This week I have had the time to sit and watch 2 online documentaries I had earlier bookmarked. Both have had a considerable impact on me.

The first is titled Small Town Ecstasy and this is a quote from it;

“The filmmakers set out to document the true nature of Ecstasy use in America. In the course of filming they came across the story of one family in rural Northern California.”

I have markedly changed the way I view Ecstasy and the drug scene in general after watching this work. It speaks to the genius of the documentary maker that what they presented was ultimately so compelling.

http://youtu.be/madKm20lEfE

The second work is Winter Soldier, a documentary about the Winter Soldier Investigation held in Detroit in 1971.

From Wikipedia;

“was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) from January 31, 1971 – February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War. The VVAW challenged the morality and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit, Michigan. Discharged servicemen from each branch of military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years of 1963–1970.”

http://youtu.be/Kj8qYd68rxE

This was riveting stuff and shone a light into places that most of us try to keep at bay, the potential of every human to act in an unspeakable manner given the right circumstances (and training). It lead to me watching John Kerry testifying at a congressional hearing and giving one of the most impressive speeches one could wish to hear.
http://youtu.be/ucY7JOfg6G4

It is again a compelling work with themes that are so very topical today. Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza are all seen in a different light after watching Winter Soldier.

I commend both works for the consideration of OLOers and ask any others who are drawn to online documentaries to nominate, if they are so inclined, those they found most powerful.

Hi Steele, the problems we here in Australia have yet to realise is the fact the ADF is NOT addressing the issues of PTSD and associated mental/physical manifestations in returning servicepersons.

As a former soldier with 'peacetime' service 1977 - 1988 in the ARA, and more recently Reserve service, it dismays me greatly to see the condition most returning from the "Sand Pit" are left to e.g. Self medication via alcohol and other readily available substances.

I myself entered the military at the age of 16yrs to gain an apprenticeship. In 1977, many of my NCO's, Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers were only recently returned from the Vietnam conflict and were obviously dealing with many demons. In seeing the 2 films you linked here on OLO, it brought back memories of my Carter Staff at Balcombe and other places subsequent to there.
Our Platoon Sergeant in my first year, - who was a Scot, was an obvious psychopath as exhibited by his physical abuse towards some of my fellow apprentices.

Were any of these men guilty of "War Crimes" in the true sense of it...I cannot say, but I do know that listening to their stories, some may well have seen, or been witness to, the unpleasant nature of men in war.

In later years I have witnessed, whilst working as a civilian contractor on ADF bases, the marked changes in some ADF members who had been to Iraq & Afghanistan. One particular incident that stays vivid is an older man relating to me what he witnessed in Iraq, and was unable to prevent because his "superior officer" had stepped in and removed him from the scene.

The full ramifications of this and countless other witnesses to unspeakable acts (from both sides of the combat) will only become evident as time erodes their minds, as some traumatic event unhinges their tenuous control over whatever is inside. I pray that somewhere the people who know what happened, come to their senses, and organise the needed care for those who have served their country, but are discarded once out of uniform.

@Steele,

<<It is again a compelling work with themes that are so very topical today. Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza are all seen in a different light after watching Winter Soldier>>

How so Steele, please tell us more?

Dear Albie Manton in Darwin,

Thank you for your input. You are completely correct in saying we all have a responsibility to take proper care of those we send to kill and maim in our name.

By our very nature the act of taking the life of another is difficult and for some impossible. The training of a soldier by definition strips away that reluctance and there are obvious psychological consequences. As Kerry and the documentary points out these desensitised individuals are placed in a situation of intense indoctrination leaving them as often unquestioning tools for those in command and the political elites.

It is often only after a period when the previous surrender of heart and mind recedes that the full horror of what they participated in manifests itself with debilitating results.

We all know what Timothy McViegh's manifestation was and this from Wikipedia is telling;

“Speaking of his experience in Iraq in an interview before his execution ... McVeigh stated he decapitated an Iraqi soldier with cannon fire on his first day in the war and celebrated. He said he later was shocked to be ordered to execute surrendering prisoners...”

For me what encapsulates the issues in Winter Soldier and what you have raised is a letter left by another Humvee machine gunner, one who took his own life. Here's a part;

“The simple truth is this: During my first deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not come back from. I take some pride in that, actually, as to move on in life after being part of such a thing would be the mark of a sociopath in my mind. These things go far beyond what most are even aware of.”
http://gawker.com/i-am-sorry-that-it-has-come-to-this-a-soldiers-last-534538357

Dear SPQR,

Watch the documentary and if the answer is not self evident then I am unable to help you.

C'mon Steele (don't do a Foxy on us) tell us the hidden message?

SPQR, agreeably so the issues are topical, as are the issues of Vietnam Veterans, Korean Veterans, WWII Veterans and not so WWI as they have all but disappeared. The bigger picture issue is that even highly decorated and respected men like John Cantwell (read: Exit Wounds) who are suffering from their experiences. If the government cannot or more likely will not, look after people who served their country, that same country who sent them over to do the dirty work must expect that at some time in the future there will be an accounting.

If you cannot organise adequate health care, de-briefings, deprogramming...whatever, then you must certainly expect events like suicides, murder-suicides, and other acts of crime against the person.

Darwin is a hot bed, the rates of crimes against the person prior to ADF population increases in the 1990's were in the region of 12 times higher per capita than in New York at the same period. Post 9-11 and deployments returning with their myriad of issues and we see the same results magnified. It is only the reported cases that get attention, the 1 Brigade padres have their hands full, as does the legal profession.

And our government wants to let 35,000 US troops set up shop across the harbour at Mandorah ....wait for the horrors that visited residents of Subic Bay and other Pacific US bases, to land here on our own shores.

Abie,

Thanks for that. However, knowing how one-eyed Steele is, I suspect he would have discerned a deeper darker message. He'll no doubt roll it out in some future crusade, sorry, I mean thread.

Dear SteeleRedux,

There have been quite a few films that
have made quite an impact on me. The first
is "Katyn," by Andrzej Wajda - that dealt
with the Katyn massacre. The second was
called "The Singing Revolution," that dealt
with hundreds of thousands of Estonians fighting
for their freedom from the Soviet Union.

Then of course we have films like - "Inside Job,"
which left me totally gobsmacked. Then there was
the David Frost - Richard Nixon Interview in 1977,
that I got to watch recently.
That was fascinating. And "Downfall," which
showed Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker.
Then of course there's the gem - "Breaker Morant,"
that always makes a huge impact.

I also recently watched the "Railway Man," starring Colin Firth.
It was an extraordinarily powerful and remarkable film.
A true story. It deals with young British and ANZAC soldiers
who became prisoners of war when the Japanese overran
Singapore. Of course - there's also two more films
that made an impact - "The King's Speech," again with Colin
Firth, and "The Queen" with Helen Mirren.

I'm not sure if this is the type of information that you wanted
from us - but that's it for now from me.

Dear Foxy,

Thank you, good to see you back after ablation #2. Mine was done nearly 7 years ago now and so far so good.

The works you have cited are all very worth in their own right but I was particularly looking to focus on the documentary that captures time and place in a very immediate manner. The Inside Job was excellent and for those who haven't seen it it is also free online here;

http://archive.org/details/cpb20120505a

While there is an obvious difference between it and a film like the King's Speech, the latter being a dramatisation of real events, there still is to some degree staging, setting the scene, and rehearsing questions that ultimately make the Inside Job in turn different to the two I posted at the start. Both of those run with an opportunity, capture the moment, and make the best of lighting, sound and dialogue that presumably have minimal input from the documentary maker. The result can be very raw but for me it often serves to elevate the poignancy of the characters and events. Scott's words to the camera at the 60 minute mark in Small Town Ecstasy had me in near tears.

I am of the opinion therein lies a special skill, a combination of foresight or perhaps more accurately of recognising the possibilities and then having the courage to run with something that sets documentary makers such as these apart. This type of work may well be, to some degree at least, an acquired taste. But for me the real and substantial questions about life and death, about meaning, of distilling the vital over the mundane, all manage to spring from the best of them.

Take for instance this little piece from the Dutch equivalent of our ABC. It is about some cocoa bean farmers in the Ivory Coast. It is certainly not of the breadth of the others flagged here but it certainly garnered some discussion in our household. If you have the time I would be keen to hear your perspective on it to see how it tallied with ours.
http://youtu.be/zEN4hcZutO0

Dear SteeleRedux,

Thank You. So far so good with my Ablation #2.
So fingers-crossed that my end results will
be similar to yours.

"Inside Job" had quite an impact on me.
As did the other films I mentioned.
Each in their own way. The relevance of the "Inside Job,"
to the world we live in today was more immediate and
frightening.

Have you seen any of John Pilger's documentaries?
Especially his most recent - "Utopia"?

I haven't seen it but I would be curious as to your opinion,
if you have. There's been so much controversy surrounding
that film.

Dear Foxy,

I have not watched Utopia but it is on my to do list.

I will admit though my current preference is for documentaries with little to no commentary from the film maker, where the words and actions of those being filmed are what drives the narrative. Of course I am not oblivious to the power in the hands of those doing the editing but being free from being told what to think can be attractive.

Take the cocoa bean farmers presented in my last post. The initial reaction of concern about third world exploitation is joined and eclipsed by a shared delight of those experiencing for the first time the simple, universal, human pleasure of eating chocolate. There was humour, grace and degree of dignity portrayed in the clip.

The discussion here went to Australia's manufacturing decline brought on by our mineral sector growth and not helped by the control mining magnates have over our politics. The iron ore we ship goes to manufacturing powerhouses like China and Japan, to built structures like the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge which at over 164 kms long dwarfs our longest at 2.7kms and accommodates a highspeed rail link that is over 1100 kms long upon which the trains travel at over 300 kms per hour. How many of those workers digging the ore out of the Pilbura will get to experience rail travel like that? Or get to live in places like the extraordinary modern cities currently being built in China.

Dear SteeleRedux,

Most of us don't think too deeply about the
effects films have had on our lives, (and
continue to have). We simply take them for
granted - and we don't often realise that our
consciousness of many historical events -
and our reactions to them rely partly on
filmed images.

There seems to be a need to experience meaningful
life-enriching stories unfolding on the screen.
They can help audiences to re-thin their place in the
world - as your documentaries have obviously done
for you. Film has an exrtraordinary capacity to expand
our reality.

With that thought in mind - The Melbourne International
Film Festival kicks off on 31 July and continues until
17th August. If you happen to be in Melbourne at
sometime during that period, you might want to Google
the program. Just a thought.

OOOOps sorry for my typo.

I meant to say "re-think their place in the
world."

Dear Foxy,

You might find this online documentary illuminating. I have just posted it on another thread but it is worth flagging here.

http://vimeo.com/101819495

Called Gaza's Property Ladder (2013) makes some very keen observations about the real estate decisions of ordinary Gazans. I hope you find it interesting.