Women and Media Streaming and DVD Resources

According to the official government website for Women’s History Month, the celebration originated when Congress declared the first week of March “Women’s History Week” in 1981. By 1987, a petition by the National Women’s History Project successfully led to a declaration that the entire month of March would be dedicated to women’s history. The month of March is meant to shine a light on the contributions that women have made throughout American and world history. Each year the National Women’s History Project chooses a theme to highlight throughout the month. The purpose of Women’s History Month is to retell history with the proper information on and inclusion of women, giving everyone the inspiration to succeed.

Throughout the United States, organizations, companies, schools, and communities hold events, programs, and exhibits throughout the month of March celebrating women and their role in history. International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th with the purpose of celebrating women’s achievements, raising awareness against bias, and taking action for equality.

The following resources require IUB CAS Authentication.

Alien (116 min., 1979) When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late.

Hidden Figures (126 min., 2017) As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

Little Women (121 min., 1949) Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is one of the great young-adult novels of the 19th century. It describes the coming-of-age of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, whose loving mother cares for them while their father serves in the Civil War. Jo, who falls in love and becomes a writer, is clearly an analogue for Alcott herself.

Passion of Joan of Arc (82 min., 1928) With its stunning camerawork and striking compositions, Carl Th. Dreyer'sThe Passion of Joan of Arc convinced the world that movies could be art. Reneé Falconetti gives one of the greatest performances ever recorded on film, as the young maiden who died for God and France. Long thought to have been lost to fire, the original version was miraculously found in perfect condition in 1981, in a Norwegian mental institution. Criterion is proud to present this milestone of silent cinema in a new special edition featuring composer Richard Einhorn's Voices of light, an original opera/oratorio inspired by the film.

Wild (115 min., 2014) With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone.

Women Entrepreneurs Making a Difference (24 min., 1998) The focus of this documentary is the unique entrepreneurial qualities that women possess and the spirit with which they face the challenges of their personal and business lives. The four women profiled are Canadian, of different races, cultures and ages, and representing a cross section of businesses. All the women are self made; none have inherited their businesses. Starting with very little, their vision, their wits and their hard work have overcome setbacks and helped them keep going. There is a commonality among these women entrepreneurs in the way they manage their businesses, consider their employees as "family", reward hard work, and integrate their personal values into the corporate culture. The women are in disparate businesses. One turned a derelict hotel into a first class resort; one exports food to poor countries; one has an international software training company. The last runs a publishing empire from her home. Their businesses gross between one and twenty-seven million dollars. This documentary will dispel the myth that women entrepreneurs operate only small businesses, often in the retail sector, or cottage industries which are not regarded as serious business. It will be an inspiration to other women.

During Covid, only IU faculty, staff and students can borrow materials from Media Services with a valid IU crimson card.  Face masks are required. Be sure to check with Media Services for hours. VHS titles are housed off-site at ALF, and can be requested via IUCAT. Suggested keywords in IUCAT: Civil Rights, Black History, African Americans. Limit to film & video, dvd/videodisc, Bloomington campus.

900 Women (Dir. Alejandro Smith, 2000)"The Louisiana Correctional Institute is located in the swamps of southern Louisiana in the small town of St. Gabriel. Built in 1970, it houses the state's most dangerous female prisoners and often exceeds its population capacity of 900. Seventy-five percent of these women are mothers and one fourth are serving sentences of fifteen years or more. The prison compound has a surreal quality; there are no searchlight-capped towers or barbed wire fences. Filmmaker Khadivi delivers a portrait of life in this deceptively peaceful atmosphere which is filled with stories of life on the streets, abuse, freedom, childbirth and motherhood. Six women, a grandmother, a young high school student, a pregnant woman, a recovering heroin addict, a prison guard, and the only woman on death row, share their frustrations and hopes"--Women Make Movies website 

Daughters of the Dust (Dir. Julie Dash, 1991): Languid look at the Gullah culture of the sea islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia where African folkways were maintained well into the twentieth century, one of the last bastions of these mores in America.

Love and Basketball (Dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2000): From the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Quincy taught each other how to play the game. Now, their commitment to the sport will force them to make a choice between each other and the game, between family and team, between love and basketball.

Pariah (Dir. Dee Rees, 2011): Alike is a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry and is a good student at her local high school. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

Selma (Dir. Ava DuVernay, 2014): Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, historical struggle to secure voting rights for all people. A dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1964.

• Black Film Center/Archive (Indiana University Bloomington)

Public Access to free streaming titles:

• Monroe County Public Library - access to Hoopla, Internet Archive, Overdrive, Kanopy and more; MCPL card required.
• IU Media Collections Online - provides open access to thousands of IU films, clips, documentaries, and more.

Online Resources:

• Women Make Movies: Resource hub for women interested in filmmaking, along with films produced, directed, and created by women.