It’s May 16th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action…

NPR has a great audio review of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Flight of the Red Balloon and the idea of remaking films or adding to them. He also gives Hou Hsiao-hsien his just due (something I was glad to see):

Hou is a Taiwanese filmmaker who tells slow, meditative stories, often centering on the act of storytelling itself. His narratives loop around in time, yet his transitions are so seamless you might think you’re watching slice-of-life realism. Many critics regard him as one of the world’s greatest directors, yet his work has rarely been commercially distributed in the U.S.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s latest production is called I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given To Me By A Young Lady From Rwanda and speaks to the importance of telling stories and what it was like growing up in Rwanda during the genocide.

The story centers on a young woman named Juliette who survived the genocide and is now living in London. She has written a book and brings it to the Refugee Center to share it with the new writing teacher, a washed up poet and novelist. Upon their meeting the two find a connection in Juliette’s powerful story and gain from each other’s experience to help both of them move forward with their lives.

Read the rest of this entry »

In yesterday’s Morning Edition radio program, National Public Radio shared a story concerning the business of carbon trading, and another in which a company is developing a plug-in hybrid that gets crazy good gas mileage. Of course, it’s nothing new that National Public Radio is airing stories about progressive causes, but two in one day seems impressive (or, I suppose, excessive, depending with whom you speak). My, that was a lot of “essives.” We move on.

The first story profiles “three young business school grads who are carbon entrepreneurs,” which is a fancy way of saying they are all thirty-ish and work in the carbon trading industry. The story briefly touches on the ethics of carbon trading, an issue oft-overlooked issue, especially in the age in which some countries (no one in particular, of course) claim environmental treaties are biased against countries that already developed industry, say, a hundred plus years ago. You can here by listening to the piece, and perhaps think about the long-term ethical ramifications of creating a carbon trading market in which the end result, by these peoples’ very definitions, ought to be the eradication of their own industry. Or, listen to it, and just be glad someone’s doing something.

The second piece is for those of us that would rather not risk life and limb in order to get great gas mileage. A company has modified a Prius to be a plug-in hybrid which can average 100 miles a gallon, and in one five-mile trip got 340 mpg. It remains to be seen, however, if it’s still impossible to see well out the back window of that thing. You can here and listen to the story.

Here on the TakePart blog we decided that in addition to writing about social action and media - we would actually make some media.  Below is our first shot at a weekly video blog designed to let you know what we’ve been talking about here on the blog.  I shot it on this awesome little camera : http://flipvideo.com - which is a great little tool for basic video blogging!

So give a watch and let us know if you have any ideas that could make our simple little show better.

I really recommend heading over to the Huffington Post to read John Farr’s piece about his disappointment in the media’s preoccupation with celebrity in light of the death of two American movie greats, Richard Widmark and Jules Dassin. Farr writes:

Just this once, I’m going to bite (more like nip) the hand that publishes me, or more accurately, the fingers of those who contribute its content.

I was scanning the Huffington Entertainment page several days ago, looking for some interesting perspective on the life and work of actor Richard Widmark, who died last week at age 93. I saw an article on why Kate Hudson shouldn’t wear wigs. I spied about three tedious looking pieces on Britney Spears (with one titled “I’m Britney’s Neighbor, Bitch!“) and a couple on Brad and Angelina’s purported marriage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Singer Ricky Martin recently visited a Cambodian shelter in Siem Reap where a teenage rape victim performed a song she wrote about her ordeal as a trafficking victim. Martin was representing his Ricky Martin Foundation when he visited the Cambodian shelter that houses 65 victims.

The Ricky Martin Foundation works as advocates of children’s rights focusing their our work in benefiting this most vulnerable population around the world by supporting structured, equal opportunity initiatives that will secure children the right to be children, and provide them a more promising life. Check out this AOL video where Martin discusses his activist work.

According to the United Nations, about 2.5 million people are involved in forced labor as a result of trafficking, with most victims between the ages of 18 and 24. The US State Department has called Cambodia a country that is a source, destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor. and get involved with The Ricky Martin Foundation by visiting www.rickymartinfoundation.org

Check out this new video that Adam Goldberg made for Participant (part of the company’s CHICAGO 10 social action campaign around voting) More info

Or watch on YouTube

 

 Adam Goldberg is Voting For...: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download