The Roots of Happiness

A Mexican fisherman, whose son has died because he could not afford necessary medical care out of his meagre wages, becomes aware of how badly exploited he and his many fellow fisherman are by the one greedy man for whom they work and the corrupt politician who makes the laws to benefit him.

This is a non-narrative film, comprised of shots that "portray a certain young man in the terms of the things that he likes", such as the flow of the tide on a seashore, the motion of finely-tuned machinery, and sunlight shining through the fronds of a palm.

A prescient documentary about city planning, which presents idyllic suburbs and nuclear families as a solution to the chaos, poverty and social decay of industrialized inner cities.

"One Tenth of Our Nation" is a 1940 documentary directed by Felix Greene that documents the historical and contemporary conditions of African Americans in the southern United States, with a particular focus on education. Produced for the General Education Board, the film contrasts poverty and limited opportunity with educational initiatives at secondary and collegiate levels, tracing Black life from the legacy of slavery and agricultural labor to modern training programs and institutions.

As an overworked farmer insists that wartime food demands be managed, a woman is confronted by her conscience about the need to obey the food rationing rules.