San Antonio College Library

For many governments in the new political landscape of Central Asia, supporting America's war on terror translates into a dangerous internal juggling act. This Wide Angle documentary examines the uneasy relationship between forces aligned against the Taliban and the drug lords who control the cultivation of much of the world's heroin. With militias and tribal factions diluting centralized power, the current opium crop in Afghanistan is among the largest...

Each year, some 800 women in Mauritania die during childbirth. The country's mortality rate for children under age five is also alarmingly high-approximately 14,500 deaths annually. This program follows Mauritania's struggle to meet national objectives established with guidance from the United Nations-aiming at a 75-percent drop in maternal deaths and a 66-percent drop in child mortality by the year 2015. The film visits a badly equipped, severely...

In this program, Turkish filmmaker Isaac Isitan investigates recent economic crises in Turkey and Argentina, with a focus on their roots and their effects upon the middle classes in both countries. How could these two countries have gone bankrupt within a decade? The financial turmoil began in the 1980s, when the IMF ordered structural adjustment programs in the agricultural industry and the privatization of government businesses to fund payment of...

"All over the world, green enterprise is growing. This program focuses on the catalyst that is transforming Earth-friendly businesses into paying ventures: a thing that economists call externalities. In Mexico, coffee growers use collective bargaining to create a more secure market. In Tanzania, where malaria is rampant, a mosquito net manufacturer makes good by marketing social change. In Brazil, babassu nut farmers preserve their traditional business...

Although rich in oil, gas, lumber, and many other natural resources, Russia is experiencing difficulty building a free-market economy. From the heart of Moscow and nearby areas, this program investigates major challenges that Russian companies face following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Interviews with resource managers and business leaders-along with spectacular views of the Kremlin, Red Square, and historic churches-shed light on the growing...

Most elementary-age children exude innocence and optimism. What about kids who face extreme poverty? This documentary focuses on the plight of underprivileged nine-year-olds across the world-revealing their hardships and challenges as well as the light-hearted spirit they often exhibit in spite of their surroundings. Traveling to Egypt, Rwanda, India, Cambodia, Romania, Brazil, and New York City, the film presents a case study of a child in each location...

Every year this nation's economy struggles to absorb millions of the unemployed, while the rich move to gated communities with private schools and tennis courts. That might sound like America, but it isn't. This Wide Angle documentary studies the new China, once the home of Mao's rigidly imposed social equality-and today, a member of the World Trade Organization containing both staggeringly wealthy and tragically destitute citizens. The country's...

A hub of trade for centuries, Singapore is now an economic powerhouse. This program explores factors that have enabled Singapore to thrive, including its location, its high-tech labor force, and its wide variety of cultural groups and nationalities. Interviews with the deputy manager of the nation's port, conversations with citizens from a spectrum of ethnic backgrounds, and colorful displays of traditional Malay dance and dress reflect Singapore's...

In Luang Prabang, amidst the customary begging of Buddhist monks and the irksome giddiness of camera-wielding tourists, history lies waiting on street after street of traditional architecture. This program takes viewers into the heart of the Laotian city, where builders and bureaucrats contest the fate of land, houses, and public structures while traditional artisans and architects work to preserve an ancient heritage. Highlighting cooperation between...

In an age of globalization, companies are scrambling to blend the ideals of social justice with the concept of a free-market economy. Drawing on case studies from around the world, this program focuses on progressive efforts being made by businesses to unite profits and principles. Issues under consideration include the practice of social responsibility through ethical investment policies and codes of conduct, the human and environmental costs of...