The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Everything I Know About Climate Change, I Learned in the Fifth Grade by Martin Musatov

When Torture Is Condoned, Is FISA That Shocking? by Wendy Cohen

* * *

Nicole Hughes:

Baltimore Woman Turns Tragedy Into Art

Why Don’t We Do More to Stop Global Warming?

* * *

Andy Kondrat:

Foods You Should and Shouldn’t Buy Organic

Paper or Plastic? The Environmental Impact

* * *

Jon Popham:

The Energy Independence Bill: A Filibuster Odyssey

“Bruno” Fools Mossad Agent

* * *

Gina Telaroli:

While Iran Tests Missiles, Test These 5 Iranian Films

Mao’s Out, Time to Capitalize On the Olympics

Iran is all over the news.. Headlines about the testing of missiles are on the front page of most major publications. And of course the candidates differ on how to deal with Iran. Should we engage in civil discourse with them or not? How evil are they, how dangerous? These are the questions on the tips of the article’s tongues.

Instead of delving into the politics of Iran and the US (for a strikingly honest look at that you should head on over to TomDispatch), I want to delve into the people of Iran And what better way to do that than taking some time to look at the cinema of Iran. Here are 5 films that are not only amazing artistically, but also highlight those who get left out of big alarmist news stories, the citizens:

1) The Wind Will Carry Us : Directed by Abbas Kiarostami, one of the best filmmakers not in Iran but in the world, this is a simple story of family and community. The film looks at a man who goes to a rural community for family reasons and in turn immerses himself in the community. It’s a beautiful film and as Jonathan Rosenbaum says, it explores “who owns this world and who deserves to.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

* * *
Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

* * *
Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

* * *
Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

* * *
Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

When folks speak of Iran, they mostly speak of terrorism or nuclear power/weapons and this is quite sad, as despite controversial headlines, Iran stands at the forefront of world cinema. The films that have been coming from Iranian filmmakers for the past 20 years are the films that are inspiring the folks who are determining the future of cinema. There is a passage in Hamid Dabashi’s “Close-Up : Iranian Cinema, Past Present and Future” that says it all:

“Iranian cinema took the world by surprise simply because the world got a glimpse of our cinema only after it had decided the character of our culture through the prism of the Islamic revolution. These disabling circumstances and our liberating vision did not quite add up.

Read the rest of this entry »