Arlington West at Pierce Film Festival

Today as part of the Pierce College Film Festival, artists Peter Dudar and Sally Marr's documentary Arlington West was shown. Arlington West is about the war memorial next to the Santa Monica Pier erected every Sunday by the Veterans for Peace. The film consists of moving interviews of American soldiers and military families who come to the memorial to grieve the loss of their loved ones and to honor those troops who have died in the Iraq war.

There were so many interviews from the film that affected me emotionally. One interview that stands out in my mind is the one with the soldier who tested positive for having depleted uranium in his system. I remember that during the build up to the war that there was a lot of discussion and debate about the U.S. military's practice of coating its missiles in depleted uranium. Whatever happened to that issue? I never hear about it anymore, yet our soldiers are suffering from exposure to depleted uranium.

I was also really struck by the soldier who had a catalogue for anyone to order weapons from. To me, this illustrates the foolishness and danger of the arms trade, as the U.S. continues to produce and provide weapons and military training to countries with brutal regimes who are guilty of human rights abuses.

One more interview that has been haunting me was the soldier who told the story of how he witnessed a small child being blown up by a landmine. It made me feel angry that the United States refuses to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (the Ottawa Treaty, 1999) which bans the production and use of land mines, even though 157 countries have signed the treaty.

Following the film, soldier Agustin Aguayo spoke about his experience in the military and his journey to becoming a conscientious objector. Agustin explained that after he completed his military contract, he was informed by the military that due to the stop-loss policy his contract would be extended.

Agustin also told stories of his comrades dying before his eyes and how he had to place them in body bags. He talked about how he chooses to speak out because of his belief that whether or not you are for or against the war, the public needs to hear from soldiers and hear what the realities of war are.

Sally spoke next and added a few details to Agustin's account, including the fact that the entire time he was in Iraq, he never loaded his gun once. Many in the audience broke out in spontaneous applause at this statement. Also, when he refused to comply with the military's stop-loss policy, Agustin served 7 months in a military prison as a result. Peter asked the audience how many knew what the stop-loss policy is, and called on one student who explained that the military can extend soldiers' contracts beyond the length of time of the original contract.

A particularly moving moment occurred when Peter and Sally invited audience members to share any stories they have about their loved ones who have served or are currently serving in the military. A student raised her hand and through her tears told how she knows someone in the military who is having a very difficult time. Peter responded by giving her a hug.

At another point, Peter asked the audience, "How many of you know about Britney Spears shaving her head?" to which many in the audience raised their hands. He then posed the question, "How many of you know how many soldiers have died in Iraq?" to which it appeared that no one knew the correct answer. Sally asked if anyone knew how many Iraqi people have died as a result of the war, and again, it appeared that no one was quite sure of the answer. I heard some students in the front say, "It's because the media doesn't tell us!".

By the way, according to icasualties.org there have been 4065 reported deaths of U.S. soldiers in the Iraq War. As for how many Iraqi deaths there have been as a result of the U.S. invasion, in October of 2006 John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a study in the Lancet listing the amount of Iraqi casualties as estimated at 654,965 people. This number is from 2 years ago but since the results of the study indicate that approximately 143,000 deaths per year are occurring as a result of the war, then we can estimate that by now close to a million Iraqis have died.

Sally mentioned another statistic, that 18 veterans a day are committing suicide. That number comes from a recent lawsuit challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs mental health system. According to the April 23, 2008 article "VA faulted in diagnosing suicide candidates" by Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle, in court testimony an e-mail was revealed written by top VA mental health official, Ira Katz. In this e-mail Katz says that veterans were committing suicide at the rate of 18 per day. The lawsuit asserts that the VA did not provide adequate care to the veterans who committed suicide.

Towards the end of the presentation, one student stood up and made some comments. (I will do my best to paraphrase- I was putting the microphone away so please excuse me if I don't get it exactly right) She reminded the students that bringing back the draft is a real possibility. She referred to Peter and Sally's colorful style of dress and pointed out how the generation of the sixties was motivated to action to stop the Vietnam War, and how they were not silent but spoke out. She said that she wants her generation to take action and do someting to stop the Iraq War. She spoke about how when the Iraq War was just starting, she attended protests in front of the Federal Building on Wilshire in Los Angeles. She wants her generation to do more than socialize on MySpace and Facebook, but to care and take direct action to stop the war in Iraq.

After the presentation, one professor commented that it was difficult not to cry throughout the film which I agreed with. One student asked me for more information regarding the war memorial and the Veterans for Peace. Another student asked Sally and Peter if she could join them at their presentations and speak out against war.

There was a little time for student questions, but not nearly enough, so hopefully we can continue the discussion in the blogosphere.

Feel free to answer any of the following questions:

What is your reaction to the film presentation? Were there any particular interviews that stood out for you? What did you agree with? What did you disagree with? How did the film and panel discussion make you feel? What solutions and alternatives are there to war? Would you support bringing back the draft? Why do military recruiters target poor areas? What role does the media play in shaping the public's view towards war? How can society best help soldiers and their loved ones?

Photo Depicts Violence in Baghdad

Today we looked at a photograph from yesterday's Los Angeles Times depicting the graphic violence occurring in Baghdad. The photo, taken by Karim Kadim of the Associated Press, shows three Iraqi men carrying wounded small children (perhaps toddlers) covered in blood either unconscious or dead. The headline reads "Clashes kill more than 20 in Sadr City" and the subtitle reads "Mortar shells land in residential areas. The deaths of five U.S. troops are reported". The description under the photo reads "Young victims: wounded children are taken to a hospital ...by foot because of a ban on vehicles in the Shiite stronghold, where militiamen are battling Iraqi and U.S. Forces". The photo is found on page 5.

In class we looked at issues surrounding violence in the media and the danger of becoming desensitized. The photo in the Los Angeles Times is an example of one type of violent imagery found in the media. What is your reaction to the photograph?