I want to write a bit about, Bela Fleck, one of the find musicians featured in the the upcoming film at the Elks, “Throw Down Your Heart.”

Bela Fleck is a banjo player.  But if you read that and are just about to catagorize him as a Flat and Scruggs, Hee Haw kind of guy.  STOP.  Not that there is anything wrong with Flat and Scruggs, by any means, or even Hee Haw, but they are both history, to learn from to, to admire and to thank.  Bela Flack is firmly the present and the even the future of the banjo.  Which makes it even more interesting that he wanted to travel back, and  even back further into the history of his instrument. 

“Throw Down Your Heart” is part of his journey into the past.

Stay tuned and support your local Film Society.

 

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I loved the “T-Shirt Travels” movie.  We are lucky people to be born where we are born and live where we live in the time we live in.  So many people are not as lucky as we are and I am committed to not forget this. 

This month The Voices of the Heartland Film Society is showing a facinating film called  “Throw Down Your Heart“.  This is an astonishing film mostly about the power of music, about how the magic of music transcends language, culture, country and tribe. 

Let’s talk about music.  Let’s talk about transcendence.  Let’s talk about Bela Fleck.  (This is trying to be a teaser to get you to check back and see what Bela Fleck has to do with “Throw Down Your Heart.”)

Or we could talk about “T Shirt Travels“  too, if there is further discussion on that. 

Two movies back to back taking place in Africa.  I don’t think we planed it, but I think it is a great idea.  Like an immersion study.

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Tonight we will gather at the Elks to see the “T-Shirt Travels.” We hope to see you all there.  Please consider buying a season ticket to help support the opportunity to see off the beaten path movies, and then you will not have to worry about paying each time you come.

 I just wanted to add a few more thoughts to us “do-gooders” and potential “do-gooder”s out here. 

Doing good is a complicated business.  That does not mean we should not try to help our fellow creatures, but as “T-shirt Travels” can show us, everything we do, for better or for worse causes ripples in our world that sometimes we could have never imagined.  But no matter how complicated, doing good is always better than doing evil.  A therapist I knew, used to tell me that our actions defined by three things, our intensions, our timing and our follow through.  By donating a t shirt our intensions are, at least, are in the right spirit. 

I will be excited to talk more about this film after the showing, if anyone is interested. 

Thanks for the suggestion for a movie Blade, we will add it to the “check it out pile.”  Does anyone else have any suggestions for us to look at?  

Let’s talk about the movies!

 

 If you go:

What: “T-Shirt Travels” a film by Shantha Bloemen

When: Showing on the last Monday of the month

Where: On the Big Screen at the Elks.

Why: To provoke thought about complicated subjects in a complicated world .

How much:  Tickets are available at the door for 5$.

P.S. Season tickets will be on sale at the show for $25. One of these
 passes will admit you to this month’s film, plus the next 5 monthly
 showings—a $30 value (transferrable).

***Caution***Spoilers for upcoming movie****

 

T-Shirt Travels

© 2008 Independent Television Service (ITVS).

 

 

When you dropped of that bag of t-shirts, outdated suitcoats, and jeans you are never going to fit in again, at the local clothing drop off, did you wonder where it might end up? 

 Did you ever think it would be Zambia?

I dropped stuff off at the Salvation Army this morning.  I never considered that I was doing anything but cleaning out my closet and helping someone who might need skinnier jeans or my old Kurt Cobain t-shirt,

“T-Shirt Travels” is an eye-opening look into what happens when we think we are doing something good for us and and good for the world.  But like everything else, it is more complicated than that.  The Director / producer Shantha Bloemen says she made “T-Shirt Travels to make people rethink, or at least question our assumptions.”  When you donated that “I danced at Elijah’s Barmizfa, 1986″ T-shirt you may  have helped employee illigal aliens, you may have helped support sweat shop conditions, and you have helped destroy the textile industry in Zambia. 

You also may have helped a child graduate from high school.  You might have helped a family of five survive.  You have certainly clothed people who may have been unable to wear anything but rags. 

But, like everything, it is complicated. 

So come to the movie and let’s talk about your old Elvis Costello T-shirt and it’s travels from you dropping it off at the Salvation Army to it’s part in destroying textile industry in a thrid world country. 

Or let’s talk about it here.

 

 If you go:

What: “T-Shirt Travels” a film by Shantha Bloemen

When: Showing on the last Monday of the month

Where: On the Big Screen at the Elks.

Why: To provoke thought about complicated subjects in a complicated world .

How much:  Tickets are available at the door for 5$.

Welcome to my new blog.
 
I don’t know everything about film.  But I do have some interesting questions about films, film in general and our human responses to film.  And I do know some people who know a lot more than I do – about a lot of things.
 
I belong to a group called the Voices of the Heartland Film Society.  I think we originally all got together more than 5 years ago to try and get Dennis Kucinich elected in the primary.  After that didn’t happen we all wanted to continue to meet and discuss important matters, so we started watching films and talking about them.   
 
This is was fun.  But wouldn’t it be more fun if we showed our great movie finds to many more people and bring other Voices into the conversation? 
 
Yes.  It was.  So the two people who have pretty much kept us going over the years did this amazing thing and figured out how to show movies at the Elks Theatre. 
 
The Elks Theatre, home of the biggest screen in South Dakota, is our venue.  We love this place!
 
Click again soon to learn more about the Voice of the Heartland Film Society, more about me and more about the movies we find interesting. 
 
Deirdre Monahan