Rio Carnival | Mardi Gras in Brazil

Black Orpheus (The Criterion Collection)

Amazon Price: $32.99 (as of 05/27/2012)

Marcel Camus's 1959 update of the Greek myth ... at once demystifies and remystifies the old story, shifting not only its location but its tone and context, forcing a reevaluation of the legend as a more passionate, pulsing, sensual experience. The film is really one-of-a-kind, an absolute whirl that barely needs words. --Tom Keogh

Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism

by: Greg Grandin

Amazon Price: $5.84 (as of 05/27/2012)

Most Americans pay little attention to our southern neighbors; however, according to NYU Latin American history professor Grandin, the U.S. government has indeed been paying attention to the region. Grandin contends that Latin America has been a testing ground--a laboratory, if you will--for the U.S. government to exercise its imperialistic tendencies. Grandin argues that U.S.-Latin American relations, from the administration of Thomas Jefferson up to the present Bush presidency, should be seen as sure indication the U.S. has always harbored imperial intentions. --Brad Hooper (Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved)

Brazil

Amazon Price: $6.62 (as of 05/27/2012)

The nightmarish futuristic satire Brazil effectively blurs all lines between illusion and reality. Jonathan Pryce plays a government statistician who chooses to blind himself to the decaying world around him.