March DVD Display: New Hollywood

This month's library DVD display will focus on "New Hollywood," a period from the mid-1960s through the end of the 1970s when the classical Hollywood studio system was upended by a new generation of filmmakers and actors whose style and methods would bring American cinema to new artistic and commercial heights.  This was the era when influential directors like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, and Brian De Palma launched their careers, and when actors and actresses like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Jack Nicholson became the new class of Hollywood stars.  From generation-defining touchstones like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde to beloved classics like The Exorcist and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, we've got a wide selection of films from this hugely important era in American cinema.

Other featured titles include:

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Ellen Burstyn shines in her Oscar-winning performance as the titular Alice, a single mother who begins to reassess her relationships as she pursues her dream of becoming a singer.

Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War opus, about an Army officer sent deep into the jungle to terminate a rogue colonel, remains the ultimate cinematic statement about the madness of war.

The Godfather (1972)
Far more than just a simple gangster film, Francis Ford Coppola's great mafia epic is both a sweeping family saga and an incisive examination of the corrupting influence of power.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
This offbeat, melancholy western follows a charismatic gambler and businessman who partners with a professional madam to establish a brothel in a burgeoning Pacific Northwest town, only to run afoul of a greedy mining corporation.

The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

Jack Nicholson gives a superbly understated performance as a radio personality who gets sucked into his lowlife brother's get-rich-quick scheme in Atlantic City.

Point Blank (1967)

In this stylish, underseen late-60s classic, Lee Marvin plays a career criminal out for revenge (and his share of the loot) after being gunned down and left for dead following an underworld heist.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

In this brash, gritty masterpiece, Walter Matthau plays a wisecracking New York City transit cop who works to stop a gang of armed men who have hijacked a subway train.  Featuring a super-groovy, all-timer of a musical score by David Shire.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

Friday Reads: The Nature Fix

For this week's Friday Reads, Public Services Librarian Kelly Clever tells us about The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams.

Many of us have heard that being inside all the time is bad for us, but in The Nature Fix, Florence Williams takes a different approach: she investigates why the outdoors are so good for us. How much time do we need to spend outside? What about when the weather is terrible? What if you don't have access to pristine wilderness? Are there ways to harness the power of, say, a Hawaiian beach for those of us stuck looking at our screens all day?

Williams travels the world in search of answers. She meets with psychologists and neuroscientists, with cancer-survivor forest rangers in Korea and nature-averse VR developers in Toronto. She goes on a creativity retreat with a group of top scientists and goes camping with a class of college students and their professor. And she interjects her own experiences, thoughts, and humor throughout, weaving a cohesive, entertaining, and accessible review of the living and written literature about our brains on nature.

Williams finds that hospital patients with windows with outdoor (preferably "natural") views have better outcomes than those without window rooms. Families whose apartments face green courtyards experience less mental illness and fewer episodes of violence than families whose apartments overlook parking lots. In prisons, incarcerated people who have access to outdoor work and recreation have fewer illnesses and are better-able to regulate their emotions. 

To answer those questions above: Five hours a month in nature is a good target, but more is always better! When the weather is awful, you might be miserable while you're out in the elements, but the positive effects on your health and your brain remain the same. Even small doses of nature, like looking out the window at the sky, can be beneficial. And virtual reality still can't come close to actual reality, though nature videos, birdsong audio tracks, potted plants, and nature photography are all a lot better than nothing. 

I'd love to see (and/or help with) student research on how the benefits of nature can be incorporated into fields like education, social work, criminal justice, medicine, and more. Hint, hint!

Friday Reads: Say Nothing

We're back to our semi-regularly-scheduled Friday Reads! This week, Adam Pellman tells us about Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe:

We don't often know much about the global events that are happening during our childhood years. They're often too recent for us to learn about in school, and too far outside the sphere of our everyday existence to be of much concern to us. For me, this was true of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a 30-year conflict in which loyalist Protestants and British military troops were engaged in low-level warfare with nationalist Catholic factions such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). I remember news stories from my teenage years about car bombings in Belfast, and I've seen numerous films (such as '71, Bloody Sunday, Hunger, and The Crying Game) set against the backdrop of the Troubles, but I never took the time to learn the history of the conflict.

This book, which is available in the Reeves non-fiction collection, provided me with an opportunity to do just that. The book uses the story of the notorious 1972 abduction and murder of a widowed mother of ten, Jean McConville, as an entry point into a much larger history of the Troubles. The book strikes a good balance between political history and true crime, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about this part of recent history.

Reeves Library Research Award accepting entries!

The spring semester has begun, which means that the Reeves Library Research Award is once again accepting entries! 

For complete details, visit the award page at https://setonhill.libguides.com/award. 

Spring Newsletter

The Library publishes a newsletter for faculty and staff three times a year to help you prepare for another semester on the Hill! Please let Kelly Clever (clever@setonhill.edu) know if you would like to be added to the newsletter email distribution list. 

February DVD Display: Romantic Films

With Valentine's Day nearly upon us, it's a good time to highlight some of the many romantic films in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection.  All through the month of February, we're featuring the best in silver screen romance, from classics like Casablanca (1942) and West Side Story (1961), to contemporary favorites like Titanic (1997), The Wedding Singer (1998) and Pride & Prejudice (2005).

Other featured titles include:

Brief Encounter (1945)
This classic British tearjerker tells the story of a housewife and a married doctor who meet in a railway station cafe and fall deeply in love, even though they know their love is impossible.

Bull Durham (1988)
Sports and romance meld perfectly in this hilarious film about an aging minor league catcher who is brought in to "mature" a young pitching prospect, and who falls for a local baseball groupie.

Her (2013)
In this fascinating glimpse at humans' relationship with technology, a lonely, recently-divorced writer falls in love with his artificially intelligent operating system.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

The Princess Bride (1987)
This cheeky, beloved fairy tale movie has it all: true love, giants, pirates, kidnapping, sword fighting, deception, revenge, rescues, and, yes, kissing.

Sweet Land (2005)
In this underseen gem, a young German mail order bride travels to post-WWI Minnesota to marry a Norwegian immigrant farmer, and the two fall in love as they struggle to overcome prejudice and injustice.

Trouble in Paradise (1932)
A mischievous, sophisticated romantic comedy about a thief and a pickpocket who fall in love, then scheme to rob a beautiful perfume company executive.

Check one out today, and watch it with someone special.

Sculpture Comes To Reeves

Jen Venneman (Vienne) is displaying her sculpture, Journey to Awen, in Reeves Learning Commons. Please stop by to truly appreciate it!