Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL

Sep 23, 2022

1h 34m

★ 0.0

An eye-opening look at the history of politics and propaganda in the NFL.

Overview

Celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Media Education Foundation

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL Trailers

Cast

Self

Dave Zirin

Self (archive footage)

Marco Rubio

Self (archive footage)

Rush Limbaugh

Self - San Francisco 49ers Quarterback (archive footage)

Colin Kaepernick

Self (archive footage)

Donald Trump

Self (archive footage)

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Self (archive footage)

Bill Russell

Self (archive footage)

Muhammad Ali

Self (archive footage)

Tommie Smith

Self (archive footage)

John Carlos

Self (archive footage)

Jackie Robinson

Self (archive footage)

Billie Jean King

Archive footage of Australia and New Zealand forces during WW1, WW2 and the Vietnam conflict. Plus home life between the wars, especially focusing on the homage we pay to those who so bravely sacrificed themselves on our behalf. This is all held together by a wonderful script narrated by John Stanton.

8.0

The Other 300: Army of Lovers

Jun 12, 2025

A documentary that brings to light the extraordinary story of the Sacred Band of Thebes – an elite military unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers that became one of the most formidable forces of the ancient world. It delves into the history of this little-known chapter of classical antiquity through forensic archaeology, rare archival material, ancient art, and animation. It explores how the Sacred Band rose to prominence, met its tragic end, and continues to resonate in modern discussions of identity, heroism, and love.

6.5

Killing the Indian in the Child

Feb 18, 2021

The Indian Act, passed in Canada in 1876, made members of Aboriginal peoples second-class citizens, separated from the white population: nomadic for centuries, they were moved to reservations to control their behavior and resources; and thousands of their youngest members were separated from their families to be Christianized: a cultural genocide that still resonates in Canadian society today.

No Image

8.0

A Hero's Death

Aug 8, 2001

It was the biggest escape in the history of the Berlin Wall: in one historic night of October 1964, 57 East-Berliners try their luck through a tunnel into West Berlin. Just before the last few reach the other side, the East German border guards notice the escape and open fire. Remarkably, all the refugees and their escape agents make it out of the tunnel unscathed, but one border guard is dead: 21-year-old officer Egon Schultz.

7.8

Bye Bye Barry

Nov 20, 2023

When NFL superstar Barry Sanders vanished at the height of his career, he left the NFL world in shock. He was still in his prime, chasing the all-time NFL rushing record when he boarded a flight to England and never stepped foot on the field again. Now, 24 years later, Barry retraces his steps through the streets of London to finally confront the mystery.

8.0

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America

Jan 14, 2022

Jeffery Robinson's talk on the history of U.S. anti-Black racism, with archival footage and interviews.

7.0

Barbed Wire and Mandolins

Mar 4, 1997

Upon Canada's entry into World War II, the RCMP rounded up thousands of people it considered fascist sympathizers. Among them, 700 Italian-Canadians were held for up to three years in internment camps. None were ever charged with a criminal offence.

6.0

Rikers

Nov 12, 2016

This film from Bill Moyers is the first documentary to focus exclusively on people formerly detained in New York City’s notorious Rikers Island Jail. They tell their compelling stories direct to the camera, revealing the violent arc of the Rikers experience – from the trauma of entry to extortion and control by inmates, to oppressive corrections officers, violence and solitary confinement.

10.0

A Murder in Abidjan

Nov 2, 2000

1995. On the outskirts of Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, a policeman is murdered. Shot outside his vehicle, while his fiancée sits in the car, terrified. Superintendent Kouassi is the detective in charge of the investigation. Tall and lanky, he moves with the tired energy of a man who has seen it all. Drawing on a network of underworld characters with dubious information, Kouassi’s team begins bringing in potential suspects and subjecting them to horrific brutality: beating them with sticks, hanging them upside-down, threatening their lives. Some of the men are left so broken they have to literally drag themselves into Kouassi’s office later, to be interrogated while lying on the floor, their bodies a mess of bruises, broken bones, and lacerations.

8.0

Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting

Jan 14, 2021

Examining the movement that is ending the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots in the world of sports and beyond.

8.2

It's Time

Jun 5, 2006

C1RCA Footwear presents it's full length video with team members Adrian Lopez, Jon Allie, Colt Cannon, Peter Ramondetta, and others.

7.9

CORONA.FILM - Prologue

Mar 23, 2021

As the first part of our investigation, the CORONA.FILM prologue will delve into the science behind the pandemic. Starting at the very beginning, we shine a light on the responses. The aim is not to point the finger; our aim is to tell the whole story in all its complexity, as we believe that justice cannot prevail if only one side of the story is told.

0.0

Beard, Hair & Stache

Sep 14, 2016

Afonsinho, Paulo Cézar Caju and Nei Conceição started their careers in the mid-1960s, a time of strong political repression in Brazil. Originally teammates of a celebrated generation of the Botafogo football team superstars, they did not give up their freedom when the military dictatorship decided to take control of the field.

7.2

The Red Elvis

Feb 13, 2007

A documentary on the late American entertainer Dean Reed, who became a huge star in East Germany after settling there in 1973.

6.5

The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone

Oct 3, 2003

An attempt to create a bridge between the different political positions that coexist, sometimes violently, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

8.7

In the Name of God

Sep 18, 1992

The film explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, VHP activists demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence.

7.3

Bus 174

Oct 22, 2002

Documentary depicts what happened in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, when bus 174 was taken by an armed young man, threatening to shoot all the passengers. Transmitted live on all Brazilian TV networks, this shocking and tragic-ending event became one of violence's most shocking portraits, and one of the scariest examples of police incompetence and abuse in recent years.

0.0

Nazi Hate Rock

Nov 9, 2006

Donal MacIntyre investigates the secretive world of white power music and how the money made helps fund far right political organizations in many countries, including the British National Party in the UK. In this documentary, the crew gained access to the men and women behind one of the most disturbing musical movements. It reveals how British neo-Nazis and skinheads plan to launch 'Project School-Yard' in Britain after a similar scheme was tried out in the United States. In the UK, the team follows one of the most infamous British white-power bands, Whitelaw, as they prepare for one of the biggest gigs of their career. The band are filmed on stage, with riot police surrounding the venue, performing as the forces of law and order move in to shut down their hate-filled act. The film also contains shocking images of hate rock concerts in the USA where, thanks to the first amendment protecting freedom of speech, anything goes.

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0.0

Menino Joel

Apr 18, 2012

Documentary about Joel da Conceição Castro, a ten years old boy killed by a police bullet in 2010.

5.2

Un racisme à peine voilé

Jan 1, 2004

October 2003, Alma and Lila Levy are excluded from the Lycée Henri Wallon in Aubervilliers solely because they were wearing a headscarf. What follows is a deafening political and media debate, justifying in most cases the exclusion of girls wearing head-scarves to school. February 2004, a law was eventually passed by the National Assembly. "A thinly veiled racism" is about this controversy since the affair of Creil in 1989 (where two schoolgirls were excluded for the same reasons) and attempts to "reveal" that maybe what hides behind is the desire to exclude these girls. This film gives them a voice as well as others - teachers, community activists, feminists, researchers - gathered around the group "A School for You-All" fighting for the repeal of this law they consider sexist and racist ... This movie was censured in Septembre 2004 in France.