Here is a list of films that we may or may not watch depending on the way the semester goes and what other themes emerge. Nevertheless, these are films that I've used and really appreciate.
Films for Social Anthropology 2012:
"Baraka": cross-cultural visual and musical documentary juxtaposing religious practice and contemporary urban life
"The Devil's Playground": about Rumspringa as the primary rite of passage to display the liminal phase
"Masai Women": Classic 1974 documentary about marriage rituals and relationships between families in extended households, marriage exchange and cows.
"Ongka's Big Moka": 1974 Andrew Strathern documentary about Papua New Guinea and the Moka exchange ritual to consolidate power and authority
"The Truman Show”: (PG13) Used as an example of the Panopticon, social control and media/advertising
"Wheel of Time": Werner Herzog documentary about the Kalai Shakra Buddhist ritual that occurs approximately every 5 years at the site of the Buddha's "enlightenment". I use this to talk about pilgrimage and conceptions of the afterlife.
"Prom Night in Mississippi": 2008 documentary about a small town in Mississippi that had its FIRST integrated Prom in 2008!!!!! Morgan Freeman is from this town and has been offering to pay for a prom for over 10 years and this is the first time that they agreed to it. Amazing. I use this to talk about rites of passage, gender dynamics, social hierarchy and authority.
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/prom_night_in_mississippi