Addiction

The feature length documentary film ADDICTION brings together the nation’s leading experts on drug and alcohol addiction with a collection of award-winning filmmakers to shed light on addiction, its causes and the latest and most prominent developments in treatments. Its focus is on case studies and new medical treatments. A supplementary series of 13 short films delves deeper into the various dimensions of addiction.DVD Features:
Documentary:Includes 3 discs of additional content that will not premiere on the network.
Interviews:Includes additional interviews with: Nora Volkow, M.D. Mark Willenbring, M.D. Michael Dennis, Ph.D. Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D.
This groundbreaking HBO series teams some of America’s foremost experts on the vexing problem of addiction with some of the most talented documentary filmmakers working. The result, Addiction, is a riveting pastiche of short spotlights on the deep wounds, scars, and battles affecting the growing numbers of people plagued with addictions, especially to drugs and alcohol. In A Mother’s Desperation by Grey Gardens co-filmmaker Albert Maysles and Susan Froemke, a Pittsburgh mom is wrung nearly dry in her frantic attempt to keep her daughter alive through her horrifying addiction to opiates. At one point, she resorts to having her arrested: the ultimate in tough love. Other segments look at the devastation wreaked by alcohol, that most sanctioned of social drugs, and how people in varying social and economic strata have tried (and in some cases, failed) to overcome their heart-breaking diseases. A lot of emphasis is given to medical solutions and research, and less to some methods with very established success records (notably, Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step groups). But the filmmakers may have felt the work of A.A. has been explored deeply over the years, and also doesn’t necessarily work as a film subject. The ones they have chosen to focus on, including struggling teens, insurance

Rating: (out of 33 reviews)

List Price: $ 24.98
Price: $ 14.99

Addiction: Cunning, Baffling and Powerful

Addiction is a very complex and abstract concept for people to understand, especially young people. We specialize in education through the use of the media arts. We take the words, “Cunning, Baffling and Powerful” and personify them. In a short movie, young people can see how predatory addiction really is. We add a brief overview of “neuroadaptation” the actual change in the brain that addiction causes. It’s now a chronic disease that must be managed, it’s not going away. We also show red flags for kids to look for so they can become aware and begin to adjust their own behavior. We include the reason for and benefit of support meetings. DVD purchase includes full script and clay lesson plans for replication in your own community. Just EMAIL LINDA at taproot@redwing.net after purchase and we’ll send on the PDF files.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.

Rating: (out of 6 reviews)

List Price: $ 29.99
Price: $ 27.50

Addiction: Cunning, Baffling and Powerful Reviews

Review by Dorothy HALLA-POE:

This DVD production is a great personification of the words “Cunning, Baffling, Powerful” which anyone in an alcohol recovery support program is familiar with. This “personification” gives a good visual picture of the thoughts, feelings and imaginings many addicted individuals experience. It gives personality to addiction, and it’s not a pretty personality. As one member of our AA group said, “it’s strange to think that there is something inside me that wants to kill me”. But, that’s the nature of addiction. Awareness, support, and living a 12-step program is a good and necessary approach for this chronic condition.

Not to mention, this is a very well done DVD.

Review by Larry J. Ruich:

Lawrence J. Ruich

Doctoral Candidate

Special Education

Indiana University Bloomington

The utilization of a visual medium as an education tool lends itself to innumerable explorations. One of these explorations presents itself in the DVD, Addiction: Cunning, Baffling and Powerful. Taproot, Inc.’s founding members, Linda Flanders and, Dorothy Halla-Poe have upended the standard training module by using students as actors, allowing them to explore the everyday risks that youth encounter and face. As educators, we constantly ask and probe, “How do we instruct students to connect the abstract to the real?” The answer may lie in such a film as, Addiction, which successfully constructs a concrete portrayal of the elusive term, addiction, and its dependent offspring: cunning, baffling, and powerful. Addiction, defined as a dual character within the film, allows the viewer to witness the struggle of dependency in physical terms.

As educators, we must acknowledge that our children have grown within the digital age. The alternative styles to an education are limitless and it is paramount to provide understanding through associative visual learning and active experience. The members of Taproot, Inc. are laying the foundation for these opportunities and many others within the field of education.

Buy Addiction: Cunning, Baffling and Powerful now for only $ 27.50!

Dui-Dead in 5 Seconds

Watching children play on a playground, it’s almost impossible to
imagine that they may one day be killed by a drunk driver. It’s just as
impossible to imagine you’re the driver. But every 30 minutes it happens to someone.
Russell Turner knows firsthand. His 19-year-old son,
Jeremy, was killed instantly in a car accident involving a driver under the
influence of drugs and alcohol.
Russell Turner shares his tragedy in DUI: Dead in 5 Seconds as a
poignant reminder that driving under the influence is a choice. It’s a
choice that has possible life-long consequences. Steven Leslie knows
first-hand. He’s spending 17 years to life in prison for Jeremy’s death.

Rating: (out of 11 reviews)

List Price: $ 9.98
Price: $ 4.85

National Geographic: World’s Most Dangerous Drug

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007

Rating: (out of 17 reviews)

List Price: $ 19.97
Price: $ 12.95

Acts of Worship

This focuses on the relationship between alix a young homeless addict and digna a successful photographer in manhattans lower eastside. When digna discovers alix unconcious on the stairs of her building she steps in and offers to help despite her own fears and their emotional and ethical cores are tested. Studio: Arts Alliance America Release Date: 08/14/2007 Starring: Ana Reeder Michael Hyatt Run time: 94 minutes Rating: R

Rating: (out of 12 reviews)

List Price: $ 9.95
Price: $ 4.82

Acts of Worship Reviews

Review by A. Bridges:

I am going to a class for drug and alcohol abuse.

This film was shown, and it had the whole class quite.

Even the men in the class stayed and talked after the

film,which most the time is not the case. I remembered

the day my daughter and I talked on the phone, she

was out of her mind after a two day binge on x and I don’t

know what esle. I am thankful, that was a day of change

for her life. I think this is a great film to share with

your teenage children, let them see the affects of drugs.

I felt as if I were living in the shoes of a young woman

addicted to drugs. Thank you for supporting independent

films, if there was an Oscar for Life Changing films

I am sure this would be a winner.

Review by PolarisDiB:

The storyline is the type of thing you find on a Lifetime Network Special or a straight-to-television movie trying to warn about the dangers of drug addiction, but this movie goes so far beyond that. It’s not like it adds zany warped realities like Requiem for a Dream or it has some sort of narration keeping the audience completely informed that “this is what you should fear to be”, it does everything so much simpler than that: It sits back and lets the actors eat the audience’s collective heart out.

The drama in this film is SO UTTERLY CONVINCING. The performances get first prize for portrayals that, even when you want to try and find something wrong with it (I’m guessing this film might be considered too sentimental by some), keep the drama serious and prominent, not allowing the audience to let go of their suspension of disbelief. If it wasn’t for the production quality, it would seem like this was a documentary and these were real people. And it’s not just Ana and Michael, the two main characters, it’s everyone, from the boyfriends to the crack addicts that have two seconds of screen time to everyone.

Secondly, the cinematography and editing are very well tuned to excellence. This movie definitely has the feel of an independent film, but more than that it doesn’t have that “Look at me, I’m independent!” feel. Skewed angles and purposeful jump cuts exist stylistically in the film, but they come at the right times and are completely necessary, versus what tends to happen in a lot of independent cinema where the camera becomes relatively self-conscious and goes places it needn’t. For example, the hand-held quality of this film is almost invisible, while some independent films tend to show off their independence via hand-held in a wannabe cinema-verite sort of conceit.

It’s disappointing that I haven’t heard anything about this film before. I literally picked it up because it was the first movie on the first row of the first aisle to rent because I wanted to surprise myself, and whadyaknow but it happened to be a real gem! I hope it builds a bigger audience because it deserves to be recognized.

–PolarisDiB

Buy Acts of Worship now for only $ 4.82!

Why Don’t They Just QUIT? DVD Roundtable Discussion: What families and friends need to know about addiction and recovery.

Real-life solutions to help you now!
Watching a loved one immersed in an intense battle with alcohol and drug abuse may be the most difficult, complex and harrowing experience you ll ever have.
This 90 minute DVD offers hope to families and friends, and is packed with solutions that can be used immediately to help guide someone toward recovery. A perfect companion resource to the “Why Don’t They Just Quit?” book.
Experts discuss and provide answers to over thirty-five tough questions dealing with these issues.
You will learn:
What works, what doesn t, and why.
Why a person doesn t have to hit rock-bottom.
Why effective intervention doesn t have to be a surprise attack.
How to receive 50 percent or more off the cost of treatment.
When helping is actually hurting.
Why quitting is not the same as recovering and why it s not so easy.
How to deal with a relapse.
“. . . explains addiction and recovery in terms we all can understand. . . provides solutions to the problem. We recommend it to all the families at our center.” Lee Barchan/Executive Director, Transitions Recovery Program/North Miami Beach, Florida

Rating: (out of 10 reviews)

List Price: $ 19.95
Price: $ 19.95

Why Don’t They Just QUIT? DVD Roundtable Discussion: What families and friends need to know about addiction and recovery. Reviews

Review by Ned Wicker:

There is a tug-of-war going on in the recovery community between those with academic letters behind their names and those who have walked through the tunnel of addiction. For example there are those who believe AA is a positive road to walk on, while others scorn AA for any number of reasons. Joe Herzanek writes and talks about addiction with a warmth and depth of understanding that so many others lack. “Why Don’t They Just Quit” is superbly written, a straight-talking, no frills guide for people to follow. It’s a great resource. Herzanek has walked through the tunnel of addiction and can relate to those who struggle. He understands families and what they go through. The book and DVD make a human connection, beyond the facts of addiction.

Review by Mari L. Nelson:

I recently purchased the DVD and book on “Why Don’t They Just Quit” by Joe Herzanek. Having a son with a severe alcohol/drug abuse problem, who has been through more than one treatment program, I was desperately looking for answers, not hype or glitter. I found the “roundtable” format on the DVD to be easy to follow. I consider “Why Don’t They Just Quit” to be my “Bible” on drug abuse issues affecting the addict and the families. Mr. Herzanek lays it out in a straightforward way, using his and other’s personal experiences to clarify the how and why of addiction and recovery. This is a must have tool for anyone that is impacted by a loved one’s addiction.

Buy Why Don’t They Just QUIT? DVD Roundtable Discussion: What families and friends need to know about addiction and recovery. now for only $ 19.95!

Space Scouts: Day Two (of Three): About Drugs and Substance Abuse

SpaceScouts is an exciting new program designed to teach pre-teens about substance abuse. It is not a prevention program, but rather uses video, interactive games, and workbook exercises to help participants learn about the science of addiction. The Missouri Institute of Mental Health produced SpaceScouts with help from Committed Caring Faith Communities, several churches and a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This two-disc set is the second of a three-part program.

List Price: $ 11.00
Price: $ 11.00

Space Scouts: Day Three (of Three): Consequences and Treatment for Substance Abuse

SpaceScouts is an exciting new program designed to teach pre-teens about substance abuse. It is not a prevention program, but rather uses video, interactive games, and workbook exercises to help participants learn about the science of addiction. The Missouri Institute of Mental Health produced SpaceScouts with help from Committed Caring Faith Communities, several churches and a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This two-disc set is the third of a three-part program.

List Price: $ 11.00
Price: $ 11.00

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