Selected DVD's & Videos for Young Adults

dvds and videos

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Selected Videos for Young Adults Committee has selected fourteen outstanding videos for 2002. The selection was made during the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

The committee, comprised of librarians who work with teenagers, viewed thirty-two videos to develop the annual list that recognizes videos for technical merit, content, and use with and interest to young adults ages 12-18.

Timely issues were the focus of a number of the selections. Ecstasy (Castle Works, Inc.), Dying to be Thin (WGBH Educational Foundation), Healthy Steps for Teen Parents (Injoy Videos) and Tattooing and Body Piercing: Thinking Smart about Body Art (SVE & Churchill Media) explore these topics of concern to current teens.

The events of September 11 and their continuing impact on teenagers are revealed in 9-11: Looking Back…Moving Forward (Castle Works, Inc.). Students who attend a high school near Ground Zero talk about how their view of the world has changed.

African-American history is visualized in Here Am I, Send Me (Episcopal Media Center), a documentary about a white Civil Rights crusader and Black Soul (National Film Board of Canada), an emotional animated historical tour.

Three videos explore gay and lesbian issues. Assault on Gay America (WGBH Educational Foundation) is a riveting documentary on the damaging effects of homophobia. Coming to Terms (Frameline) dramatizes one college student's courage to come out to his family. One of Them (National Film Board of Canada) is the story of how a long-term friendship is tested when one girl reveals her sexuality.

A campy look at girl 'zines, combining interviews, animation, and 1950s-style television ads is the subject of Grrlyshow (Women Make Movies). Breakin' the Glass (Frameline) portrays the beauty and excitement of female basketball players who were involved with the American Basketball League from 1996-1998. Roller Coaster Physics (Discovery Communications, Inc.) is a thrilling jumping-off point for science fair projects as it tours some of the world's scariest amusement park rides.

Moving and disturbing interviews of war crime survivors comprise the youth-produced video on activism, ICC: A Call for Justice (EVC's Youth Organizers Television).

The annotated list will appear in the March 15 issue of Booklist and is available at the YALSA For Members Only section . For more information contact the YALSA Office by phone at 800-545-2433 x 4390 or e-mail,
yalsa@ala.org.

YALSA Selected Videos & DVDs for Young Adults Committee: Robyn M. Lupa (Chair), Leigh D. Barnett, Josephine Caisse, Edith E. H. Cummings, Susan E. Dunn, Sarah I. Flowers, Mari Hardacre, Susan L. Hill, Kevin Stewart Payne, James C. Scholtz, Tricia A. Segal, Lisa Whitley, Sue Ellen Beauregard (Consultant), and Aletheia Turner (Administrative Assistant).
Assault on Gay America. VHS. 60 min. 2000. $49.95. WGBH Educational Foundation.


In traditional documentary style, this video explores the case of Billy Jack Gaithers, murdered in 1999 because he was gay. Interviews with family members, friends and with Gaither's killers give viewers a complete picture of the damaging effects of homophobia.

Black Soul. VHS. 9.45 min. 2000. $129. National Film Board of Canada.

Breakin' the Glass. VHS. 28 min. 2000. $29.95. Frameline.

Coming to Terms. VHS. 17 min. 2000. $29.95. Frameline

Dying to be Thin. VHS. 60 min. 2000. $19.95. WGBH Educational Foundation.

Ecstasy. VHS. 30 min. 2001. $59.95. Castle Works, Inc.

Grrlyshow. VHS. 18 min. 2001. $195. Women Make Movies

Healthy Steps for Teen Parents. VHS. 25 min. each. 2001. $199.95 each, $499 3-part set. Injoy Videos.


Volume 1: Prenatal Care. Volume 2: Labor & Birth. Volume 3: Postpartum.

Here Am I, Send Me. VHS. 50 min. 2000. $29.95. Episcopal Media Center.

ICC: A Call for Justice. VHS. 16.30 min. 2000. $75. EVC's Youth Organizers Television

9-11: Looking Back…Moving Forward. VHS. 30 min. 2001. $59.95. Castle Works, Inc.

One of Them. VHS. 26 min. 2000. $195. National Film Board of Canada.

Roller Coaster Physics. VHS. 27 min. 2000. $39.95. Discovery Communications, Inc.

Tattooing and Body Piercing: Thinking Smart about Body Art. VHS. 22 min. 2001. $95.95. SVE & Churchill Media.