Introduction to Sociology/Sociological Videos

The following are videos - including fiction movies, non-fiction documentaries and recorded lectures - examining topics in the field of sociology.

Title Description Year Type Topic Online
A Class Divided documents Jane Elliott's classroom experiment illustrating discrimination using eye colors 1985 non-Fiction Discrimination Yes
A Dry White Season South African apartheid 1989 Fiction Race
A map of social theories, 1000-2000 by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on social theories. Lecture 1 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
A Passage to India Indian independence from Great Britain and ethnic relations 1984 Fiction Ethnicity
A Raisin in the Sun depicts a black family trying to move out of their run-down tenement apartment and into a white neighborhood 1961 Fiction Race
A World Apart South African apartheid 1988 Fiction Race
Adam Smith (1733-1790), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Smith. Lecture 3 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Alamo Bay a despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing industry in a Texas bay town 1985 Fiction Ethnicity
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1850), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on de Tocqueville. Lecture 4 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Al Qaeda's new front FRONTLINE documentary on Al Qaeda's evolution: Madrid bombings, ideological base, transatlantic differences. Divided into 4 sections; approx. 1h total ? non-Fiction terrorism, Al Qaeda Yes
Amar Te Duele a variation of the Romeo and Juliet theme with the twist of social class differences between the families 2002 Fiction Economic Stratification
American History X racism in the U.S. 1998 Fiction Race
An Inconvenient Truth an American documentary film about global warming by Al Gore. 2006 Non-Fiction Ecology
Angels & Insects movie about incest and the incest taboo 1996 Fiction Sexuality
Avalon (1990 film) tells the story of a family of Eastern European Jews who immigrate to the United States 1990 Fiction Migration
Bad Day at Black Rock illustrates racism and discrimination in a small town in the U.S. post WWII 1954 Fiction Race
The Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on de Montesquieu. Lecture 2 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Black Like Me describes Griffin's a six-week experience of a white man disguised as a black man traveling throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia in the 1950s 1964 Fiction Race
The Blonde and I a short film illustrating the basic concepts of Durkheim's "Suicide" 2009 Fiction Theory Yes & Yes
Blue Eyed documents Jane Elliott's classroom experiment illustrating discrimination using eye colors 1996 non-Fiction Discrimination
Bopha! depicts the life of a black police officer in South Africa during the apartheid era 1994 Fiction Race
Born Yesterday tells the story of a corrupt tycoon with a underclass girlfriend who requires re-education to be a member of the upper class 1958 Fiction Economic Stratification
Boys Don’t Cry based on the true story of a young transman who was raped and murdered in 1993 by his male friends after they found out he had female genitalia 1999 Fiction Sexuality
Braveheart ethnic discrimination and stratification 1995 Fiction Ethnicity
Bread and Roses deals with the struggle of poorly paid janitorial workers in Los Angeles and their fight for better working conditions and the right to unionize 2000 Fiction Unionizing
Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two gay cowboys who hide their relationship because it is not accepted by those around them 2005 Fiction Sexuality
Come Back, Africa tells the story of a migrant worker in apartheid South Africa who does not have a work permit and as such is open to exploitation, arbitrary dismissal and sudden arrest 1959 Fiction Race
Come See the Paradise depicts the treatment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent loss of civil liberties within the framework of a love story 1990 Fiction Ethnicity
Conrack follows a young teacher assigned to an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina populated mostly by poor black families who have been isolated from the rest of the world 1974 Fiction Race
Country Boys follows two young men in rural Kentucky in the early 2000s growing up with serious disadvantages, both educationally and financially 2002 Non-Fiction Economic Stratification Yes
Cry, the Beloved Country South African apartheid and race relations 1951 Fiction Race
Cry, the Beloved Country South African apartheid and race relations 1995 Fiction Race
Cry Freedom depicts a charismatic South African Black Consciousness Movement leader in apartheid South Africa and the liberal white editor of a newspaper who exposes police complicity in the death of the movement leader 1987 Fiction Race
Darwin's Nightmare documents the exploitation of fishing resources in Africa by European businesses and consumers 2004 non-Fiction Globalization
Defiant Ones, The tells the story of two escaped prisoners who are shackled together, one white and one black, who must co-operate in order to survive 1958 Fiction Race
Diary of Anne Frank, The a motion picture based on the book The Diary of a Young Girl describing the life of Anne Frank while in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands 1959 Fiction Ethnicity
Digital Nomads The results of an experiment to share the experiences of people devoted to endless digital communication are presented as online videos by The Economist. Two vidoes: Jonathan Schwartz - 05:25; Jan Chipchase - 09:18 2008 Non-Fiction Communication, Internet Yes
Dirty Pretty Things depicts the lives of two illegal immigrants in the U.K. 2003 Fiction Migration
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The The film is about a group of upper middle-class people attempting to dine together 1973 Fiction Economic Stratification
Do the Right Thing The film tells a tale of bigotry and racial conflict in a multi-ethnic community in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, on the hottest day of the year 1989 Fiction Race
Double Happiness tells the story of an artistic young woman struggling to assert her independence from the expectations of her Chinese Canadian family 1994 Fiction Gender
Educating Rita an English working-class girl wants to better herself by studying literature 1983 Fiction Economic Stratification
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Durkheim. Lecture 6 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
El Norte depicts Guatemalan peasants and migrants 1983 Fiction Migration
El Super looks at life in the U.S. from the perspective of frustrated Cuban exiles 1978 Fiction Migration
Emigrants, The tells the story of a Swedish group who emigrate to the U.S. in the 19th century 1971 Fiction Migration
Ernest Gellner (1925-1995), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Gellner. Lecture 8 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Ethnic Notions traces deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice 1988 non-Fiction Race
Europa Europa Antisemitism in Germany 1990 Fiction Ethnicity
Far From Heaven tells the story of a 1950s housewife living in suburban Hartford as she sees her seemingly perfect life begin to fall apart; deals with complex contemporary issues such as race, sexuality, and class 2002 Fiction Sexuality
F.W. Maitland (1850-1906), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Maitland. Lecture 9 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Gaijin - Os Caminhos da Liberdade depicts the struggles of Japanese immigrants who traveled to and settled in Brazil looking for a better life 1980 Fiction Migration
Gandhi non-violent social activism, religion, ethnic relations 1982 non-Fiction Social Movements
Garden of the Finzi-Continis, The chronicles the relationships between the narrator, an Italian Jew, and the children of the Finzi-Contini family from the rise of Mussolini until the start of World War II 1970 Fiction Ethnicity
Gentleman’s Agreement describes the efforts of a journalist who falsely represents himself as a Jew to research antisemitism in New York City in the 1940s 1947 Fiction Ethnicity
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner tells the story of an upper class white woman who becomes engaged to a black doctor then brings him home to meet her parents 1967 Fiction Race
Hester Street Hester Street tells the story of Jewish immigrants who come to the Lower East side of New York City in 1896 from Europe 1975 Fiction Migration
High Hopes pro-socialism in the U.K. 1988 Fiction Economic Systems
Hollywood Shuffle depicts the stereotyping of African Americans in both film and television 1987 Fiction Race
Home of the Brave A paralyzed African-American war veteran begins to walk again only when he confronts his fear of being an "outsider" and minority 1949 Fiction Race
Holy Innocents poverty in Spain in the 1960s 1984 Fiction Economic Stratification
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman tells the story of a Frenchman captured by Brazilian natives who adopt him but constantly threaten to eat him 1971 Fiction Culture
Intruder in the Dust deals with the trial of a black farmer accused of murdering a white man in the 1940s; he is cleared through the efforts of black and white teenagers and a spinster from a long-established southern family 1949 Fiction Race
Is Wal-Mart Good for America? Documentary on Wal-Mart 2005 Non-Fiction Economy Yes
Jungle Fever centers on the interracial romance between a successful married African American architect and an Italian-American woman 1991 Fiction Race
Karl Marx (1818-1883), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Marx. Lecture 5 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
Killing Us Softly 3, by Jean Kilbourne A documentary about advertising's image of women. Studyguide. 35m 1999 Non-fiction Gender Yes
Live Nude Girls Unite! documents the efforts of strippers in San Francisco to unionize 2000 non-Fiction Unionizing Yes
Losing Isaiah black motherhood, custody issues, and drug addiction 1995 Fiction Race
Mandela documentary of the life of Nelson Mandela 1987 non-Fiction Race
Max Weber (1864-1920), by Alan Macfarlane recorded lecture on Weber. Lecture 7 in a series of 9. 2007 Lecture Theory Yes
McLibel documents the McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel case in the U.K. 2005 non-Fiction Corporations
Metropolitan haute bourgeoisie culture of New York City 1990 Fiction Economic Stratification
Mission, The depicts the Jesuit Reductions, a programme by which Jesuit missionaries set up missions independent of the Spanish state to teach Christianity to the natives 1986 Fiction Culture
Mississippi Burning racism in the U.S. 1988 Fiction Race
Mississippi Masala inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriage as well as cultural diversity 1991 Fiction Race
Moscow on the Hudson depicts a Russian circus musician who defects from the Soviet Union while on a visit to the United States and finds that living in America isn't as easy as he thought 1984 Fiction Politics
My Beautiful Laundrette ethnic relations in London 1985 Fiction Ethnicity
My Family/Mi Familia tracks three generations of a Mexican-American family that emigrated from Mexico and settled in East Los Angeles 1995 Fiction Migration
No Way Out depicts an African American doctor tending to slum residents whose ethics are put to the test when confronted with blind racism in patients and community members 1950 Fiction Race
Nothing But a Man race relations in the U.S. in the 1960s 1964 Fiction Race
Panther Black Panthers in the U.S. 1995 Fiction Race
Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, The Barry Schwartz is a sociology professor at Swarthmore College and author of The Paradox of Choice. In this talk, he explains how and why the abundance of choice in modern society is actually making us miserable (20m) 2008 lecture Yes
Philadelphia tells the story of a Senior Associate at a large corporate law firm in Philadelphia who attempts to hides his homosexuality and his status as an AIDS patient from the other members of the law firm 1993 Fiction Sexuality
Pygmalion tells the story of Cockney flower girl becoming a refined society lady as a result of a bet 1938 Fiction Economic Stratification
Quilombo depicts the conquest of a Brazilian tribe 1983 Fiction Ethnicity
Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the story of two young, mixed-race Aboriginal girls who run away from a white settlement in order to return to their Aboriginal families 2002 Fiction Ethnicity
Race and Sex - What We Think But Can't Say A documentary on stereotypes, particularly related to race and gender. ABCNews production? 2002 Non-Fiction Gender and Race
Room at the Top reflects social class issues in the U.K. in the 1950s 1958 Fiction Economic Stratification
Roots tells the story of a young African sold into slavery in the 1700s in the U.S. 1977 Fiction Race
Roots: The Next Generation continues the story of the African slave in Roots to his eventual descendant, Alex Haley 1979 Fiction Race
Rules of the Game, The satire of the French upper classes prior to WWII 1939 Fiction Economic Stratification
Salaam Bombay! kids in poverty in Mumbai 1988 Fiction Economic Stratification
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid poverty and homelessness in the U.K.; also deals with ethnicity and sexuality 1987 Fiction Economic Stratification
Schindler’s List tells the story of Oskar Schindler a German businessman who saved the lives of over one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust 1993 Fiction Ethnicity
Secrets & Lies race issues in the U.K. 1996 Fiction Race
Shaka Zulu tells the story of Shaka, king of the Zulu nation from 1816 to 1828 1986 Fiction Culture
The Social Construction of Reality a short film illustrating some of the ideas in Berger and Luckmann's "The Social Construction of Reality 2009 Fiction Theory Yes & Yes
Stand and Deliver education in predominantly minority schools 1988 Fiction Education
Swimmer, The thematic exploration of suburban America, especially the relationship between wealth and happiness 1968 Fiction Economic Stratification
The Way We Live: Introduction to Sociology Advertised as "a comprehensive introduction to Sociology on 22 half-hour videos". ? non-Fiction Economy (and other offline) Partial: Chapter 14 - 14. Working World: The Economy and Work
The Tank Man FRONTLINE documentary on the Tiananmen Square Massacre, The Tankman, information control in China and so on. Divided into 6 sections; approx. 1h40m total ? non-Fiction China, repressions, resistance, information Yes (RM stream may be broken, switch to WMP stream)
The Soldier's Heart FRONTLINE documentary on the psychological impact of warfare, based on the modern War in Iraq. Divided into 4 sections; approx. 45m total ? non-Fiction psychological breakdown, impact of warfare, War in Iraq Yes
To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of the trial of a black man on trial in the South for rape 1962 Fiction Race
Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North tells the story of filmmaker Katrina Browne and nine cousins who discover that their New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. They retrace the Triangle Trade and gain a powerful new perspective on the black/white divide. 2008 non-Fiction Race
Trading Places social class in the U.S. 1983 Fiction Economic Stratification
Up Series documents the lives of a dozen or so children over the course of nearly 50 years in the U.K. to illustrate the effects of social class on life outcomes 1964-2000 non-Fiction Economic Stratification
Wedding, The interracial marriage in the U.S. 1998 Fiction Race
Wedding Banquet, The tells the story of a gay Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card; his plan backfires when his parents arrive in America to plan his wedding banquet 1993 Fiction Sexuality
White Man’s Burden race in the U.S. 1995 Fiction Race
Zebrahead describes an interracial romance between a white man and a black woman and the resulting tensions among the characters 1992 Fiction Race

A new website with video clips in Sociology, The Sociological Cinema, has some video clips available as well: http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/index.html