Primary Sources in Film & Television
There are an large number of depictions of the intersection of religion and politics in American history in video, including feature films and television, from the silent era to the 21st Century. Below is a sample of some of the resources that you can find but remember, this is only a sample, so use JumboSearch to find more or Ask a Librarian for help!
The Birth of a NationCall Number: DVD Collections PN1997.2 .B5785 2017Publication Date: 2016Nat Turner is an enslaved Baptist preacher who lives on a Virginia plantation owned by Samuel Turner. As Nate witnesses the horrific treatment of his fellow man, he realizes that he can no longer just stand by and preach.
The ChosenCall Number: Streaming VideoPublication Date: 1981Set in the Brooklyn of the 1940s, the film elucidates the friendship between two young Jews of differing factions. Danny is Hassidic, while Reuven is a Zionist.
The CrucibleCall Number: DVD Collections PN1997 .C7835 2004Publication Date: 1996Based on real events during the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England, this film, based on Arthur Miller's play, uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism.
Lilies of the FieldCall Number: DVD Collections PN1997 .L5554 2001Publication Date: 1963Nuanced interplay between boot-strapping Baptist Protestantism and German nun Catholicism that is a vivid document of religion, race, and society in America.
Malcolm XCall Number: DVD Collections PN1997 .M35366 2000Publication Date: 1992Screen version of the life of Malcolm X, who through his religious conversion to Islam, found the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil rights leader.
The Scarlet LetterCall Number: DVD Collections PN1997 .S33745 2003Publication Date: 2003Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale of the social consequences of adultery and the subversive force of personal desire in a strict religious community.
The West WingCall Number: PN1992.77 .W478 2006Publication Date: 2006The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff are located, during the fictitious administration of Josiah Bartlet, featuring discussions of all aspects of American polticial life, including religious.