Interesting interview..."The battle-tested journalist talks about his unexpected turn in the spotlight with this doc about America's covert wars, how making the film changed him and what he might be considering for a follow-up."
http://www.moveablefest.com/moveable_fest/2013/06/jeremy-scahill-dirty -wars.html
Thanks for the link: it was an interesting read.
shareHe didn't seem very reluctant, what with all the shots of himself.
"Oooh here's me looking pensive" *being filmed in a staged shot from outside a cab*
"How can I make sense of it all ?!" *dramatically putting pins into a map*
*Shot of cute children*
*Shot of him using his 15" Apple MacBook Pro (tm) in a tent in Afghanistan*
And my favorite recurrent line: "As a war reporter, I..."
Then yet another staged shot of him looking pensive.
Horrible.
I'm ex military, but I agree that there's more going on in the world than you get to watch on Fox News. Bad things, idiotic things happen in the name of "freedom". Quality investigative journalism certainly has its place.
This, however, is not an example of investigative journalism, it's an example of someone saying LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME for 90 minutes.
e.: typo
agree with this person. This film seemed like a Jeremy Scahill vehicle movie.
shareThat's all potentially true. But whatever. At this point, journalism has been killed by the internet and anyone who attempts to report journalism has to be a "personality" to compete with the Anderson Coopers, Bill O'Reillys, etc. to get attention. Not to mention, those who do report actual investigative journalism continue to be labeled as "egomaniacs."
So, they might as well cash in since no one apparently cares about journalism anyway anymore.
I thought he did an amazing job. He looks good in front of camera. He pushes for answers. He uncovered a seriously disturbing subject and all while remaining apparently calm. He didn`t go for unnecessary heroic type actions in front of camera. He didn`t get OTT emotional.
All round a great doccie. I hope he produces more documentaries of this calibre.
You deserve an oscar Jeremy.
I don't necessarily disagree, but this is such a stupid thing to focus on compared to the information that he exposed. Also, he didn't even edit and direct the film.
Maybe try reading the book by the same name. It is more standard information. Frankly, if someone wants to expose the kind of stuff Scahill exposed here in service of his own ambition, I'm all for it. He could have easily advanced high in mainstream media by reporting on nonsense and abandoning his principles. Anyone who went to the places he did clearly did so out of conviction. If it helps his career at the same time, good. Things like this should help peoples' careers. If more people made it big in journalism because of stuff like this, we'd have much better media.
You know he didn't direct it right?
Scahill wanted to make a film about the issues, the directed wanted to make a film about an investigation.
The voice over and putting Scahill at the centre of the film were not his idea.
But when a film is about an investigation, you sort of need the person doing the investigation at the centre, especially when the content of the film is less talking heads and observation, and more about getting a point across.
It seemed to me that they didn't have the observation footage or talking heads to tell the story, so had to rely on the narrative of Scahills investigation itself, and how he tells the story.
How would you do that without putting him in the film?
The problem is that while it is an interesting expose, the story is a bit thin, the content a bit lacking and feels more like a newspaper article than a film. It should almost have been made 10 years from now with a conclusive ending, although the fact there is no real ending, like the war itself, is fitting.
There is a say in Spanish: "Le viste la forma pero no el fondo". It seems that you are a very smart guy, so look it up on the Internet and figure out what I am trying to say to you. After all, this is the DUMBEST COMMENT I have ever read at the IMDB website.
Be well!