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

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, is remembered as the instigator of the October Revolution of 1917 and, therefore, as one of the men who changed the shape of the world at that time and forever, but perhaps the actual events happened in a way different from that narrated in the history books…

0.0

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.

6.7

Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty

Jun 2, 1938

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

7.2

A Brief History of Time

Oct 1, 1991

This shows physicist Stephen Hawking's life as he deals with the ALS that renders him immobile and unable to speak without the use of a computer. Hawking's friends, family, classmates, and peers are interviewed not only about his theories but the man himself.

7.2

I'm a Porn Star: Gay 4 Pay

Aug 11, 2016

Welcome to the curious, surprising and always outspoken world of straight men who go Gay4Pay. Curiously, there is a disproportionate percentage of men working in gay porn who identify as straight. Why would a straight man do gay porn? What motivates him to try this or make a career of it? Why is there such keen interest and debate into the sexuality and personal lives of these men? And what does it say about us, the viewer that so much of gay porn is dominated by images of straight men?

0.0

Parallel Lives

Apr 21, 2021

Born June 8, 1964, Frank Matter films four "twins", born the same day as him, but in other latitudes. Interweaving their life stories with rich archival material, the filmmaker links these Parallel Lives with elements from his own biography, to compose a fascinating fresco where intimate trajectories are part of the advent of the global village.

6.0

Jean-Michel Basquiat, artiste absolu

Jun 24, 2022

The life and work of New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat have been marked by a long quest for identity, by his Haitian and Puerto Rican family origins and by a founding trip to Africa. To portray this major painter of the 20th century, who died in 1988 at only 27 years old, is also to evoke the place of black American artists in the conservative and racist America of the Reagan years.

8.0

Unicorn Town

Aug 19, 2022

Despite having just 40,000 residents and limited financial resources, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns have been able to compete at the highest level of football in all of Europe. But as more money floods into the sport, coaches and fans must face the question: has this team become a relic of the past or can their remarkable culture propel them beyond the constraints of reality?

7.0

When a City Rises

Apr 23, 2021

Behind the gas masks of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, the often very young activists are just as diverse as the youths of the rest of the world. But they share a demand for democracy and freedom. They have the will and the courage to fight – and they can see that things are going in the wrong direction in the small island city, which officially has autonomy under China but is now tightening its grip and demanding that ‘troublemakers’ be put away or silenced. Amid the violent protests, we meet a 21-year-old student, a teenage couple and a new father.

0.0

Alphas

Nov 11, 2024

They proclaim themselves masters of virility and seduce thousands of young Quebecers. Who are they? Journalist Simon Coutu delves into the world of influencers who claim the role of alpha male.

0.0

Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story

Invalid Date

"Now or Never" stars Tony Romo and follows Romo's life with his family, friends, teammates and coaches who tell the improbable story of how the undrafted free agent and underdog became captain of the Dallas Cowboys and "America's Team".

6.5

Burn Motherfucker, Burn!

Apr 21, 2017

An in-depth and provocative look at the 1992 Los Angeles riots exploring the roots of civil unrest in California and the relationship between African Americans and LAPD.

0.0

Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community

Jul 13, 1983

This feature documentary takes us to the heart of the Jane-Finch "Corridor" in the early 1980s. Covering six square blocks in Toronto's North York, the area readily evokes images of vandalism, high-density subsidized housing, racial tension, despair and crime. By focusing on the lives of several of the residents, many of them black or members of other visible minorities, the film provides a powerful view of a community that, contrary to its popular image, is working towards a more positive future.

7.4

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.

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0.0

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.

7.9

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.

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0.0

Understanding The Georgian Republic

Feb 8, 1993

No overview available.

6.2

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.