County Public Library
Sundays: September 16, 30, October 14, 28 and November 4.  Programs start at 1:30 p.m.

Jackson, Teton Science Schools, sponsored with the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum
Wednesdays: January 9 and 23, February 20, March 5 and 25.  Programs start at 6 p.m.

Laramie, Albany County Public Library
Fridays: September 21, October 12, November 2, 16, December 7.  Programs start at 5:30 p.m.

Lusk, Niobrara County Library
Mondays: September 10, 17, 24, October 1, 8. Programs start at 6 p.m.

Riverton, Riverton Branch Library
Fridays: September 7, 21, October 5, 19, November 2.  Programs start at 6 p.m.

Rock Springs, White Mountain Library:
Wednesdays: September 12, 26, October 10, 24, November 7.  Programs start at 5:30 p.m.