Flicks for Kids Expert: DVDs Picks

Here are some DVD suggestions from our movie expert that your family can enjoy together. They are educational as well as entertaining and dramatic and might stimulate important family discussions with your kids.

Most appropriate for ages 8 and up

What It's About: Angela Bassett stars as the African-American woman who sparked the first major civil rights demonstration of the 1950s after she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man.

Why It's Important: Kids may already know Parks' story, but this award-winning made-for-TV movie vibrantly brings her to life, showing how one person can truly make a difference and offering a powerful lesson in humanity as well as history. The DVD also includes special features like a civil rights timeline.

Most appropriate for ages 10 and up

What It's About: The members of an extended African-American family living in a cramped Chicago apartment believe that a $10,000 insurance check will be their ticket to achieving the American dream, although they all have different ideas on which route to take to get there.

Why It's Important: This black and white classic based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play was considered groundbreaking when it was originally released in 1961 as it was one of the first movies to feature an all-African-American cast (led by the incomparable Sidney Poitier). The story takes an unflinching look at one family's life and reveals that, no matter what our skin color, we all have the same needs and desires for dignity, respect and a safe place to call home.

Most appropriate for ages 10 and up

What It's About: This award-winning documentary follows the lives of two high school students from inner-city Chicago as they try to break out of the ghetto and into the NBA.

Why It's Important: The movie beautifully depicts the boys' dreams and struggles to play professional basketball and make a better life for themselves. Although the story focuses on William Gates and Arthur Agee, it's ultimately about much larger issues like values, race, class, ambition and competition. Because the story is real, nothing is sugar-coated, and viewers are offered a rare opportunity to learn from the boys' trials and tribulations.

Most appropriate for ages 12 and up

What It's About: The true story of the 332nd Fighter Group, which started out as a government experiment and ended up breaking the color barrier, becoming the first black combat pilots ever as well as one of the most respected United States squadrons of World War II.

Why It's Important: With powerful performances by Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding, Jr., this inspiring movie shows the two wars these brave men fought to victory: one against our country's enemies and one against racism itself. The movie is also an overdue salute to the African-American soldiers who gave their lives for the United States, despite being treated like second-class citizens.

Most appropriate for ages 6 and up

What It's About: David, the son of a Louisiana sharecropper, is forced to grow up after his well-intentioned father is sentenced to a year of hard labor for stealing a ham to feed his hungry family.

Why It's Important: This is a movie about hope and the value of family. The relationship between David's parents (including Cicely Tyson in a quietly moving performance) is strong and solid, and provides a crucial foundation for their children. Despite overwhelming hardship, the family members never give up, living by David's father creed, "You lose some of the time what you go after, but you lose all of the time what you don't go after."