This documentary is a wonderful way to introduce discussions around multiculturalism and intercultural contact to the EFL classroom. Set in post-industrial Ohio, the camera team follows the opening of a Chinese factory. Due to the employment of 2000 American workers, conflicts arise as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

This novella addresses present-day themes and issues wrapped up in a far from realistic scenario. When Esther and her friends are approached by a billionaire, the challenge they were confronted with was not one they expected. In return for a thousand dollars each, they have to give up their smartphones for six weeks. But what […]

As a combination of evolutionary biology and anthropology, this work of non-fiction offers answers to some of life’s most fascinating questions. The subheading On the Evolution and Future of the Human Animal gives a glimpse of the insightful content specifically written for younger readers. From what point on and how did humans differentiate themselves from […]

This young-adult book focuses on child abuse, parental neglect, social stratification, and friendship and is structured as diary entries of the two girls Treasure and India.Young Treasure lives with her mother and her abusive stepfather Terry who one day hits her with his belt and scars her forehead. Upon this incident, Treasure’s grandmother takes her […]

Katie loves her family, weird quirks included. However, she can’t help but feel misunderstood by her parents and longs for a fresh start at Art School in California. Her Dad insists on one last road trip to bond as a family. And so, the Mitchells embark on a trip across the country to drop Katie […]

Robots is an animated science fiction comedy about material values, consumerism, and perseverance. Young robot Rodney Copperbotton follows his dream to become an inventor and leaves his home for the big city to meet his idol Bigweld whose company hires inventors and provides robots with spare parts. Upon arriving, however, Rodney learns that Bigweld has […]

This Black Mirror episode is dealing with helicopter parents, surveillance, the issues with surveillance technology, and the importance of stressful experiences. When little Sara gets lost for a while because she was following a cat, her mother Marie takes her to get an “Arkangel”-implant letting Marie not only access Sarah’s location but also see and […]

This Black Mirror episode deals with the ethics of talent shows, consumerism, surveillance, and sensationalism.It features a system making people ride stationary bikes in order to earn “Merits”, a digital currency. Living in a room plastered with monitors they are forced to watch commercials or pay Merits if they want to skip them. When main […]

This novella tells the tragic story of a 14-year-old’s death and the impact gang violence has not only on those directly affected, but their loved ones as well. When Jerome is found stabbed and left bleeding on the street, his mother needs answers. But can the hard truth give her the closure she’s looking for? […]

This short story describes the destructive effect of consumerism on a human level. To this end, the shopping frenzy is brought to absurd perversion. The story is written from the perspective of a salesman working his shift on Black Friday. Especially on this occasion, shopping has become an endeavour of life and death. People turn […]

This animated film follows the life of a small robot called WALL-E. He spends his days collecting garbage on a deserted Earth, made uninhabitable by human behaviour. When he is visited by a probe, EVE, he falls madly in love with her and follows her across the galaxy back to her spaceship. There, on the […]

A dystopian novel on the difference between freedom and security, surveillance, brain-altering surgery, and the power of mind and imagination. In the near future, the rust belt states are reigned by anarchy. Most people have lost their jobs and homes, the streets are not safe and there is a constant threat of being mugged, raped, […]

A classic case of a Robinsonade, this film explores the extraordinary life of Chuck Noland. As a systems analyst executive with a terrible work-life-balance, Chuck regularly travels for work. On his way to Malaysia, his plane crashes, leaving him stranded on an uninhabited island as the sole survivor. He spends the next four years with […]

This painting has become on of the most famous symbols of Romanticism. The wanderer is the embodiment of the traveler from Romantic poetry looking for nature and the sublime. The Rückenfigur as a typical Romanitic picture motif represents the yearning for a unitiy of man and nature in contrast to industrialised cities and growing poverty. […]

This Victorian Bildungsroman is about Victorian society and values ranging from accounts about upper-middle to lower class. The novel follows protagonist David Copperfield through his life and especially highlights the social issues of Victorian times. David is orphaned being quite young, visits a boarding school, and is handed from guardian to guardian. He encounters middle-class […]

This movie explores poverty in regard to social class differences, as well as identity construction, gender stereotypes, and homosexuality. Billy Elliot is an 11-year-old boy of poor family background. His father and brother are miners who stick to clear gender roles. When Billy is sent to take boxing lessons, he witnesses a ballet class and […]

A children’s book about friendship, individualism, and the difference between luxury and simple values. Corduroy is a teddy bear in a department store waiting to be sold. He is discovered by a young girl whose mother, however, refuses to buy the beer who is even missing a button. Hearing this, Corduroy sets out to find […]

The painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is often described as timeless and univeral. It shows three customers and a waiter in an all-night diner, but none of these ‘night owls’ portrayed here appear to talk to each other. The fluorescent lighting, which was a new development in American restaurants in the 1940s, as well as […]