With any documentary the possibility for bias is always evident, usually the way the film is edited lets that bias creep out. Some times it may have been done on a subconscious level, other times it is deliberate shaping of others words to have them say what you want them to say. It is very easy to create the impression that someone is talking about X when the original interview was discussing Y. I know first hand because it has happened to me.
With this film it always seemed to focus on the negative effects and consequences of every action. Everything that was shown was of looting, horrors, misery, starvation and people being forced to become a member of a militia to survive. While I'm sure that all of these things happened on some level the movie makes it seem like all of Iraq was like this and that no one was safe or happy. No End In Sight described the first few years of the war as period of complete looting and destruction of the infrastructure of Iraq and of a lawless, murder-filled hell.
However I watched another documentary called Voices Of Iraq which showed something different. The movie composed of footage from 150 video cameras that were distributed to citizens of Iraq gives the viewer a real connection to the people and their problems, their feelings, their hopes and their dreams. Like I said before, editing can create bias so I view Voices with the same skepticism as I had with No End. However there is no denying the vibrancy and passion of the people captured on camera.
One scene I found interesting was of a former prisoner who had been tortured by Saddam's men telling the American people that we shouldn't feel sorry for those prisoners who were show naked and jailed at Abu Ghraib because they were the same ones that tortured him, he said he knew every single one of those men and they treated him far, far worse then they were being treated. There was even an interview with the man who attempted to assassinate Uday Hussain when he came to the local market to pick a woman to rape which he did every week. Despite shooting him multiple times he failed to kill Uday but forever crippled him. It was refreshing to see women graduating from college, people receiving passports, openly criticizing both American and Iraqi politics, creating art and music, surfing the net, and just having the chance to do what they have been denied for so many years. My favorite highlight was hearing 20-somethings rapping, calling each other "dude", and jamming in their Metallica-inspired Metal band.
Both affluent and poverty stricken communities were shown as well as Sunni, Sh**te, (I got censored for this word earlier) Christian, and Kurdish people. The negatives and the positives were shown without narrator dialog however some western newspaper headlines were shown before relevant footage that sometimes contradicted what was being reported in the West. After watching both of these documentaries and being confronted with two such opposing opinions one may find it difficult to say which one is presenting the truth. I say that the answer is neither; the truth is somewhere in the middle.
The one thing that both of these documentaries did for me was to fill me with the desire to help and support the Iraqi people. It inspired me to help them restore the nation that they deserve, to restore the greatness of the nation that has been kept alive in their hearts. The terrorists, insurgents, looters, suicide bombers, and murders will try to control these people, try to return them to slavery, try to shatter their individuality and destroy their proud heritage. Those people must be stopped. It is time that the hardships and sacrifices that the people of Iraq have made are rewarded with the freedom to love and prosper in peace. That is what those who kill and terrorize fear the most.
Iraq your day is coming, be strong, we are with you!
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