Frontline
Season 12
TV-MA
Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
Where to Watch Season 12
20 Episodes
- The Heartbeat of AmericaE1
The Heartbeat of AmericaFRONTLINE opens its twelfth season with the story of General Motors--the world's largest industrial company and the symbol of corporate America's once golden age of optimism. A co-production with the Center for Investigative Reporting, the program examines how GM went from being the undisputed number-one car company to suffering a $23.5 billion loss last year--the biggest U.S. corporate loss on record. Can GM halt its decline? What went wrong? FRONTLINE looks for answers to those questions in this saga of a once mighty company that is struggling to regain its past glory. At stake are the livelihoods of GM's 736,000 workers worldwide and millions more who produce the steel, glass, rubber, and plastic that go into GM cars and trucks. [90 minutes] - Prisoners of SilenceE2
Prisoners of SilenceFacilitated communication (FC) has been heralded as a breakthrough technique for nonverbal people with autism. The method uses a helper to control the involuntary movements of an autistic person's hand, allowing that person to type his or her thoughts on a keyboard. Thousands of people have begun using FC, often to communicate major life decisions like the desire to go to college or to move to a new home. But many scientists reject FC as simply not real and believe that it is the facilitator who is unknowingly controlling the hand of the autistic individual. FRONTLINE presents a comprehensive investigation of this controversial technique, interviewing the leaders of the FC movement, scientists, facilitators, and parents of autistic children and raises tough questions about the implications of its use for people with autism and their families. - Secrets of a Bomb FactoryE3
Secrets of a Bomb FactoryWes McKinley didn't know what he was getting into when, in 1990, he was chosen as foreman of a special grand jury investigating potential crimes at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado. But what McKinley and the other grand jurors learned in their two-and-one-half years of listening to testimony and examining other evidence disturbed them enough to risk prosecution themselves by going public. FRONTLINE, in co-production with Oregon Public Broadcasting, examines what the grand jury learned and what led to their rebellion. - Showdown in HaitiE4
Showdown in HaitiFRONTLINE examines the escalating confrontation between the Haitian military government and the Clinton administration. Interviewing military ruler Lt. General Raoul Cedras, exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, U.S. officials, Haitian businessmen, and Aristide supporters, the program covers developments in Haiti up to the time of broadcast, setting events in historical context and examining what is at stake for President Clinton's foreign policy. 'Showdown in Haiti' includes interviews with two Aristide supporters, Antoine Izmery, a major financial backer of Aristide's political coalition, and Justice Minister Guy Malary. Both men were assassinated only days after they spoke to FRONTLINE. - Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?E5
Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?At the heart of the mystery of who killed John F. Kennedy lies the puzzle of Lee Harvey Oswald. Marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, FRONTLINE presents an investigative biography of the man at the center of the political crime of the century. The program follows Oswald's life story from his boyhood to Dallas, 1963. Was Oswald the emotionally disturbed lone gunman of the 1964 Warren Commission Report? Was he, as the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded, only one of two gunmen that day in Dallas? Or was he an unwitting 'patsy' for the real assassins, as Oswald himself claimed when he was arrested on November 22, 1963? - AIDS, Blood and PoliticsE6
AIDS, Blood and PoliticsSince the outbreak of AIDS more than a decade ago, an estimated 30,000 Americans have become infected after receiving HIV-contaminated blood or blood products. FRONTLINE,in association with The Health Quarterly, investigates the ten-year history of AIDS and the blood supply. Airing on the eve of World AIDS Day, the program asks why the nation's guarantors of safe blood, including the American Red Cross and the Food and Drug Administration, failed to safeguard the blood supply from the deadly virus in the early 1980s, and why, still today, some of the nation's largest blood banks are not yet in full compliance with federal regulations on blood safety. - Behind the BadgeE7
Behind the BadgeIn a year in which national attention has focused on police brutality trials in cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, and Miami, FRONTLINE crosses 'the blue line' to examine police culture and to ask what do cops think of us? Longtime police beat reporter Jack Newfield offers a close up look into the world of cops - their frustrations and their fears - through the different experiences of cops in the New York City Police Department. Key figures in New York's recent police corruption hearings are interviewed as well as Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and members of the rank and file. - A Place for MadnessE8
A Place for MadnessIn the last quarter century, many of the mentally ill in this country were discharged from hospitals with no coherent provision for follow-up care. The hundreds of thousands wandering the streets evoke our compassion, stir our conscience, and, for those mentally ill who are violent, test our definition of individual rights and liberties. FRONTLINE examines the troubling conflict between protecting the rights of the mentally ill to live outside of the mental hospitals and safeguarding society from those who are dangerous to themselves and to others. To explore this dilemma, the program focuses on the community of Northampton, Massachusetts, and the personal stories of one family, several mentally ill residents, and the lawyers, psychiatrists, and care givers who deal with the mentally ill on a daily basis. - The Diamond EmpireE9
The Diamond EmpireSecond only to Christmas, Valentine's Day is the holiday when diamonds are most often given as the ultimate token of love. Central to the diamond's role as a romantic symbol is the belief that diamonds are one of the rarest, most precious gifts for a loved one. But it's only a myth--diamonds are found in plentiful supply. FRONTLINE examines how the great myth about the scarcity of diamonds and their inflated value was created and maintained over the decades by the diamond cartel. This report chronicles how one family, the Oppenheimers of South Africa, gained control of the supply, marketing, and pricing of the world's diamonds. - Tabloid Truth: the Michael Jackson StoryE10
Tabloid Truth: the Michael Jackson StoryOn a quiet Sunday morning at home in the San Fernando Valley, a freelance reporter got a call from an expert in child sex crimes: Michael Jackson was under investigation. By the time the reporter's story aired twenty-four hours later, the media feeding frenzy was underway. Within a matter of days of the first report, the Jackson story had jumped from hard, verifiable news to spectacle and entertainment. FRONTLINE correspondent Richard Ben Cramer goes behind the scenes of the television coverage of the Michael Jackson story to look at the people, organizations, and economic pressures that have led to the tabloidization of American television. The program follows a few of the most exuberant and successful of the tabloid press as they pursue the Jackson story. - Red Flag Over TibetE11
Red Flag Over TibetWhat is the fate of Tibet? To explore that question, FRONTLINE asked Orville Schell, an author and longtime observer of China, to make the journey to the Roof of the World. Forty years of Chinese occupation have left tens of thousands of Tibetans dead and six thousand Tibetan monasteries and temples destroyed. Today, the Dalai Lama is in exile, Lhasa, the capital, is predominantly Chinese, and one of Tibet's most sacred lakes is being developed for Chinese hydroelectric power. Schell vividly chronicles the history and culture of Tibet, explores the Chinese view of Tibet, and looks at why the survival of Tibet's people and culture has become an international issue. - In the GameE13
In the Game'We just know this is our season--we want it all! So there's nothing that's going to get in our way,' says Trisha Stevens, one of the stars of the 1990 Stanford University women's basketball team. In this FRONTLINE report, producer Becky Smith takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Stanford team, its coach, and the season they set out to win the biggest dream in college sports--a national championship. Smith's six-month record of the team's 'miracle season' captures their spirit and determination, details coach Tara VanDerveer's strategy and tenaciousness, and chronicles the grueling twists and turns on the road to the title. The program poses important questions about the obstacles facing women's athletics which continue to fight for equal opportunities, funding, and media coverage. - The Kevorkian FileE14
The Kevorkian FileJust a few years ago, nobody had ever heard of Jack Kevorkian. Today, he is the most famous doctor in America--and the most controversial. Kevorkian is celebrated by his supporters as a merciful angel of death, the only man courageous enough to publicly step forward to help those suffering needlessly at the end of life--the champion of a new civil-rights issue. To his opponents, Kevorkian is Dr. Death, a discredited pathologist whose obsession with death has led him to kill patients who are not yet at the end of their lives; a man who is trying to push America into a nightmarish future of death on demand. Who is the real Jack Kevorkian? FRONTLINE presents an in-depth examination Jack Kevorkian's record--exploring the man, his cases, and the issue he has come to personify. - The Struggle for RussiaE16
The Struggle for RussiaOn May Day 1993, thousands of hard-core Russian Communists, their supporters, and militant nationalists rioted in Moscow's streets. Hundreds were injured. Protesters denouncing their government's massive economic reforms vowed to continue to forcefully resist these measures. Will 1994 be another bloody May Day for Russia's troubled people? FRONTLINE presents the story of the rise and fall of Boris Yeltsin, exploring the past two years of Russia's economic chaos and social turmoil and examining why Yeltsin's 'shock therapy' dramatically foundered. The program examines how social and political forces crippled Yeltsin and how the resulting power vacuum was skillfully seized by populist, fascist leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. [120 minutes] - Romeo and Juliet in SarajevoE17
Romeo and Juliet in SarajevoThe international press named the couple 'Romeo and Juliet.' He was Bosko Brckic, a twenty-four-year-old Serb. She was twenty-five-year-old Admira Ismic, a Muslim. Together, they tried to escape the war in Sarajevo and marry. But late in the afternoon of May 19, 1993, on a bridge leading out of Sarajevo, they died in each other's arms, shot down by snipers in the hills overlooking the besieged city. On the one-year anniversary of their deaths, as the tragic struggle over former Yugoslavia continues, FRONTLINE pieces together the story of this couple's life and their struggle to build a future together in the midst of war and in defiance of the centuries-old Balkan conflict. [90 minutes] - Public Lands, Private ProfitsE18
Public Lands, Private ProfitsSenator Dale Bumpers calls it 'probably the most outrageous practice still going on in this country.' He is referring to a federal law passed in 1872 that allows mining companies to extract billions of dollars in public minerals virtually for free. FRONTLINE, in co-production with the Center for Investigative Reporting, examines the gold mining industry--which is in the midst of a boom bigger than the 1849 California gold rush--and the call for congressional reforms to halt environmental disasters and taxpayer giveaways. Correspondent Robert Krulwich surveys the impact of mining activities and focuses on the pitched political fight over control of mineral resources, like gold and silver, on public lands. - Go Back to Mexico!E19
Go Back to Mexico!America continues to wage a battle against the stream of undocumented immigrants entering the country. An estimated three million undocumented immigrants currently reside in the US. Each year, another three hundred thousand illegal immigrants arrive in the US in addition to the nearly nine hundred thousand who are legally accepted. How long can America sustain this influx of immigrants? And how real are the growing fears about economic costs and long-term social and political disruption? Frontline correspondent William Langewiesche explores these questions, focusing on California. - The Trouble with EvanE20
The Trouble with EvanWhat makes 11 year-old Evan lie, fight and steal? And what leads his parents to heap verbal abuse on their son, to tell him, 'I would like to lock you up in a cage and let everybody look at you like you're an animal'? Using surveillance cameras placed inside Evan's home, Frontline dramatically records one family's turmoil as they try to cope with and change their son's behavior and examines the vital connection between parenting and juvenile crime.
