The period before the beginning of Lent is a festive season in many parts of the world. The Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States are known for parades, elaborate costumes and masks, and lots of bead necklaces, with the largest celebration taking place in New Orleans. These five educational films explore the vibrant culture associated with Mardi Gras, while also going beyond the spectacle, examining issues like racial segregation and factory production. These titles are recommended for holiday library programming or anyone who wants to learn more about Mardi Gras.
Always for Pleasure
New Orleans. Sin City. Where unabashed hedonism is not a concept, but a way of life. The joys of food, the rhythms of music, and the celebration of sensuality find their supreme expression in the Mardi Gras festival. As always, the characters that Blank uncovers are jewels in the rough: "Kid" Thomas Valentine, who tells people he's a hundred years old--and they believe him; or "Blue Lu" Barker, who got lost during a parade once, and now observes from the safety of her domicile.
Check out our review of Always for Pleasure
Mardi Gras: Made in China
At a time when quality control problems are putting a new focus on Chinese exports, David Redmon's commendable documentary Mardi Gras: Made in China offers disturbing evidence of miserable conditions in China's factories. The focus here is on the plastic colored beads that are joyfully distributed during New Orleans' Mardi Gras festivities, which are made at the Tai Kuen factory in Fuzhou, where a predominantly youthful workforce works up to 20 hours a day in unsanitary and unsafe conditions for the equivalent of 10 cents an hour.
Check out our review of Mardi Gras: Made in China
The Order of Myths
Margaret Brown's compelling documentary on the Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, AL turns the spotlight on a troubling tradition that has remained in place since the festivities first took place in 1703: complete racial segregation. Despite the dramatic sociopolitical changes that tore down state-sanctioned segregation, the Mobile event still consists of two parallel happenings divided along color lines.
Check out our review of The Order of Myths
Tradition is a Temple: The Modern Masters of New Orleans
Angelic, goose bump-inspiring voices—singing “Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot” in acapella three-part harmony—open this wonderful documentary on the modern New Orleans musical scene. Although known for the frivolity of Mardi Gras, the now-commercialized Bourbon Street scene, and a drinking culture that makes Foster Brooks look like a teetotaler, for many the prime appeal of the Big Easy is music—and a music culture—that has defined a type of jazz where the rhythms are strong and brass instruments reign.
Check out our review of Tradition is a Temple: The Modern Masters of New Orleans
The Whole Gritty City
Three Louisiana marching bands prepare for Mardi Gras in this CBS-aired documentary from filmmakers Richard Barber and Andre Lambertson, who alternate between the Algiers-based Chargers and the New Orleans-based Crusaders and Falcons. Statistically speaking, not all of these kids will be able to avoid the violence surrounding them, but it's abundantly clear that marching bands have saved lives in Louisiana.
Check out our review of The Whole Gritty City