Politics and History
From its beginnings, the National Film Board has tackled social and economic issues. Excerpts in this theme show how documentary film can play a part in social action.
Excerpts
Front of Steel
1
"I Just Didn't Want to Die": The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster
1
"Just One Big Mess": The Halifax Explosion, 1917
1
Land For Pioneers
1
On Strike: The Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
1
Rush for Gold - The Klondike Gold Rush, 1897
1
"They Didn't Starve Us Out": Industrial Cape Breton in the 1920s
1
Trans-Canada Express
1
Voice of Action
1
When Asia Speaks
1
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Closed captions (CC)
Translation of the audio portion of a film into subtitles, for example, dialogue, narration, sound effects, etc. These captions let hearing-impaired viewers read what they cannot hear. Closed captions are available for a few films. To access them, you must select QuickTime (under Format) and With closed captions (under Accessibility).
Described video (DV)
A narrated description of a film's key visual elements to enable the vision-impaired to form a mental picture of what is happening on screen. Described video is available for a few films. To access them, you must select QuickTime (under Format) and With described video (under Accessibility).
2. How does the repeated use of numbers make the arguments convincing?
3. This movie could have been a passionless depiction of assembly lines. How has the filmmaker made it more emotionally effective?
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Short Description
The modern warfare of World War II needed steel and steel workers. In Canada, Bren guns, ambulances, transport trucks and submarine chasers were manufactured to meet military needs.