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 our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Dean Karmen Shows Steven Colbert How To Filter Water

St Patricks Day Goes Green with Green Beer: Top 10 Eco Beers

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Nicole:

East Meets West at Dubai Art Fair, But Shadow of Migrant Labor Remains

TakePart’s “I Am Voting For” Campaign Wants You To Vote the Issues

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Giulia:

Simon Cowell Gives Big

Scarlett Johansson Dates For Charity

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Gina:

Top 10 Easter Films

Top 10 Films That Have Helped to Frame the War in Iraq

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Kerry:

Aqua Colbert Massage In a Bottle

Dakota the Mummified Duckbilled Dinosaur Gets Its Rocks Off

Today, March 19, marks the 5 year anniversary of the war in Iraq. Regardless of how you personally feel about the war, one thing that’s have been positive and necessary over the past 5 years, are the many films and other forms of media being made that deal with the war and work to inform us as a public. So as to encourage folks to spend some time reflecting on our current situation I present you with the Top 10 Films That Have Helped to Frame the War in Iraq.

Some of these films deal directly with the conflict, others with ideas of war in general and some with what led us to war and what has happened since. All of these movies are available on Netflx and many should be in your local video stores - so and rent one today:

1. Iraq in Fragments, directed by James Longley

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In honor of the Oscars and documentary, I’ve been looking at all of the nominees for Best Documentary. With the awards on Sunday, it’s time to focus on the last nominee, Charles Ferguson’s No End in Sight. An investigation into America’s invasion of Iraq, the film goes in depth to figure out who was behind the invasion and what they were thinking. Ferguson puts his doctorate in political science to good use and creates one of the more succinct arguments against the US presence in Iraq.

The film is said to be more narrow in focus than other documentaries that focus on Iraq, but I tend to agree with A.O Scott’s review in The New York Times, when he says that:

It might be argued that since Mr. Bremer ( L. Paul Bremer III), Mr. Rumsfeld (Donald Rumsfeld) and Mr. Wolfowitz (Paul Wolfowitz) declined to appear in the film, Mr. Ferguson was able to present only one side of the story. But the accumulated professional standing of the people he did interview, and their calm, detailed insistence on the facts, makes such an objection implausible.

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Our second installation of the TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is here give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! More blogs means more to love this Valentine’s Day week, and more social action means a healthier and happier world for everyone. Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

5 Ways to Take Action and Get Action On Valentine’s Day

Top 10 Guilt-Free Valentine’s Day Jewelry Gifts: Show Your Valentine You Have a Heart

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Nicole:

Kiva: Microlending to Change Lives

Top 10 New Releases to Inspire Social Change

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Giulia:

Alicia Keys Uses Grammys to Help Keep a Child Alive

V-Day Celebrates Its 10 Year Anniversary!

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Gina:

Top 10 Movie Characters That Make A Difference

Art As Politics In “The Silence Before Bach”

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Kerry:

Tap Project Gets Donations Flowing For Safe Global Water

Levon Helms’ “Dirt Farmer” Wins Grammy Gold

If you missed these excellent Top Ten recent releases to inspire social change, add them to your online video queue or head down to your nearest video store, grab some microwave popcorn, and let the inspiration begin!

Can movies inspire real change? Of course they can! Films change people, who in turn change the world. Although most folks go to the movies for entertainment, film can affect your tastes and preferences, your desires, your ethical and political views, and in some cases, even your perception of things like time and space. On a macro level, films can highlight important issues in a world where visual media has become a predominant source of knowledge and information.

Watching movies with a message makes your world a little bit bigger than it was before, but if you’re like me and have a busy schedule, it can be hard to make time to see every great film that comes out each week. Thank goodness for DVDs! Don’t forget to at Ecoencore.org to find out how you can donate your used DVDs to help out some of your favorite environmental causes.

1) Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington? - Frank Popper’s excellent documentary about Jeff Smith, a political science professor at Washington University who decides to run for congress in 2004. Popper follows the engaging young candidate on the campaign trail, and proves that an unknown individual with no financial backing can make a difference.

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