An invaluable teaching tool. Brings to life the challenges and trade-offs of governance; the clash between ambitious government leaders and eventual limits on resources; and the need for congruence between a visionary leader and the time in which he or she serves.
Maxine Isaacs
Lecturer on Government, Harvard University
"The accompanying materials help students better understand the need for insightful and demonstrative leadership, civic engagement and vision in our government and leaders?The Pat Brown documentary has become a central focus of my State and Local Government class."
Linda Reed,
Civitas Coordinator
Rio Americano High School
To get anything done in government — then or today — requires a leader. Pat Brown filled the bill. For a political junkie, it's four stars.
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times
The award-winning documentary
CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND
takes students
on an exciting ride through history and politics
DVD Package Includes:
Two Versions:
- 86 - minute theatrical version
- 56 - minute educational version
Bonus Features:
3 educational short videos
- Leadership Then & Now
- Stories & Legacies
- Debating the Death Penalty
In-depth Curriculum that meets state & national standards
In the turbulent 1960s, an ordinary man rose to face extraordinary challenges and powerfully shaped the future of modern California. A dynamic American dream story unfolds in this new documentary on Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown — "the Godfather of Modern California." Told through the eyes of Brown's granddaughter, award-winning filmmaker Sascha Rice, CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND gives students an inside look at a California icon and a political family, called by some "the West Coast Kennedys." This premiere account of former Brown's life takes on startling new significance now that his son, Jerry Brown, is Governor of California – again.
As the filmmaker investigates her grandfather's legacy, viewers are invited along to assess Brown's policies, look critically at issues of government, leadership, civil rights, growth, and the clash between environment and economic development. Brown's career intersects with such luminaries as JFK, Nixon, Reagan, César Chávez, and Martin Luther King. Transporting archival footage is interwoven with revealing commentaries from speakers like former Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis and current Governor Jerry Brown as well as Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Karen Bass, and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
This exciting tale of the West is much more than an examination of the past; it's an entertaining biography and a provocative portrait of a man whose bi-partisan can-do optimism inspires students today. CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND has screened at colleges and venues around the country including the National Archives in Washington DC, the Paley Center in New York and the United Nations Association Film Festival.
The accompanying 150-page curriculum guide provides research and discussion questions focusing on California History, the second half of the 20th Century, Leadership, Government and Civic Participation. This comprehensive curriculum is included with the film and is designed to help young people make connections between the past and present and explore their own views on important social and political issues.