I will begin with Ghosts of Abu Ghraib and then continue to many of the films that have been made about this conflict. Enjoy.
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. Dir. Rory Kennedy. 2004. USA. 82 mins. English.
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is an HBO produced documentary about the prision of Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Since the different leaks of information broke into public strand the tortures of one of the most dangerous and inhuman prisons in the world were revealed by several journalists around the world, bu the first hand accounts were kept aside. The different approaches made by media towards this incident have been null or even ignored, mainly with the streaming of photos of soldiers sodomizing or playing with Iraqi detainees. The film was made in 2004 an aired in Mexico for the first time in late 2007.
The film begins with the an unreleased video of some testings with electric-shock controlled mock torture. This breve piece sets the context for the whole documentary and in the end reveals a shocking conclusion. The footage provided by the movie has not been released, along with documents, first hand accounts from the soldiers that were operating hte prison, analysts and authors and detainees.
Since the Geneva convention treaty had not been signed by the Iraqis the US Governemnt sneakly evaded laws to prove the extent of torture, that in some cases will reach death. The accounts made by the soldiers in charge sustained for at least a half hour of the film.
To me the tone of the film is that of an apology to US soliders with the accomodation of questions and speeches rather redundant and leading to a rhetoric that is far from being denouncing. But indeed the documentary denounces the abusess but rather it is an account of how the soldiers torture under strict superior orders Iraqi detainees and how they feel sorry.
Iraqi men interviews just corroborate American soldiers version rather that denouncing it, but of course the job of the documentary can have both or neither of these objectives; one is to report and the other to denounce. If we take for example Moore's Farenheit 9/11 the latter takes place and with happens otherwise. Iraq in Fragments is more aesthetical type of film, more like an essay that is emphazis is placed on the plasticity of the images that the conflictcan provide, rather than in anything else.
When Major Geoffrey Miller (later General) was in charge for the prison the abusses growed, according to the statistics provided, nearly 300%. Regarding burocratic appointments the US Army states that every means necessary to get information would be allowed and this lead to several dozens of deaths.
Just as if it were enough the scapegoat (if it can be called in that way, to say the least) of the documentary appears to be Cpl. Charles Graner, whose power growed unlimited in the way he treated the detainees.
Reaching the final twenty minutes the facts became harsher and harsher to the extent that the death of a "ghost detainee" spawned a CIA cover of the murder, later charging Graner with homicide. Any common viewer would be heavily moved by the footage provided by the soldiers and the movie production.
What is relly interesting and mainly the highlight of the documentary is the way the US Government alongside with the Army managed to cover everything, until the pictures were released. US soldiers indeed seem to be moved and regret the horrible orders they did at the prison, but still there is a sense of apology for them, instead from them.
But in the end it is not about the privates and corporals, but about the generals, secretaries and even executives who gave the thumbs-up for this masacre, and if ther is something that the movie actually achieves is that; denouncing this attrocity that could have never been known.
*Regarding the title I would change "notorious" for "dangerous" I think.
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1 comment:
Your facts are so "Wikipedia" - do your research! Graner was NEVER charged with a homicide. The ghost detainee was murdered by OGA, CI, or the SEALS who picked him up. I'm not saying Graner was not guilty of inhumane behaviors, but he was never, ever charged with a homicide. How do I know this - I have access to the actual investigation.
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