American Masters

History Series / 14 Seasons

American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.

1h 23m / TV-PG

Choreographer Rennie Harris on channeling Ailey

1m 51s

Rennie Harris was tapped by Robert Battle, Ailey Artistic Director, to choreograph a piece about Ailey for the 60th anniversary of the company. To prepare, the two reviewed archival footage of Ailey discussing his process. "I just sit there and watch to find out what made Mr. Ailey, Mr. Ailey," said Harris.

Ailey's "Revelations" draws on African American spirituals

2m 24s

Ailey described "Revelations" as "an evening-long saga about the Black experience," and the performance had a huge impact on Black dancers when it premiered in 1960. "I was moved to tears seeing 'Revelations,'" said Mary Barnett, Ailey's rehearsal director from 1975 to 1979.

Alvin Ailey on Chauncey Green, the friend who saved his life

2m 56s

Ailey describes his "blood memories" and growing up during the Great Depression in Texas, where he met a friend who had a lasting impact on his life. "Chauncey saved my life. ... Chauncey Green, I shall never forget him."

Rennie Harris on the power of the choreographer

57s

Rennie Harris, PureMovement choreographer, describes how choreographers are responsible for their dancers. "Mr. Ailey, he used to train moving through spaces and shifting geographies and people and we needed that bullet train."

Ailey

1m 1s

Discover the legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey whose dances center on the Black American experience with grace, strength and beauty. Featuring previously unheard audio interviews with Ailey, interviews with those close to him and an intimate glimpse into the Ailey studios today.

Elsa Sjunneson: DeafBlind author—Extended Audio Description

13m 16s

This short film is an extended look at some of the themes explored in American Masters – Becoming Helen Keller, and aims to provide an updated representation of modern DeafBlind role models today. Elsa Sjunneson is a DeafBlind professor and media critic, skilled fencer and hiker, and published author who has written for Marvel Comics. This version contains extended audio description.

Rapper Warren "Wawa" Snipe on hip-hop in the Deaf community

3m 33s

Warren "Wawa" Snipe, one of the ASL interpreters in "Becoming Helen Keller," raps under a genre he calls "Dip-Hop," or hip-hop through Deaf eyes. With Dip-Hop, Snipe wants to bridge the gap between the Deaf and hearing communities. "Deaf musicians are here. Don't ignore us."

Becoming Helen Keller

1m 4s

Revisit the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.

Helen Keller studied socialism [Audio Description]

1m 41s

Helen Keller became interested in politics and read extensively on socialism. She began to write articles for The Call, a socialist paper in New York City. "It can't be unreasonable to ask of a society a fair chance for all. It can't be unreasonable to demand the protection of women and children and an honest wage for all," she said.

Helen Keller the suffragist [Audio Description]

59s

Helen Keller was a social activist and suffragist, lending her name to the labor movement and the women's movement. "This inferiority of woman is man-made," she said in a speech in 1916.

Keller's use of oral communication [Audio Description]

2m 31s

Alexander Graham Bell encouraged Helen Keller to practice oralism, where deaf people communicate through speech and lip-reading instead of sign language. "Oralism in general, I think, has a very oppressive quality to it, because what oralism is predicated on is the idea that the only way to communicate effectively is being able to speak," said disability rights advocate Rebecca Alexander.

Keller's use of oral communication

2m 31s

Alexander Graham Bell encouraged Helen Keller to practice oralism, where deaf people communicate through speech and lip-reading instead of sign language. "Oralism in general, I think, has a very oppressive quality to it, because what oralism is predicated on is the idea that the only way to communicate effectively is being able to speak," said disability rights advocate Rebecca Alexander.

Helen Keller studied socialism

1m 41s

Helen Keller became interested in politics and read extensively on socialism. She began to write articles for The Call, a socialist paper in New York City. "It can't be unreasonable to ask of a society a fair chance for all. It can't be unreasonable to demand the protection of women and children and an honest wage for all," she said.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on his first viewing of "West Side Story"

1m

Lin-Manuel Miranda describes discovering Rita Moreno and seeing "West Side Story" for the first time, and realizing it was about Puerto Rican New Yorkers. "It was a gamechanger."

The Importance of Better Latine Representation

37s

Xolo Maridueña (actor, "Cobra Kai"), Gina Torres (actor and producer), Tanya Saracho (showrunner, "Vida"), and Ivana Rojas (actor, "Gentified") discuss the importance of Latine representation both in front of and behind the camera.

How Latine People are Excluded in the Media

48s

"You can't be 20% of the population and be less than 1% of the stories. That's exclusion." Actor and director John Leguizamo and Felix Sanchez, co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, discuss the "digital segregation" of Latine people in the media.

How Rita Moreno became a social activist

1m 6s

Rita Moreno's first foray into social justice was attending the March on Washington with Martin Luther King, Jr. "I was there when he uttered the 'I Have a Dream' speech," she said. She continued to be a conscious activist throughout her career, fighting for Latine and women's rights.

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