The growing buzz about “Body of War,” the touching documentary directed by University of Texas professor Ellen Spiro and talk show host Phil Donahue (remember him!) excites me for so many reasons. This story is one shared by hundreds of Americans and kudos to Spiro and Donahue for having the guts to approach this unnerving, uncomfortable subject. As a radio-television-film major-nerd I’m also jumping for joy that people, and the mainstream media, are giving documentary a chance. Finally, I’m impressed at how well publicity for the movie has been handled thus far.
“Body of War” follows 25-year-old war Veteran Thomas Young who suffered a bullet to his spine after serving in Iraq for only a week. Thomas is now paralyzed from the chest down. The documentary serves as a portal into Thomas’ slow, pained path to acceptance of his disability, and his development of a true, honest voice against the war in Iraq. The film is both inspiring and heartbreaking. Donahue and Spiro boldly give a face to a subject many American’s either don’t know about or choose to quietly ignore.
Thomas Young trained at Ft. Hood in Killeen, only about 70 miles away from Austin. His close proximity to the city helped fuel the support for “Body of War” in Texas, and at the South by Southwest Film Festival. On March 13, 2008 “Body of War” debuted at South by Southwest as an official selection. That night, musicians Tom Morello, Ben Harper, Serj Tankin, and Billy Bragg rocked together in a concert supporting the release of the documentary. Musicians championing “Body of War” has been one of the best forms of positive publicity for this film. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam wrote the song “No More” for Thomas Young. The album for this film has created almost as much buzz as the movie itself.
As far as anti-war documentaries go, “Body of War” is said to be one of, if not the best because of the way it brings the war home. Through Thomas Young’s amazing, inspiring story, this movie supports the soldiers and veterans while protesting the war. I must commend the public relations team for this film because it has spread the word about the film incredibly well. On the website, one can send media inquiries to josh@barancommunicatons.com. Josh, you have done a great job. The website for the film has a commendable press kit which obviously works. I just saw a clip on VH1 about this movie. Getting a politically charged documentary into the minds and discussions of young people is a great feat, and I’m happy to see it finally done. Inspiring young people to think about the war and how they can make a difference is even better. This film has a great message, and the passion felt by everyone involved shows through the successful public relations efforts. Thomas’ story is one that needs to be shared and the publicity for this film is doing him, and others like him everywhere, a great service.
The Mitchell Report, major league baseball’s McCarthy-esque attempt at catching steroid users, blacklisted a couple of Texas’ own good guys, Roger “The Rocket” Clemens and southpaw Andy Pettitte this past December. Senator George Mitchell’s twenty-month investigation found Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte guilty of using human growth hormone to enhance their performances on the field. Although the Los Angeles Times reported that pitcher Jason Grimsley named the two as H.G.H. users in 2006, widespread criticism did not occur until the Mitchell Report came out on December 13, 2007. Almost immediately after the accusation Pettitte issued a public statement admitting that he used the hormone on only two occasions to speed up the healing process of his injured elbow. The hormone was not illegal at the time, but Pettitte recalls, “I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.” Roger Clemens, on the other hand, hastily denied the accusation, and has continued to deny it even after his trainer, Brian McNamee, confirmed the allegations. In an interview with “60 Minutes” on January 6th, 2008 Clemens professed his innocence once again. The controversy took another odd turn when Clemens released a taped phone conversation between he and McNamee to the media. On the tape Clemens continuously urges his former trainer to admit he was lying about injecting him at least sixteen times with the human growth hormone. Roger Clemens has since testified at a hearing in front of congress, and filed a lawsuit against Brian McNamee citing defamation. Andy Pettitte confirmed Brian McNamee’s allegations, and Clemens is now under investigation by the FBI for perjury.
Since the release of The Mitchell Report, the mainstream media has not come to Roger Clemens’ defense, nor has it outright bashed him. Roger Clemens has made more public attempts at defending his innocence than the media has made accusations. Most reports on online publications like ESPN and Sports Illustrated come straight from The Associated Press, and include updated facts and quotes from all parties involved. Still, the facts from the Mitchell Report and the congressional hearing have grown more and more incriminating of Clemens. The New York Times covered the congressional hearing with a live blog updated every few minutes as new information arose before, during, and after the hearing. This site, like most others, portrays neither Clemens nor McNamee in a good light. If anything, it gives most credibility to the Democratic and Republican representatives who called both of the men liars. The analysis also describes Clemens as “agitated, and close to losing his temper.” The unflattering pictures on the Web site include one of Clemens with his tongue sticking out, and many of him looking down, which is a well-known indication of lying. Other coverage of this ongoing steroid saga quotes Senator Mitchell and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Most sports columnists also expressed sadness at the increased amount of steroid use in the MLB, and the tragedy that such a great pitcher will most likely have to give up his predicted spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Among bloggers the narrative surrounding Roger Clemens is much more obtrusive and accusatory. The pitcher has endured harsh scrutiny from individuals since the news surfaced in December. Many blogs attack Clemens for using H.G.H. and also criticize the MLB for actively covering up steroid use for so long. Most people seem to have known steroids infiltrated baseball after the 1994 strike, and regret that baseball is no longer the pure American sport. One blog I saw posted a clip from “Field of Dreams” that expressed the nostalgia for the game we once knew.
Another theme among blogs is a criticism of the absurd claims Clemens made during the congressional hearing. Clemens said he was guilty of just one thing: being too trusting of others. Clemens also claimed that Andy Pettitte, considered an honest man by almost everyone in the league, either misheard or misremembers the conversation they had about human growth hormone. While a few blogs do defend Clemens’ innocence the common word on the Web is that, guilty or not, Clemens’ reputation is tarnished…forever.
Baseball is a game that holds a place in many American’s hearts, and a lot of those American’s grew up idolizing seven time Cy Young award winner, Roger Clemens. It comes as no great surprise that the blogosphere is bursting with angry, cynical fans saying “Roger Clemens is guilty. Get over it.” The mainstream media won’t explicitly report Clemens’ guilt until he is in jail for perjury. Most sports columnists, however, contend that logic points a guilty finger at Rocket.
The actions taken by Roger Clemens have hurt him more than any media coverage, and probably spurred most of the angry blogs. It is one thing to claim innocence, but Clemens could have handled the whole ordeal much more professionally. Obviously, we do not know if Roger Clemens did take H.G.H. but evidence has not been very forgiving. If he did use the drug I’d suggest following in Andy Pettitte’s footsteps. Admit it, provide a “good reason” if one exists, apologize to fans, and get on with your life. No one even talks about Andy Pettitte anymore, and even though he did cheat and lie, Pettitte is still regarded as an honest man. Even if Roger Clemens is not lying, his honesty will be in question for quite a while.
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other sites used:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121302240.html
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/live-analysis-of-hearings/
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/13/steroid.report/index.html
http://www.alternet.org/story/70608/?page=2
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/02/13/roger_clemens_i.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3184646
