Middletown: thin slices of America

STARTING FEBRUARY 23RD, EVERY THURSDAY
$15 FOR A SIX MOVIE PASS — THE ENTIRE SERIES!

Generously provided by Icarus Films

Inspired by the studies of Robert and Helen Lynd in 1929 and 1935, this classic six-part series by Academy Award and Emmy winner Peter Davis (Hearts and Minds) explores both the continuity and the change embodied in the people and institutions of one Midwestern community: Muncie, Indiana.

"It’s interesting watching Middletown as a series from beginning to end. While each episode works as a standalone film, the series is best when viewed in sequential order. The entries get progressively controversial, starting with the more mild aspects of Muncie (mayoral campaign, high school basketball game) and ending with the more challenging topics (fundamental religion, teenage interracial relationships). Middletown definitely pushed the boundaries of public television and ultimately was met with a cancellation of the final film in the series, Seventeen." —Jay C, The Documentary Blog

Spectacle will show the entire series, in order.

Beer generously sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD - 7:30PM
INTRODUCED BY PETER DAVIS

Focusing on a mayoral race in Muncie, Indiana, THE CAMPAIGN follows closely the personalities, strategies, and pressures of an American political contest. In particular, it examines the sharply contrasting styles and backgrounds of the Democratic and Republican candidates.

"The series starts with a look at Muncie’s mayoral race between very different candidates with contrasting campaign strategies. Jim Carrey (Democrat) is the affable joker whose confidence and ability to schmooze with the townspeople has made him a strong forerunner. That’s not to say he doesn’t have his detractors. It turns out Carrey has a criminal record in his past involving gambling and accepting bribes. In the eyes of some, he’s nothing but a crook. Oddly enough, he was also at one time the town sheriff, making him a truly complex individual. His opponent, Alan Wilson (Republican), is the soft spoken upper class criminal lawyer who hasn’t completely won over the working class vote. He seems to spend more time at fundraising functions and taking advice from a team of media consultants. Still, he’s a family man who simply wants to do what’s best for Muncie, even if he’s the underdog. ... With one man clearly favoured over the other, it’s a tense and suspenseful race right to the end." —Jay C, The Documentary Blog

"The achievement of THE CAMPAIGN is that these vignettes are both believably specific and broadly symbolic. It's a classic slice of Americana." —Atlanta Constitution

"This is politics as real life. Proof of the film-ready narrative structure of a campaign: life or death drama, where one candidate will win, one will fail; without presidential candidates or national celebrities, just everyday characters reaching out for the votes of their neighbors, the people they knew--and who knew them. Unforgettable." —Paul Stekler, International Documentary

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The Big Game
Dir: E. J. Vaughn

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD - 9:30PM
INTRODUCED BY PETER DAVIS

The role of competitive sports, in this case basketball, in the community, for the coaches, and, most of all, for the players themselves.

As Muncie Central and Anderson High prepare to meet for the annual basketball game, a game charged with the spirit of long-established rivalry, THE BIG GAME examines what this competition, and the sport itself, means to the community, the coaches, and most of all to the players themselves.

"The best scene is not when Morgan goes one on one with Rowray. It's when Morgan goes one-on-one with his guidance counselor. If this powerful segment of MIDDLETOWN changes the life of one such high school basketball player, we should all stand up and cheer." —Buffalo Evening News

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1ST - 7:30PM

"Richard Leacock and Marisa Silver’s Community of Praise focuses on religion, chronicling the life of a fundamentalist family and their every day issues. Everything from the daily routines on the family farm to their daughter’s severe scoliosis are examined through the lens of religion. It’s a family of born again Christians, embracing religion as a response to some sort of life crisis, be it poor health or addiction. The father, who married into the family after a divorce, has trouble adjusting to his step-kids undisciplined work ethics and overall attitudes. He expresses his urge to beat them, insisting that when he was a kid he didn’t think twice about doing his chores on the farm. This new generation of kids simply don’t appreciate hard work and responsibility! If there wasn’t a date on this film, you’d be hard pressed to pinpoint the decade in which this film is set based on some of the primitive perspectives" —Jay C, The Documentary Blog
 

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1ST - 9:30PM

Howie Snyder is an archetype: a retired Marine colonel in his mid 40s, he is a prototypical American entrepreneur struggling to make his business go.

Howie's Shakey's Pizza franchise in Muncie, Indiana, employs his whole family: wife, nine children, and Howie himself. He's the representative of the American Dream: the chance to invest long hours and hard work in exchange for financial security for oneself and family. To watch Howie Snyder as he dickers for better treatment by the Shakey's chain, as he seeks additional financing to stave off looming bankruptcy, and as he sits morosely counting an evening's disappointing receipts is to watch America at work. And to see Howie's family rally around him in the hour of his greatest need is a wrenching but amazing experience.

FAMILY BUSINESS will appeal to business groups as well as small business owners. Franchising organizations will find it valuable as a case study. Schools will find it appealing as a study of a family in challenge. And everyone will find the drama of daily life compelling.

"Remarkably intimate... There are scenes that will stick with you for life." —Chicago Tribune

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH - 7:30PM

"Second Time Around follows two divorcees as they prepare themselves for their second shot at marriage. While the film does focus on some of the banal details of organizing a wedding, the most interesting aspects explored are those of class and marital expectations.

[U]ncertainty permeates the film, adding a sort of unsure sense of suspense. Will they go through with the wedding? Each argument suddenly feels like it could be their last. In one scene in which the two attempt to cut back on monthly expenses, Elaine breaks out into hysterics... It all adds up to an interesting, intimate look at love a second time around in Muncie, Indiana." —Jay C, The Documentary Blog

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH - 9:30PM

High school seniors hurtling toward maturity experience joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. In their final year at Muncie's Southside High School, a group of seniors hurtles toward maturity with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. They are also learning a great deal about life, both in and out of school, and not what school officials think they are teaching.

"Joel DeMott and Jeff Kreines’ look at a group of teens Muncie teens is by far the most controversial and revealing film of the bunch. It tackles interracial dating, sex, drugs and all of the emotional ups and downs this group of friends experience when facing the end of their senior year of high school. The result is a truly scandalous and shockingly honest piece of work that immediately reminded me of the films of Harmony Korine and Larry Clark." —Jay C, The Documentary Blog

"One of the best and most scarifying reports on American life to be seen... it has the characters and language - as well as the vitality and honesty... haunts the memory." —New York Times

"Truly scandalous." —J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

"[SEVENTEEN has] a rare and gripping sense of gritty honesty." —Judy Stone, San Francisco Chronicle

"SEVENTEEN is more frightening than 'The Day After' " —The Atlanta Constitution

"SEVENTEEN is better than realistic. It’s moral: it presents teenagers in a racial, political context more meaningful than just sex-drugs-rock’n’roll. A wonderful film."
—Film Comment

"One thing is for sure: SEVENTEEN is without a doubt one of the greatest movies, perhaps the greatest, about teenage life (not to mention American life) ever made."
—SF360