January 16, 2007
Director Screens Award-winning Documentary ‘Why We Fight'
Worcester, Mass. - Clark University's The State of Our Democracy symposium will present documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki and his award-winning film, "Why We Fight," at 7 p.m., Tuesday, February 13, in Razzo Hall, Traina Center for the Arts, 92 Downing Street. This free, public event is part of Clark's Difficult Dialogues Program, funded by a major Ford Foundation grant and aimed at creating a culture of dialogue on campus.
"Why We Fight" won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and has gained critical acclaim in its candid exploration of the influence of the American military industrial complex on U.S. foreign policy. Jarecki depicts U.S. military history from World War II to the Iraq War to reveal the political, economic and ideological forces that propel America to war. Personal stories are interlaced with the commentary of academics, politicians, and Pentagon officials to give an eye-opening picture of America at war. A NYPD retired policeman who lost his son in 9/11, a Vietnamese refugee who manufactures bombs, a new Army recruit, and Iraqi victims are among those sharing their views on why we fight. Following the screening, Jarecki will lead a dialogue on issues of democracy raised in the film.
"Why We Fight" opens with the 1961 Farewell Address by former general and President Dwight Eisenhower in which he warned, "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes." The film then traces the battlefield alliance of military, industrial and national interests that may be edging the United States closer to imperialism and away from its founding principles of democracy.
"The more I learn about systems and how they internally appear unchangeable, the more you look to people to bring about change. The only way that happens is that the understanding of the people themselves change," Jarecki noted in a 2005 BBC interview on "Why We Fight."
Eugene Jarecki became a filmmaker in 1992 after receiving a B.A. in English with a focus on stage direction at Princeton. He also studied at New York University's Film Intensive Program. His first film, Season of the Litterbees, won a Student Academy Award and the Time Warner Grand Prize at the Aspen Film Festival after its premier at the 1993 Sundance Festival. Jareki's 2002 film The Trials of Henry Kissinger won an Amnesty International Award and has been seen in more than 30 countries. Jarecki is affiliated with the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University and its Global Media Project, which seeks "to produce media with historical depth and political complexity that not only informs but engages the public in a global dialogue on critical issues of war and peace."
The presentation of "Why We Fight" is cosponsored by the Clark University Film Society and the Screen Studies Program. For more information, contact 508-793-7479.
The Difficult Dialogues Symposium runs throughout 2007 and will include symposia examining "Race and Ethnicity," "Religion and Tolerance," and "Power." Through these programs, the Clark and Worcester community have the opportunity to appreciate, learn and practice the skills of dialogue–the practice of conscious exchange in which different views and beliefs can be shared toward the goal of greater mutual understanding.
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