Kate Chopin: five stories of an hour
This program consists of five versions of the same short story, "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, who scandalized American readers in the late 19th century by questioning the social and marital mores of her time. The story examines the behavior...
Arthur Miller and The Crucible:
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy set up the Un-American Activities Committee to combat the growing "threat" of communism in the U.S. Playwright Arthur Miller was one of many writers summoned to testify at this political witch-hunt. Miller, who ...
Nathaniel Hawthorne: Young Goodman Brown
Was there evil lurking in the gloomy New England woods the night that young Goodman Brown went on his secret errand? Or did he bring the evil with him, locked within his own heart? This program features an outstanding adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthor...
Emily Dickinson
While many of her literary peers achieved notoriety, "the woman in white" remained virtually unknown - by choice. The self-imposed obscurity of Emily Dickinson is just one of many aspects of her life that this program explores. Blending daguerreotyp...
Herman Melville: Bartleby the scrivener
This is Melville's sardonic and symbolic story of a copyist at a Wall Street law firm who refuses to conform, responding to all requests with, "I prefer not to." Autobiographical in its despair over the public's failure to understand the writer, pro...
Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn
One of the cornerstones of Americana, Huckleberry Finn has come under fire because of the language in which the runaway slave Jim is addressed. This program provides an excellent introduction to the book, examining the background against which it wa...
Novel reflections on the American dream
This program draws on insightful commentary from literary scholars and authors to examine the characters, plots, and themes of seven American novels that deal with wealth, poverty, and the nature of success and failure in the U.S. In an exploration ...
Langston Hughes: salvation
I was saved from sin when I was going on 13. But not really saved. It happened like this... So begins this powerful dramatization of "Salvation," Langston Hughes' eloquent autobiographical story that illustrates how his aunt's well-meaning efforts t...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Like Malory's Le Morte Darthur, the anonymously authored Sir Gawain and the Green Knight represents a watershed in the development of the Arthurian tradition. Drawing on insights from Nicholas Perkins, a specialist on medieval English literature and...
Handling social situations with finesse
Filmed at a bustling cafe, a wedding, a christening, and a variety of other interesting locations, this program shows how to order and pay for beverages and how to express familial relationships and marital status. Commentary provides insights into ...