Classes, Courses, and Lectures
Our Summer Session begins June 4!
Facilitators present a diverse assortment of video lectures, short and long documentaries, and full-length commercial films. Thought-provoking discussions follow each presentation.
THE TIME
The 11 A.M sessions include a video lecture or short documentary. These programs run for approximately 1¼ hours, ending at 12:15 pm. This provides for a 45-minute lunch break. The 1 pm sessions offer a long documentary or full-length commercial film. (See running times in the program notes). All sessions include class discussion.
THE LOCATION
Room 102 Roosevelt Hall Extension. (Roosevelt Hall Extension is across the street on the other side of Bedford Ave.)
Tuesday, June 4 1:00 pm Documentary Film: Free Solo
Facilitator: Sol Makon
This is a profile of free solo mountain climber Alex Honnold, in his 2017 death-defying quest to scale, without a rope, the 3,200-foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. This Academy Award-winning documentary captures his ascent using astounding camerawork. Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, and Jimmy Chin, 2018. 96 minutes
Thursday, June 6 11:00 am Documentary Film: The Great White Hoax: Donald Trump and the Politics of Race and Class in America (Abridged)
Facilitator: Peter Sohn
Acclaimed educator and author Tim Wise explores how Donald Trump expertly tapped into long-simmering racial tensions and rode an accelerating wave of white anxiety and grievance straight to the White House. The film offers a fascinating look at how conservative political leaders and strategists have been tapping into anxieties about cultural change to win the support of white Americans, especially white men, for decades.
Thursday, June 6 1:00 pm Video/Presentation: Project Management (PM)
Facilitator: Marc Epstein
The goal is to help people plan successful events while minimizing the issues that come into play. Using case studies geared toward projects that seniors would typically be engaged in such as planning anniversary celebrations, milestone birthday parties and other events, the session will focus on the role of the planner, anticipating and mitigating risks and more. Marc has relevant degrees (BA Brooklyn College, MBA Baruch College, certification in PM from NYU) and extensive work experience in PM.
Tuesday, June 11 11:00 am Video: The Not-So-Civil War in New York Circa 1862
Facilitator: Maura McGovern
What was happening in New York during the War Between the States? Learn about the contributing
factors leading to social unrest in the North and the extent of that unrest.
Tuesday, June 11 1:00 pm Film: Breach
Facilitator: Len Rudorfer
This 2007 American spy thriller directed by Billy Ray is based on the true story of Robert Hansen (played by Chris Cooper), an FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia, for more than two decades. It won an AARP “Movies for Grownups” award. 110 minutes
Thursday, June 13 11:00 am Video: Women and Aging in the 21st Century
Facilitator: M. Rose Cassius
We’ll watch and discuss 2 video presentations: 1- “Let’s face it: women explore their aging faces;” a group of women explore their aging faces and feelings about aging. 2- “Growing old: the unbearable lightness of aging” by Jane Caro describes aging as a liberating phase in a woman's life.
Thursday, June 13 1:00 pm Film: My Dinner with Andre
Facilitator: David Krupp
Two old friends meet in a NY restaurant where Andre recounts his last two years. They discuss their relationship, innermost feelings and the purpose of life. Director: Louis Malle, 1981, with Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory. 110 minutes
Tuesday, July 9 1:00 pm Film: Five Easy Pieces
Facilitator: David Krupp
A piano prodigy turned drifter returns home with his girl friend to see his dying father. He falls in love with a visitor and must reevaluate his life. Director: Bob Rafelson, 1970, with Jack Nicholson, Karen Black and Susan Anspach. 96 minutes
Tuesday, July 11 11:00 am Video: Sicily
Facilitator: Charlie Edelman
Sicily is a land with many facets. Besides the Italian influence, it has been influenced by the Greek, French and Arab cultures. Its ancient historic sites are second only to Greece. It is also a gastronomic paradise and has the only active volcano in Europe, Mt Etna.
Tuesday, July 11 1:00 pm Documentary Film: Apollo 11
Facilitator: Sol Makon
On July 20, 1969, fifty years ago, the NASA 1969 Apollo 11 space mission became the first spaceflight to land man on the moon. Now, you will experience that spectacular and awe-inspiring event as never before, through the release of 70mm film footage that was never shown to the general public.
Director: Todd Douglas Miller, 2019. 93 minutes
Tuesday, July 16 11:00 am Video: Cultural Appropriation
Facilitator: Rona Goldwitz
Cultural appropriation is one of the hottest issues around, and one of the most controversial. Learn what it is all about and hear a variety of points of view. Plus a short bonus topic: Ellis Island during WWII.
Tuesday, July 16 1:00 pm Film: Sere Queridos (Only Human)
Facilitator: Morty Marshack
A Jewish girl brings her Palestinian fiance home to meet her family in Madrid. Irreverent, screwball comedy with heart. Discussion to follow, of the movie or other Jewish-Palestinian relationships. Spanish with English subtitles. Directors: Dominic Harari and Teresa De Pelegri, 2004. 85 minutes
Thursday, July 18 11:00 am Video/Presentation: Seeking Asylum in America
Facilitator: Carole Mehlman
How closed are our open doors?
Carole is an Immigration Attorney specializing in Asylum issues.
Thursday, July 18 1:00 pm Film: From Here To Eternity
Facilitator: David Krupp
Conflict, love and brutality in the army in Hawaii just before and during the Japanese attack. Director: Fred Zinnemann, 1953, with Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra. 118 minutes
Tuesday, July 30 11:00 am Video: Why We Make the Choices We Do; Analysis of Motivation Related to Decision Making
Facilitator: Maura McGovern
Surprising factors influence our decision-making in matters great and small. The science of behavioral economics has found that the irrational plays a bigger role than was previously realized.
Tuesday, July 30 1:00 pm Film: Moonstruck
Facilitator: Len Rudorfer
This is a 1987 American romantic comedy directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed, 37 year-old, Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé’s estranged, hot-tempered younger brother, played by Nicholas Cage. 102 minutes
Thursday, August 1 1:00 pm Film: The Caine Mutiny
Facilitator: David Krupp
During WW II, a mutiny against a neurotic captain breaks out during a typhoon. The executive officer is court-martialed. What happens during and after the trial? Director: Edward Dmytryk, 1954, with Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray. 125 minutes
Tuesday, August 6 1:00 pm Film: The Last Picture Show
Facilitator: David Krupp
In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically. Director: Peter Bogdanovich, 1971, with Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd. 118 minutes
