Changing World; 5; Three Faces of Cuba
- Series
- Changing World
- Episode Number
- 5
- Episode
- Three Faces of Cuba
- Producing Organization
- National Educational Television and Radio Center
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-wh2d796d6g
- NOLA Code
- CGGW
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/512-wh2d796d6g).
- Description
- Episode Description
- This exclusive documentary report, film entirely in Cuba, examines the current conditions under which the Cuban people today live, their attitudes with regard to the 26th of July Revolution, and the changes that have taken place since the 1959 advent of Fidel Castro. These conditions, attitudes, and changes are viewed through the eyes of three Cubans: a former member of the upper middle class, now in exile; a member of the current middle class a revolutionary; and a member of the continuing lower class a worker. The First Cuban The Exile: The family of The First Cuban has lived in Cuba for three generations. A university professor prior to the Castro take-over, he now teaches in the United States. During the segment, his name is not revealed for fear of reprisal against members of his family still living in Cuba. As his commentary unfolds, cameras focus on the clubs, hotels, churches, beaches, plantations, colleges which he, and others like him, once patronized,, but which today are no longer their province or property. The First Cuban talks about: the losses suffered by Cubans upper middle class as a result of the Castro revolution; Castros exploitation of the Cuban Negro; the effects of the U.S. imposed economic blockade; the amount of air pouring into Cuba from Iron Curtain countries; The Cuban Army the best trained, best equipped army in Latin America; the difficulties Cubans encounter in trying to leave their homeland; the poor condition of Cubas sugar crop, and the failure of agrarian reforms; the enormous housing shortage in Cuba; the tragic fate of Castros political prisoners; the young Becados, the thoroughly indoctrinated children of the low class workers in whom Castro sees the future of his revolution; relations between the Catholic Church and the Castro government; and the Nationalization of Cubas cemeteries. The Second Cuban The Revolutionary: Jose Garcia Nicolas, The Second Cuban, is a member of the new middle class of revolutionaries in Cuba. He is 38-years-old, and a hard-core supporter of Castro and government. Like several hundred thousand other Cubans, Jose has stepped into the administration tasks abandoned by, or seized from The First Cubans. His role in Cuban society is shown in several sequences working as personnel manager for the Empressa Consolidada del Cigarros, a cigarette company; doing guard duty a s a member of the Cuban militia; attending a political rally; and relaxing with his wife, a night employee of the former U.S. owned telephone company. During the segment, The Second Cuban discusses: his administration for Fidel Castro; his activities as a Cuban militia man; the difficulties encountered in getting parts for his American-built automobile; his determination to become a more useful part of the Revolution by attending night school; the work of Cubas watchdogs, the Revolutionary Defense Committees (CDR), in watching out for counter-revolutionist activities; his off-hours work as a volunteer in Cubas sugar fields; and his belief in the Cuban Socialist Revolution. The Third Cuban The Worker: The Third Cuban is Francisco Consuegra Salgado, 1 46-year-old man, who works for the Public Health Department. He represents the average Cuban, the farm or urban worker who owns little or nothing, and had taken no active role either for or against the Revolution. There is little, if any, chance of Castro being overthrown to long as Francisco and the rest of The Third Cubans continue to accept the authority of the Revolution, and are kept content with jobs. Franciscos comments are heard as he is followed by the camera through one of his typical working days. He comments on: his job, his daily routine, and the improvements in his working conditions since the Castro take-over; his duties as a member of the CDR; his unfamiliarity with the teachings of Carlos Marx and Engels, but his belief that socialism and communism defend and benefit the worker; the poor living conditions that existed for his family before the Revolution; his gratitude to the Castro government for the advantages he now has; and his belief in Communism. Changing World: Three Faces of Cuba is a 1965 production of National Educational Television. Executive Producer: William Weston. Producer-Director: Robert Cohen, in collaboration with William Manschot of WTTW, Chicago. This program was originally shot on film. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- To give American television viewers a clearer understanding of how the rapid and radical changes now underway in other lands will influence their own lives, National Educational Television launched an incisive bi-monthly series of one-hour documentaries filmed around the globe. Entitled "Changing World," the series premiered in October 1964 on NET's nationwide network of 82 affiliated non-commercial stations. "We believe the scope and design of this series should place it among the season's most important ventures in public affairs television," said William Kobin, director of public affairs programs at NET. "Changing World" will look at the peaceful and not so peaceful revolutions of the mid-twentieth century from the vantage point of the people most deeply and painfully involved in transition. In a systematic way, it will attempt to relate the problems of the various nations and continents to one another, and to the lives of all of us in the United States. "In 'Changing World,'"says Mr. Kobin, "NET has deliberately turned away form a shotgun approach where we would examine only headline-making events. Instead, our producers and their units will be developing, in each instance an organized approach which will afford not only a solid introduction to other peoples and their problems, but a reliable basis on which viewers can judge United States policy, involvement and goals on other continents." (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Changing World consists of 13 hour-long episodes produced in 1964-1966 by various producers, which were originally shot on film and videotape.
- Broadcast Date
- 1965-03-08
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Documentary
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Director: Cohen, Robert
Executive Producer: Weston, William
Interviewee: Nicolas, Jose Garcia
Interviewee: Salgado, Francisco Consuegra
Producer: Cohen, Robert
Producer: Manschot, William
Producing Organization: National Educational Television and Radio Center
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2416796-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “Changing World; 5; Three Faces of Cuba,” 1965-03-08, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 25, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-wh2d796d6g.
- MLA: “Changing World; 5; Three Faces of Cuba.” 1965-03-08. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 25, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-wh2d796d6g>.
- APA: Changing World; 5; Three Faces of Cuba. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-wh2d796d6g