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Rory Kennedy: Social Action through Film Posted: November 19, 2007 The Abu Ghraib scandal "may well be the steepest fall from grace in our nation's history," according to documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, the final speaker in the fall 2007 Bearing Witness series sponsored by the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts. Since cofounding the independent production company Moxie Firecracker in 1998, Kennedy has effectively used her camera to shine a light on the world's most pressing social issues. In her most recent film, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, she examined the policies that contributed to the torture of Iraqi prisoners--and "how Americans could treat another group of people so inhumanely." "There's an extensive amount of evidence that suggests not only did the administration know what was happening at Abu Ghraib, but in fact they authorized that behavior.… The abuse reaches to the top of the Bush administration," she told the audience. "The nation's standing as a leader on human rights and respect for the rule of law has been severely undermined by these atrocities … (and) the stakes are very high." In her lecture in Gamble Auditorium, Kennedy--daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy--discussed her work on Ghosts of Abu Ghraib and three earlier documentaries. "I try to give a voice to people who might not otherwise be heard outside their own community, or even outside their families," she said. "Once I start working with people and hear their stories, the statistics begin to have real meaning.… These are people whose paths are filled with heartache, too much suffering and depravation. What each of them has in common is the remarkable ability to overcome great obstacles… and I believe we have a lot to learn from them." In making her first feature documentary, American Hollow, Kennedy spent a year with a large, close-knit Appalachian family. In a short clip, she focused on a granddaughter trapped in an abusive marriage, using images of a torn Bible, slashed furniture, and two knives puncturing a television screen to illustrate the husband's rage. With the nearest police more than 100 miles away, the young woman turned to her family for refuge. "Domestic violence affects women of all socioeconomic backgrounds, but for women living in poverty and isolated areas, they have an added burden and added challenges," she told the audience. Kennedy's HBO documentary Pandemic followed the lives of five people living with AIDS in five different countries. As she interviewed victims, she was repeatedly told the most difficult aspect of the disease was dealing with its stigma. "It's a pretty large statement to say the emotional response of people is more difficult than the physical deterioration of your body," Kennedy said, after showing an emotional reunion between a young Thai prostitute and her parents. "The only way to really understand it is to witness a moment like this when you can see in (the parents') eyes how much they love their daughter.… They know she's dying, but they can't accept her into their house because of the stigma." The filmmaker also showed a clip from A Boy's Life, the story of a seven-year-old Mississippi boy born of a rape and whose violent, self-destructive behavior was attributed to maltreatment by his mother. When the child and his brother were taken in by his grandmother, social workers--and Kennedy--thought she "had really saved the day." After following the family for more than a year, however, Kennedy discovered the grandmother was the root of the child's problem--which she demonstrated in a scene where the grandmother provoked a tantrum by taunting the child, insisting he'd lost a footrace he'd actually won against his younger brother. "Sometimes bearing witness can be very challenging … but this scene was important in its reveal," Kennedy explained, noting the complexity of such family dynamics must be considered in developing effective social policies. "Many of us hear about social programs and think (they're) a waste of money … but what I've found is they make a world of difference for people living marginal lives, and it's essential we support these programs," she said. "Intervention is often the difference between hope and despair, between self-sufficiency and dependence, and sometimes even between life and death." Kennedy said she finds hope in her difficult subjects. "These are not films about defeat. My hope is that people will realize they can in fact make a difference. Each of us just needs to join in, to contribute to the fight." In her introduction, Weissman Center director Lois Brown called the filmmaker "a generous and intrepid soul." Students who worked with Kennedy earlier in the day in their leadership seminar "Truth and Daring: The Work of Documentary Journalists" had equally high praise. Linda Juhasz-Wood '08 found the experience inspiring. "Her emphasis on following your own strengths and passions and using them to make the world a better place was empowering," she said. Added Megan McGrath '11, "We were able to gain insight into a filmmaking genius." Related Links: Listen
to the audio clip (4.8 MB, Time: 7 minutes) Rory
Kennedy Speaks Out at Mount Holyoke College about Documentary Film - 22News
WWLP.com Bearing Witness Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts This notice expired on February 2, 2008.
Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/story/5484573
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