Movie with a Good Message Fails in Attendance
Fahima Israt
Issue date: 3/8/06 Section: News
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Dr. Groarke began by introducing the film and its content to the thirteen students who were peppered around Smith Auditorium. Occupation: Dreamland is a seventy-nine minute movie that shows the Army soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division who were stationed in the city of Fallujah in Iraq. This film was created for the Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds lived with the seven men during January 2004, filming the reactions of the Iraqi people and the soldiers' states of minds.
The content of the film surrounded the deep desire for stability on all sides. Scott and Olds capture moments among the soldiers that cannot otherwise be experienced by civilians. Many of the soldiers expressed their strong faith and belief in the United States government and their personal presence in Fallujah. Other soldiers, however, were not so keen on their orders. They believed that their presence was not bringing any kind of peace that was hoped for. Still other soldiers were indifferent. These soldiers felt that their feelings in the matter were not relevant. Another perspective that Scott and Olds brought to their audiences was of the Iraqi people. Many eager Iraqi men spoke to the soldiers, trying to communicate their side of the pain and suffering. Audiences were able to understand the dialogues due to translated subtitles.
"Each soldier had his own opinion of why they were there and overall the film did not have a noticeable bias but rather provided the viewer with both points of view," said Damien Germino, a freshman majoring in Biology and Psychology.
While attending a New York University seminar last summer, Dr. Groarke was shown Human Rights Films and was told she could "bring the films to show at school."
"After watching five films, I found Occupation: Dreamland, State of Fear, and Private to be the most interesting films," she explained.