Greetings all:

Just a reminder that we will be screening epsiodes from Morgon Spurlock's '30 Days', at 4 pm in Joukowsky. We'll do back-up screening in the MediaSpace at noon tomorrow. Descriptions and bios for the GlobalMediaLab are below.

And, I want you to be prepared to consider, after 'the 300' broke box office records this weekend: what is the power of the critic?

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30 DAYS

30 Days, a six-part FX original series, places an individual in a living environment that is antithetical to their upbringing, beliefs, religion, or profession in an effort to examine real societal differences that Americans face everyday.

Morgan Spurlock hosts and narrates the entire series, each episode touching on some of the most talked about issues today. In addition to hosting, Morgan is once again the subject of one of the episodes. In this season's finale, Morgan is sent to the Big House at the Henrico County Jail. In a first hand examination of the prison and rehabilitation system in America, Morgan is sentenced to Jail for 30 Days. Treated like any other inmate, he spent 72 hours in solitary confinement, worked 15-hour shifts in the jail’s kitchen and bunked on the floor with 5 other inmates. As Morgan starts serving his sentence he realizes it's not just the external d anger, “Getting locked up for 30 Days was a scary proposition, but once I got behind the overcrowded bars I saw that it was the monotony that could kill me,” said Spurlock.

Each episode this season is just as eye-opening, dealing with topics in an in-depth way that we often don't find in today's discourse. The series dives into each issue without any predisposition or bias and allows the audience to really walk a mile in someone else's shoes. This season will deal with Immigration, Outsourcing, Atheist/ Christian, New Age, Pro-choice/ Pro-life, and Jail.

MORGAN SPURLOCK - http://www.warrior-poets.com/

American independent documentary film director, TV producer, and screenwriter, known for the documentary film Super Size Me, in which he attempted to demonstrate the negative health effects of McDonald's food by eating nothing but McDonalds three times a day, every day, for one month. Spurlock is also the executive producer and star of the reality television series 30 Days.

Spurlock graduated with a BFA in film from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1993.
Before making Super Size Me, Spurlock was a playwright, winning awards for his play The Phoenix at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. He also created I Bet You Will for MTV.

MIKE TREDER

Executive Director of CRN, is a professional writer, speaker, and activist with a background in technology and communications company management. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Biology. Mike's career in the private sector included stints as manager of radio stations in major markets, and with a large telecommunications firm in New Jersey. In addition to his work with CRN, Mike is a Research Fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, a consultant to the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University and to the Future Technologies Advisory Group, serves on the Nanotech Briefs Editorial Advisory Board, is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a member of the World Future Society. He has published more than 20 articles and papers, and has been interviewed numerous times by the media. As an accomplished presenter on the societal implications of emerging technologies, Mike has addressed conferences and groups in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil.

The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology is a non-profit research and advocacy think tank concerned with the major societal and environmental implications of advanced nanotechnology. We are a modern, networked, virtual organization -- with no "brick and mortar" -- a collection of more than 100 volunteers, over 1000 interested followers, and a small team of primary coordinators.

CRN engages individuals and groups to better understand the implications of molecular manufacturing and to focus on the real risks and benefits of the technology. Our goal is the creation and implementation of wise, comprehensive, and balanced plans for responsible worldwide use of this transformative technology.