Part I: Response to Heather
March 19, 2009 by Dave
“As I watched the film, I became even more enraged by soldiers who openly questioned why they were in Iraq…worse is they did it in uniform.”
To support and defend the constitution does not mean to blindly follow the political leaders that SERVE US but rather, to
keep our system in check by questioning the actions and decisions of our leaders while preserving the integrity from those who try to destroy such system. When we do not question and voice our opinions to our elected and appointed officials, we are not actively supporting our government that is working for the people, whether we are the general public, military, etc. By taking the military oath, we do not lose your rights as an American but gain more responsibilities and stake in our government. I feel that your interpretation of the rights and responsibilities we have as Americans (and especially military personnel) are skewed.
The way these guys expressed themselves may have been in bad taste and their opinions at times are unfounded but they quite certainly have the right to do so as long as they fulfill thier duties. Why this post struck a nerve with me was that I was asked not too long ago which candidate I was going to vote for president. I told the girl that I was not voting for any candidate, since I felt that none of them were suited for the position to lead us. She followed with, “Then you can’t complian or say anything when the president does something you don’t like.” Excuse me? I explained to her that I had every right, fuck - MORE RIGHTS - then her to express my opinions, voting or not. By being a veteran, I have more invested into this country and will no doubt continue to actively participate at every level that I can.
Comments
Heather
March 20, 2009
You can call my opinion skewed or you can just call it an opinion–which is what it is. In any case, I believe in those elected to represent us and I believe in this nation. It is why I have chosen to continue to serve and why I will “observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of the Armed Forces of the United States of America” RESPECTFULLY.
Chris
March 20, 2009
There’s a simple word for some of the men and their behavior in the film. Sh*tbag.
Michael
March 20, 2009
Thank you Chris. I completely agree with that.
Dave
March 22, 2009
While I may agree that some of them are acting like a bunch of asses, they still reserve the right to express their opinions about our government. Just because you and I have been taught courtesy and respect does not mean we are above them.
Matt
March 24, 2009
Dave, you said a bad word!
Tyler
March 24, 2009
Again, I’d have to say that I think they did a BAD job of expressing their views too. Very bad. It did discredit to the uniform. But still, as long as they did their jobs to the fullest then they have their right to their point of view… I just REALLY REALLY wish they had done a better job of saying it. Especially since it is on film.
From a filmmaker’s perspective, this greatly humanizes these soldiers for the audience. For some it could be viewed as bad but I could see a lot of people connecting with these soldiers for what they say. It’d be a hard call deciding whether or not to include that stuff if I had made the film. But in the end, what they said was how they felt and therefore not a lie in their opinions.
Shirley
March 24, 2009
Clearly we are all going to have different opinions about how to express points of view, what is appropriate for soldiers to say or not say while in uniform, etc. I’m curious, however, if you can look at some of the aesthetic and moral choices that Jeremy had to make. What would you have done if folks you were interviewing expressed these viewpoints? Do you leave them out, include them, censor them, etc? Who do you have a responsibilty to in creating your film? Has a film done its job (or at least one of its jobs) if it leaves people questioning, thinking, talking about it?
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STUDENT BLOGS
The course utilized a blog both to continue the discussion outside the classroom, and to provide training for the students in blogging, video compression, and video sharing.
Students used the blog to post reflections and ideas, to share and comment on the video assignments, and to respond to each other's posts.