One Book, One Springfield: Events, Panels, Lectures, Film Series, Read-Alouds & More

One Book Events

Panels, Lectures, Films, Readings, Art Classes

PANELS AND LECTURES

All panels and lectures will be the Central Library Community Room, 220 State Street, and will be sign interpreted

PANEL - Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Panelists explore censorship issues, including book banning and book burning, in Fahrenheit 451 and in the world. Panelists include:

Daniel Russell, Professor of Social Sciences at Springfield College
G. Michael Dobbs, Managing Editor, The Reminder
Rabbi Robert Sternberg, Executive Director, Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center, under the auspices of Jewish Federation of Greater Springfield
Revan Jajjow Hedo, Fulbright Scholar in Translation Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who worked for many years in his native Iraq as an Arabic/English translator and interpreter.

Moderator: Louis Battalen, Director of the Arms Library in Shelburne Falls and member, Massachusetts Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee

LECTURE - Wednesday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m.

Bill Yousman, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Media Education Foundation, speaks on the impact of mass media and media manipulation, in both Fahrenheit 451 and contemporary society.

PANEL - Wednesday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Panelists explore the issue of freedom vs. security through a discussion of the USA PATRIOT Act, including its impact on libraries. Panelists include:

Kevin O'Regan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief, Springfield Office
William Newman, Director of the Western Regional Office, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachsetts
Janet Edwards, owner and manager, Edwards Books
Pat Newcombe, Associate Director, Western New England College School of Law Library

Moderator: Molly Fogarty, Assistant Director of the Springfield City Library and member, American Library Association Committee on Legislation

FILM SERIES

Our film series features several screenings of Fahrenheit 451 and other science fiction films with related themes. Captions shown when available.

FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966, 113 min.)

Directed by Francois Truffaut; starring Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, and Cyril Cusack.

Kick-off event on Sunday, March 26 at 2:00 pm.
Join Sy Becker from WWLP-TV for a special movie night on Monday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Central Library, 220 State Street. Sy will introduce the film and lead a short discussion afterwards.
Forest Park Branch Library, 380 Belmont Avenue, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956, 80 min., black and white)

Directed by Don Siegel; starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter.

Forest Park Branch Library on Saturday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m.
Central Library on Sunday, April 2 at 2:00 p.m .

Based on the novel by Jack Finney, and released three years after the publication of Fahrenheit 451, this is the original film which inspired two remakes. Kevin McCarthy stars as the small-town doctor who discovers to his horror that the townspeople are being replaced by aliens which hatch out of giant seed pods. Resistance is possible only if one can remain awake. While one's physical appearance and memories are left intact, all emotions are wiped out - creating a people without fear, hatred, anger ... or love. As in Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist is surrounded by people who have lost their humanity, and he finds himself on a desperate race to save civilization. Although Director Don Siegel insisted that the film was intended as "light entertainment," the story contains disturbing warnings of the dangers of conformity, regardless of its origin.

NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (1984, 115 min.)

Directed by Michael Radford; starring John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, and Cyril Cusack.

Forest Park Branch Library on Saturday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m.
Central Library on Sunday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.

Film version of George Orwell's classic 1984 tells of life in a post war state in which the Ministry of Truth broadcasts its own version of reality on omnipresent telescreens, and each citizen's every word and action is monitored. In it, John Hurt is bureaucrat Winston Smith, a man whose job it is to rewrite history for the government, removing any trace of individuality. Richard Burton stars as O'Brien, a member of the Inner Party who sets Winston on a painful quest for answers, after he awakens to the blurring of of propaganda and reality. Along the way, Winston falls in love with the subversive Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) - which is a crime - and they must try to hide their relationship from the seemingly omniscient Big Brother. George Orwell said "I do not believe that the kind of society I describe (in 1984) necessarily WILL arrive, but I believe...that something resembling it COULD arrive." 1984 shares this foreboding vision of the future with Fahrenheit 451.

SOYLENT GREEN (1973, 97 min.)

Directed by Richard Fleischer; starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson.

Forest Park Branch Library on Saturday, April 15 at 1:00 p.m.
Central Library on Sunday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m.

This science fiction classic is set in a bleak, overpopulated, polluted New York City, in the year 2022. Unemployment and poverty are rampant, and people fight over the government-rationed, synthetic food substitutes. "Books" are people who retain extensive memories, as the lack of trees for paper has made real books a thing of the past. As in Fahrenheit 451, the hero is a municipal employee - Detective Robert Thorn, a member of the overwhelmed police force who becomes aware of a shocking government conspiracy in the course of duty. Thorn experiences an awakening and call to action similar to Guy Montag's in 451, as he becomes outraged by the environmental destruction and dehumanization of his society.

The film is loosely based on a 1966 science fiction novella about overpopulation by Harry Harrison, Make Room! Make Room!

READ-ALOUDS

Special guest readers will be highlighting key scenes from Fahrenheit 451:

Tuesday, April 18 at noon at Edwards Books in Tower Square. Special guest readers include Mayor Charles V. Ryan, State Senator Stephen Buoniconti, and Fire Chief Gary Cassanelli.

Friday, April 21 at noon at Eastfield Mall (Filene's Court). Special guest readers include State Senator Brian Lees and State Representative Gale Candaras.

ART CLASS

The Museum School at the Springfield Museums will be offering Painting with Mixed Media: The Art of Fahrenheit 451 , which will be held April 8 and 22, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Work will be exhibited at the 451 Showcase. Registration is limited, and is free to Springfield residents aged fifteen and up. See www.springfieldmuseums.org/learn for details.

mORE pARTICIPATION iDEAS

The 451 Showcase is an opportunity for people who have read Fahrenheit 451 to respond to the book creatively. You may want to dance, rap, sing, mime, read, sign, act, draw, paint, sculpt, or quilt your response to the book. Be creative! Work by yourself or with others and be prepared to wow the 451 audience at the Davis Auditorium in the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday, April 29. Not feeling creative? Attend the 451 Showcase on April 29 at 1:00 p.m. to see how others in the community were inspired by the book.

Burning Issues essay contest will be accepting entries through April 5, with winners in both teen and adult divisions announced at the 451 Showcase on April 29. First place winners will have the opportunity to read their essays at the showcase.

All One Book events are free and open to the public.