by Herb Geraghty
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If you are one of the millions of people practicing responsible social distancing right now (as you should be!) during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have found yourself with some extra free time at home. To help prevent boredom in these uncertain times we’ve decided to share some media recommendations for those interested in stories that relate to human rights and dignity. This list is taken from Aimee Murphy and Mary Grace Coltharp’s 2018 book, A Consistent Life: The Young Advocate's Guide to Living Peace and Justice Daily.
These stories do not all have morals to them that align with the Consistent Life Ethic, but they do offer a compelling launch pad for reflection and discourse.
Books and Short Stories:
One Dress One Year by Susanna Foth Aughtmon (human trafficking)
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut (war, sci-fi)
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (nuclear warfare, sci-fi)
Consistently Opposing Killing edited by Stephen Zunes, Rachel MacNair (Consistent Life Ethic)
Inside America’s Concentration Camps by James Dickerson (war, racism, torture, history)
Human Embryos, Human Beings by Maureen L. Condic and Samuel B. Condic (embryology, abortion, ESCR)
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin (dystopian, philosophy, the value of a single human life)
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (post-apocalyptic, sci-fi)
1984 by George Orwell (dystopian, political fiction)
Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (sci-fi, dystopian)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (dystopian, genetic modification)
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (“designer babies”, “savior siblings,” consequentialism, suicide, and medical ethics)
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (war)
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown (community, rehumanization)
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut (dystopian, sci-fi, human dignity and selfhood)
Eight O’Clock Ferry to the Windward Side by Clive Stafford Smith (nonfiction, Guantanamo Bay)
Movies and TV shows:
Fatal Flaws - from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days -WWII, nonviolent resistance
Band of Brothers - war miniseries that doesn’t glorify war (very gory)
Children of Men - sci-fi, drama, infertility, the value of a child
Arrival - sci-fi, drama, war, diplomacy, choosing life
Minority Report - drama, fantasy, criminal justice
Never Let Me Go - drama, dystopian, medical ethics, cloning
Shawshank Redemption - prisons, justice, human dignity
Hunchback of Notre Dame - racism, general pro-life themes
My Sister’s Keeper -“designer babies”, medical/legal ethics
Dollhouse -TV show, sci-fi, dehumanization, human traffick
Me Before You - disability, assisted suicide, euthanasia (not a pro-life film, but good for discourse)
A Beautiful Mind - mental illness, human dignity
Wonder - disabilities, kindness, human dignity
Gattaca - sci-fi, dystopian, “designer babies”, embryos
Bella - abortion, the dignity of prisoners
The Bucket List - drama, end of life, terminal illness
Big Fish - drama, illness, end of life, human dignity
Taxi to the Dark Side - documentary, torture, Bush admin
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib - documentary, torture, Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison
HUSH - documentary, abortion, breast cancer, mental health
Pro-Life Feminist - short documentary, interviews 3 movement leaders, including Aimee Murphy the founder of Rehumanize International