The videos flagged up and embedded here have come from various members. If you have a video that you would like to see added please leave the url in the comments section.
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As we continue to explore the nexus of entertainment, economics and crime Vice TV (www.vbs.com) has recently released the first segment (1 of 3) on the distinctively Neapolitan form of pop music coined as The Neomelodics. Like the origins of hip hop, this music was bred in the impoverished working class areas of Naples where the Camorra, one of the largest Mafia families in Italy, is rooted. With a style and swagger fit for Eurovision these heavily tanned singers are virtually unknown outside of Naples and exist in large part to entertain the Mafioso of today, and tomorrow.
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If an independent and engaged media is the hallmark of a functioning democracy, the situation in Juarez, Mexico is further evidence of the increasingly failed Mexican state. The short New York Times film linked to the photograph below captures the work of essentially war-zone journalist working in their hometown, only minutes from the American border. The threat of death comes not only from the Narco’s who operate with impunity in Juarez but also from rogue elements of the Mexican State. Here investigative journalism is tantamount to a death sentence. Click on the photo below.
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En Busca de al Vida (trans: In Search of Life) is a ‘soap-opera’ filmed in El Alto, Bolivia. Unlike traditional daytime dramas this is not a medium designed to generate commercial advertising revenue. Rather it has been filmed by local young people (many from indigenous families) as a novel medium through which to capture experiences of young people whose families have been forced to move from remote villages to sprawling urban shantytowns in search of work. The series of 25 episodes capture the trials, tribulations and humour of life in El Alto–from the perspective of those living them. The videos are filmed in Spanish though you can get English subtitles by going to the lower right part of the screen and clicking “CC”. The first episode is linked below but click here for a listing for all of the episodes or here to visit the Shine-A-Light organization that is supporting the production and distribution of these videos.
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The “Underbelly Project” was a clandestine subterranean “art show” a stones throw from the gallery spaces in Chelsea section of NYC. The “art show” was not one for Chardonnay and light banter as it remained (and remains) as out of the way and inaccessible as ever. This was not street art for mass consumption among the socialite set, for whom “street art” is just the thing to accompany that vintage Warhol, it is rough, not quite cured, and waiting for the MTA to come and erase it. Click here for the full article or the photo gallery.
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Continuing their gritty yet sensitive coverage of global topics at the uncomfortable intersection of power, vice, and exploitation Vice TV has released another fantastic documentary–this time exploring the shadowy world of the Indian Devadasi caste of (child) prostitutes. In Prostitutes of God Sarah Harris captures a historical religious tradition that not only condones but systematizes child prostitution and caste-based sexual exploitation:
“India is a land of extremes, polarized by extravagant new wealth and ancient poverty. Everywhere you look there is a battle being waged between the traditional forces of religion, caste, and superstition and the inevitable force of Western capitalism. Nowhere are these clashes more evident than the plight of the Devadasi’s, where religious devotion has been exploited for commercial gain. The Devadasi tradition is destroying families and communities generation after generation and with the advent of AIDS and HIV the practice now has a deadly price tag. Today any remnants of the Devadasi’s cultural origins has all but disappeared and all that is left is a system that turns children into prostitutes and parents into pimps.” (Sarah Harris, VBS.TV)
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Below is a fantastic three part short expose on the phenomena of ‘Narco-Cinema’ in Mexico that not only highlights the incredible complexity of the drug trade and its attempted control but also the occasionally celebratory filmic representation of ‘narcos’ in contemporary Mexican society. For more great clips on various contemporary and progressive issues check out www.vbs.tv
Also, check out the four part short film ‘Swansea: Love Story’ that explores the rapid rise in heroin use set against the crumbling post-industrial landscape of Swansea, Wales, UK.
“[W]hen [former British Prime Minister] Margaret Thatcher helped bring about the end of heavy industry in Britain, the social implications for places like Swansea were dire… Mass unemployment and heroin addiction have always made fine bedfellows… We found out about love, death, the organized sexual abuse of children and the collapse of the family. We stumbled into a race riot, met old sailors, and listened to a wonderful Welsh male choir. We learned about why dragging yourself out of addiction is such a struggle, especially if you’re a teenager who’s the product of two generations of heroin addicts and whose great-grandfathers were miners, sailors, and steelworkers.” (CNN.com)
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Unchecked violence threatens to tarnish Venezuela’s Socialist visions. With a murder rate that rivals Iraq and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the police in Caracas and elsewhere have come under increased pressure to reevaluate their approach. The headline image below of bodies piled up at the morgue lead to the paper being barred by a judge from printing any further photographs of the carnage leading many to question the government’s commitment to the immediate safety needs of the citizens.
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The Mexican / American border is quickly becoming one of the most violent strips of land in the world. With violence spreading precipitiously on both sides of the border there is more evidence than ever that the US lead drug policy of militarization, or Columbinanization as one person interviewed in the film puts it, is doing little to stem the tide. Yet at the same time given the levels of violence directly attributable to the drug trade in the US there are increasing calls to bolster the traditional response. As this video captures it is a problem without easy, or willing, solutions.
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Below is a link to the Extended Trailer/Documentary for the fifth and final season of The Wire entitled ‘Last Words‘ which captures complex interplay between politics, the media, and crime and the moral hazard whereby politicians, reporters and the police have few incentives to deal honestly with the issues. Watching one season is usually enough to hook most people. As the Director noted, ‘If people think of this as just another cop show, we have failed’. The final three seasons take an even more overt political, though still riveting, stance.
If you are interested to see the entire first season of The Wire in full length video they are all posted here. Keep in mind this is a Chinese website so unless you speak Mandarin navigation can be a bit tricky. (The links below should make it easier) Once you are addicted, pun intended, buy the complete 5 season box set.
Season 1 Episode 1 — Season 1 Episode 2 — Season 1 Episode 3 — Season 1 Episode 4 — Season 1 Episode 5 — Season 1 Episode 6 — Season 1 Episode 7 — Season 1 Episode 8 — Season 1 Episode 9 — Season 1 Episode 10 — Season 1 Episode 11 — Season 1 Episode 12 — Season 1 Episode 13
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Below is a short clip from the New York Times on the flow of American weapons onto the bloody streets of Juarez, Mexico. Much is made of the importation of drugs across the southern border of the United States, far less is made of the steady stream of weapons through private sales and huge commercial contracts back across the border to Mexico and other countries involved in long running civil and drug wars.
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Below is the trailer for a fantastic documentary film, ‘Crips and Bloods: Made In America’, on the social, cultural and material production of a gang war. The film will be shortly available for purchase from PBS.org
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Below is the documentary film “La sociologie est un sport de combat” (2001) which documents the work and life of Pierre Bourdieu. The first video is the full length film in French. Below that are the various segments with English subtitles.
Or with German subtitles (1/15):
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Below is a public lecture by Prof. Loic Wacquant entitled ‘Bringing the State Back In’ with a response by Prof. Nicola Lacey
Link to the video: [http://www2.lse.ac.uk/BJS/news/newsArchive.aspx#2009_Lecture_Bringing_the_State_Back_In_%28Wacquant%29]
Link to the Audio podcast: [http://richmedia.lse.ac.uk/publicLecturesAndEvents/20091006_1830_bringingThePenalStateBackIn.mp3]
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Creative cleaning with a message…
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The trailer for the documentary film ‘Up The Ridge’ produced by Appalshop (http://appalshop.org/h2h/film/) exploring the impact of the American prison boom on the isolated rural communities in which they nestled and the inner cities from which they are (deliberately) removed.
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The Network (1976) – A soothsaying classic film that cleverly illustrates the production of ‘news’. The famous ‘Mad as Hell’ scene.
The Network full video – Part 1 of 2
The Network full video – Part 2 of 2
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The Corporation (2003) [Part 1 of 23] – An excellent documentary exploring the ubiquitous role of corporations in contemporary Western society and their impact upon the so-called ‘third world’.
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The War on Democracy (2007) John Pilgers’ widely acclaimed and controversial documentary on US foreign policy in Latin America.
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Slavoj Zizek on politeness and civility in modern society. Click here for other Zizek lectures on www.videolectures.net.
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An interview with Pierre Bourdieu [Part 1 of 2]
An interview with Pierre Bourdieu [Part 2 of 2]
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‘Subvertizing’ meets professional graphic arts. (http://www.billboardliberation.com/)
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Pierre Bourdieu on the role of the media and television on contemporary society
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Jeff Ferrell is ‘Waste Deep’–a television pilot for a possible show on the phenomenon of Urban Scrounging. Embedding was disabled so here is the link [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNw1q7XOWgA]
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Below is a short film on the history and ‘master plan’ of Google.com
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A speech by CSP co-founder and mentor Louk Hulsman.
Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology 
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