Windows & Mirrors: The Middle East

Cultural Jambalaya is a Minnesota nonprofit organization dedicated to the production of educational films designed to promote an appreciation among American students for other cultures. Windows & Mirrors: The Middle East presents a tour of Middle Eastern locales by executive director Gail Shore, who traveled to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey, taking numerous photographs in each country. The program features a selection of these stills organized into montages on different subjects—transportation, historical sites, living accommodations, working conditions, religion, customs and rituals, family life, and global connections—coupled with Shore's brief comments. The commentary here is certainly basic—only a few seconds are devoted to Mount Sinai, the pyramids, the fortress of Masada, the Dome of the Rock, and Qumran, to mention only a handful of sites visited. The photography, however, is first-rate, and the half-hour running time shouldn't exhaust the attention span of the target audience of elementary and middle school students. In addition, the moral that Shore draws from her experience—that people of the Middle East share with us a desire to build a better world for their children—is certainly worth hearing. Also featuring an online study guide, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: E, I, P. (F. Swietek)