Author Archives: Tom Cooper

RBG, Malala, Elda Hartley and the Great Women in Media

Have you heard of Elda Hartley? Working out of her home in Cos Cob, Connecticut, Elda directed, produced, obtained, and promoted literally hundreds of spiritual films until her death at the age of ninety in 2001. She created Hartley Films from which one may screen hundreds of films about virtually every well-known spiritual practice, religion,Continue Reading

Gotti Get Out of this Place

The title of this blog, Gotti Get Out of this Place, is not a typo.  I want to talk about the movies Gotti, Get Out and the 60’s hit song by the Animals, “We Gotta Get Out of this Place” all at once. For the first time in this blog series I am not recommendingContinue Reading

A Pope for all Seasons

Historically the word “pope” has been mired in controversy. Many have pointed to the shadows of those who have ruled the Vatican–strong shadows such as the Inquisition, Nazi collaboration, concealment of pedophilia, corruption, micromanaging the minds and lives of their congregations, and the persistent acquisition of immense wealth. And yet others have seen the popeContinue Reading

Media for Children of all Ages: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

To my view, it has always been as hard to make substantial media programs for children as it has been to make successful programs about children’s media. Morgan Neville’s beloved documentary about the TV program “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” manages to do both and more. The 94-minute feature documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, not onlyContinue Reading

You are the Medium That Matters

Throughout the two dozen “Media That Matter” blogs that have been published over the past two years, I have written about the media that we consume. But what about the media that we create? Although I have sought to point toward literally dozens of examples of elevating media in most formats, these are all films,Continue Reading