Reasons to Report on "Over 9 Billion Dead Served"
I ) If you are interested in documentaries: (group of reasons I of 4)
This may be the only feature length documentary that:
a) Examines the illustrations of death and dying in American feature films
b) Is comprised entirely of "fair use" clips
c) Would, if produced under other circumstances, probably cost over $200 million to make
d) Is created almost entirely by one person (direction, production, camera, editing, narration, tech, research, etc.)
e) Presents findings that challenge all (?) previous studies of media violence
(most have literally, from Not The Enemy's perspective, under-reported casualties by a factor of tens of thousands).
f) Presents research for which the ORIGINAL data set is available to everyone.
(This "transparency" makes the documentary research claims independently verifiable. Try naming any other research project where that is true!)
II ) If you are interested in law:
a) This may be the most vigorous and best use of "fair use" -- ever.
b) Name any other documentary maker who has challenged a multi-billion dollar media corporation -- and won.
In this project, we challenged NINE multi-billion dollar media corporations -- and won!)
c) The RIAA lawsuits against hundreds of alleged illegal downloaders -- has gotten mountains of press.
Here is a case where many of the circumstances existed -- and the outcome is almost completely reversed.
d) The requirements, limitations, and challenges of "fair use" are made quite vivid in these web pages and the doc.
e) The examples of the documentary may encourage some to remember the original rational for copyright (which is necessarily an abridgement of free speech) and whether or not that purpose is in fact being served by copyright as it exists today.
III ) If you are interested in discouraging violence:
a) This documentary looks at America's favorite images of murder, mass murder, and remorseless mass murder.
It is hoped that this process will help discourage violence in two ways
1. By deconstructing media violence, it may make its emulation more visible and less appealing
2. The deconstruction of fictional violence that indulges in the creation of enemies for profit, may make real politically induced violence a bit more difficult to sell to the children of America tens of thousands of whom have been sent to die on the basis of sounds, images, and claims that are Hollywood-like fabrications of reality.
b) It may also facilitate a certain degree of real compassion for those who have suffered under the stereotypes and violence that have been widely encouraged by giant corporations -- that sometimes use Government-fortified claims of copyright infringement as a weapon against their critics -- and would-be critics.
IV ) If you are a human being:
a) Has anyone close to you died?
1. How well did you cope?
2. What examples of grief and mourning have you had?
b) Do you thing you may ever die?
1. What kind of examples of care-giving will have been provided those around you?
2. How have your loved ones been prepared to deal with your death?
c) Do you ever think that you might be a victim of violent crime / war?
1. How have the people around you been socialized to regard you?
For example, do you have reason to imagine they may (negatively) think of YOU as:
i) a Nazi?
ii) Black?
iii) Arab?
iv) Ugly?
v) Invisible? or
vi) A WMD-toting, freedom-hating, hole-dwelling, evil doer?
If the metaphoric torch of freedom is not to be passed to the cockroaches, it is time to contemplate the stories we do tell each other and the stories we would like to tell each other. I submit Americans can, and better, do better.
copyright Not The Enemy Media 2002-2004