_Rattling the Cage: An Interview with Carla Garapedian_
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Monday, April 02, 2007 – 03:11 AM
Egypt News
() Through her work as a journalist,
former BBC World News anchor, and especially her films, the Emmy award-winning
director Carla Garapedian knows how to shine a white hot light on issues that
might otherwise go unnoticed by the world. Utilizing the music of Grammy
award-winning rock quartet System of a Down and exploring the main thesis from
Harvard professor Samantha Power’s Pulitzer prize winning book `Problem from
Hell’: America and the Age of Genocide, Garapedian’s latest documentary
Screamers is a film that explores the reasons why genocide continues to happen
and why the US government continues to remain neutral.
Garapedian was the movie’s first convert. During our talk via phone from Los
Angeles where the film debuted, Carla explained that her perception of the
younger generation-the film’s main audience-was changed from cynical to
hopeful, with even tough government critics responding well to her film.
Most of all, as an Armenian herself, she wants to join the legacy of past`
screamers’ (people who are so compelled about issues like genocidethat they
can only `scream’ for action to be taken) and give the world an opportunity
to become aware of genocide and take action against it.
You’ve made several films about controversial issues. What have you learned
the most about your previous films that helped you make this one?
Most of my films have been about one event but this one was about several
events. But my films are always centered around exposing a lie by using
pictures and with Screamers I wanted to do the same thing but this time I was
combining more music with the pictures to get people to take action against
genocide.
What got you into doing the type of work you do?
It is about being Armenian I guess. Not that all Armenians do the kind of
work that I do but I’ve experience great injustice through my family history
that hasn’t been rectified. And, in an indirect way, through my work, I’ve
been able to rectify the terrible injustices that were done to my family. I also
wanted to give the sufferers of the Armenian genocide a voice because they
didn’t have one.
In Samantha Power’s book she tells the story of other screamers who fought
to end genocide and it seams as though you are carrying on the legacy.
I carry that book around like it’s my bible for telling my story. There’s
so much in there that I find something new each time I read it. She pointsout
each person who has become a screamer has failed because no genocide has
been stopped that we know in our modern history. So you ask yourself, `What’s
the point?’ But on another level they do succeed because they keptthe fight
going.
I think what George Clooney and people like him are doing are great, but it’
s frustrating on a certain level. Because I wonder why does it take a George
Clooney to do something about genocide. It’s because we pay attention to
celebrity in the US and unfortunately that’s the way it is. He might be called a
failure because it hasn’t stopped but at least he’s bearing witness and
doing something with his celebrity status.
How has the film been received?
Even though it’s about a tough subject, it’s still been well received. It’s
been very gratifying that people who have seen the film have connected with
those pictures and get what it is we’re trying to say. I believe the only way
to stop this is to touch people at some very basic level. We can’twait for
politicians to do something because they’re not going to do something unless
there is some sort of movement at ground level and that’s where System of a
Down comes in. They’re not just a political band, but they just want to raise
awareness and they let people do what they want, but they definitely want to
educate their fans and then let their fans make their own decisions.
How did you meet System of a Down?
I met them in 2004 at the annual concert for the Armenian genocide that
occurred in 1915. A bunch of other bands and other human rights organizations
were there set up outside the concert area and handing out leaflets to their
fans about Darfur, the Holocaust. So I was there representing The Armenian
Film
Foundation. I wasn’t really that familiar with their music beyond knowing
that they were a very popular band. Fans were coming up to the table and the
most interesting thing for me was that the fans knew about the Armenian
genocide and they were very educated about Darfur. I was amazed that SOAD was doing
more to raise awareness about the Armenian genocide than the Armenian
community in the US for the last 50 years.
So the fans you met were learning about the Armenian genocide primarily from
SOAD’s music?
Yes, but at first I wasn’t sure if they were attracting kids who were just
generally more politically aware or if the kids were becoming aware via the
band’s music. I think it was more the latter case.
Meeting SOAD didn’t all come together at the concert and they were
approached by many artists and there are a lot of people who wanted to work with them.
Michael Moore did a music video with them. SOAD had to first look at my
films and my background. So we met in 2004. Serj Tankian wanted to do a film
about all genocides and not only focus on the Armenians. He wanted to raise
awareness about that. If I was going to do that then he was willing to cooperate.
Was it difficult to approach the scope and purpose of the film being a
journalist and having such a close personal connection to genocide?
I’ve made other films and covered stories in other countries abouthuman
rights and I had originally shied away from doing a film about the Armenian
Genocide because there were already a few made that were well done. I didn’t see
what value I could add, and the subject is very personal to me because I’m a
grandchild of the genocide survivor. And like the band, the issue is part of
my DNA. I’ve grown up with it and it’s been a very familiar presence in my
life. And when I saw SOAD and learned how they were bringing the issue into
the current political debate I saw how the film could be different than
previous film on the topic.
This story was unique in that I chose to tell it partly through Serj’s
grandfather who is still living. His grandfather actually came from a village
where my family was from, so it was pretty eerie and haunting to go back there
and film. That’s the place where they were forced out and sent on the death
marches. There were a lot of parallels to my family. And everybody has these
very unique stories. And with Serj’s grandfather I had access to six hours of
previous interviews. His telling reminded of the similar method, how the
stories of people in domestic violence situations where the person tells of the
events in a very monotone way until they get to a family member dying-then they
will cry or show emotion. The only way to recall those moments is to detach
yourself. In those interviews Serj’s grandfather was able to recall the worst
things but when he got to the death of his two brothers and grandmother it
really got to him.
With the message of your film being woven in and through the music of SOAD
there seems to be a possibility that fans, namely the young ones shown
screaming in the front rows at the concerts, might miss the point. What concerns you
about the message getting lost in the music?
Most of the fans are not there for political reasons-that much I understand-
but my take on it is that SOAD has told me that their music is not just
about politics. And I know that’s true. Their lyrics are about many things and
sometimes they hard to understand.
The way I see it is that I’m hoping to tie in the message with therage and
anger side of the band and start from there because I know that many of their
fans first become interested in the emotion of the music and then take
interest in the lyrics. That’s how I became interested in their music. Rage and
anger and passion are needed to tell this story because if we don’t feel
outrage about genocide then who are we as people? I didn’t understand the music at
first because I’m in my 40s and I wasn’t in to that type of music. I was
more into Beatles and Elton John. So I had real trouble at first but I heard the
music and then went back to the lyrics and it made me want to learn more
about what they were talking about.
There’s a sequence where you use the song `Chop Suey’ in a very interesting
way?
My editor and I really struggled with portraying that moment in the film
since the film’s subject was so dark and we were showing the kids rocking out
and having fun. But we decided that the band is not just about being serious.
Their music is about celebrating life just as much as being political. I
wanted to show a complete and balance portrayal of who SOAD is.
There are scenes where you show Serj taking care of his grandfather and Serj
confronting Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. You really see a different
side of him that you normally don’t get if you only listen to the
music.
Absolutely. Serj is such a soft-spoken person and that grandfather and
Hastert scene is a great representation of how the band preaches toleranceand
understanding and they don’t want to incite violence in any way, even though on
stage you see them jumping around. The film’s contrast is something I wanted
to show. As I spent time with them I found it interesting to see them more
than just what you see on stage.
How hard was it to trust that your message wouldn’t be dismissed as just an
angry rant, seeing as a band like SOAD can get misunderstood at first listen
or seeing them on stage for the first time.
It was hard but I did have a lot of trust. But I also looked at the flip
side. I’m lucky their music was heavy metal. Because if it had been something
like Coldplay or Barry Manilow [laughs] the message wouldn’t have the same
impact. And I’m grateful that I had that going for me. It’s really important to
have the force of a SOAD song behind what genocide really means, because
genocide has been going on for so long and somewhere along the way we lostthe
connection to what genocide really means. For some reason at some point it
became optional for us to intervene and I don’t think it’sthe fault of the
ordinary person-it’s the fault of our foreign policy. Our foreign policy has
been very consistent that we remain neutral in the face of genocide. We explore
one of Samantha Power’s points that it’s not a valid excuse for the US
government to say we didn’t know what was going on in 1915 or during the
Holocaust. But she explains that there were several people reporting what was going
on. But the US and British governments opted not to pursue the evidence. They
didn’t say, `Oh, let the Jews die’-they were just indifferent to the
evidence. So that means that we probably could have saved a couple hundred
thousand
by bombing a railway line. But because of other reasons and some
anti-Semitism going on in the US and Europe they just didn’t want to look deep into what
was going on.
How crucial is it that the US government deals with the guilt of being
indifferent to the Armenian genocide and other genocides? The US government could
admit and then resolve what happened to the Armenians. If that were to happen
it seems it would being closure to the emotions suffered by people like you
who come from those that suffered, but also create other problem with our
country’s past?
Interesting question. SOAD drummer John Dolmayan poses the question well by
saying, `The US response to what happened to the 25 million NativeAmericans
and is, `Oh, that’s too bad.” I had to look that static up because I
thought it was large but when I looked it up that number was in the median
average. So congressman are worried that if we admit to genocide here in the 21st
century than it might open up our past-that it might bring Native Americans
living today to also to begin demanding reparation.
For me, the big issue is that US foreign policy has been based on its
alliance with Turkey and the genocide was very well documented in newspapers and
public records. So it’s not that they didn’t know it was happening. It was
that US government didn’t want to anger Turkey because Turkey was a crucial
ally. So the issue of guilt is dictated by public opinion and this is where young
people get involved.
Things change based on the perception of what the public wants. Look at the
Tsunami in Indonesia. People saw how terrible it was and dug deep into their
pocketbooks. So I believe if Americans see what really happened, and really
felt and saw the pictures of genocide, things would change.
Another example is Hotel Rwanda. That film brought a massive amount of
awareness, but it was too late and if people saw what is going on in Darfur
everyday-the slaughter of women and children-they would pressure the US government.
But the problem with genocide is that it’s hard to document when it’s
happening because the perpetrators do their best to keep foreigners out. And our
news media is left in the dark in covering these issues long term, financing
it over a period of time so you’re not going to get coverage of it. Even with
the BBC, who I worked for, it’s hard for them to get in there and get
coverage of Darfur. So how do you get the awareness without the pictures, because
politicians want to stay out of it. The Bush administration has called it
genocide but they don’t want to go the distance and do something about it.
What do you think will put the issue over the top and move the ordinary
person to act?
When I saw An Inconvenient Truth, where people were buying an energy-saving
light bulb that was much more expensive than a traditional one, I saw people
changing their behavior because they’re scared … With the genocide, it
starts at the university level and people asking, `Where is our money going?’
and it is a very grass roots campaign.
Do you think the older generation and our government take the audience (the
younger generation) of the film seriously when it comes to taking action on
social causes like genocide?
There’s been some surprising twists. I’ve met some older people who said
they didn’t like the music at first but then they realized the energy is
amazing. Then they feel not a direct connection to the music but more importantly a
connection with the younger generation who is connecting with the music of
SOAD. Even for me, I struggled with being cynical towards this younger
generation and thought they were only focused on getting jobs and being much more
materialistic than my generation. But I discovered that’s not true. I realized
that they do care about many issues. Serj said to me one time that we start
off thinking the right way-it’s just that we get more cynical as we get older
and that’s why he’s working with young people. For him, it’s the way
forward.
We had congressmen come to a screening at the Library of Congress with their
staffers and think tankers. I cranked the volume because I really wanted
them to hear it. And afterwards one of their spokes person came up and said, `Do
you know how unusual it is for them to actually sit through it?’ They may
feel uneasy about the music and the physical aspect of the music and message,
and it may scare them to see the kids like that because they don’tfully
understand or control it.
Do you think they feel threatened by the youth?
I don’t know. But I do know that after going to several concerts Inow get
SOAD. I now totally understand what their music is all about. It’s about
being part of the experience. It’s very tribal with everyone getting into the
music. And that communal concert experience brings our conversation full circle.
That same universal feeling you have at a concert or about a band is what I
want to create to get people involved to stop genocide. [It is] part of the
universal connection I’m trying to get people to feel to that country, those
people far away who people we think we don’t care anything about. And at a
concert it doesn’t matter who you are; you feel connected to that person you’re
headbanging with. I felt and I was only supposed to feel filming it. Just
think what we can do if we can tap into that connection and apply it to the
issue of genocide.
How does taking action fit with the film’s audience’s current behaviors,
interests and trends?
Let’s face it. The Internet is where it’s happening and it’s there that
people feel free to talk and discuss. I may not be able to stop what’s going but
if I can get people talking then I’ve done my job. But beyond justasking
questions there also has to be a demand for answers and that’s howwe can
change things.
You haven’t used music as such a central aspect in your previous films. Did
you look at other bands-past or present-to get an idea of how you wanted to
use music as a part of the movie?
I’m dating myself but when I was growing up it was Bob Dylan, Woodstock, and
the anti-war movement and how music became involved in it. Music is a good
place to start when trying to access the emotions, but it shouldn’t be done in
a sentimental way. Most people have a very deep connection to music and the
artist and you feel the humanity of the situation. Music is really the only
medium that can have that effect. I associate the `60s with Jimi Hendrix,
Janis Joplin, Rolling Stones, and Joni Mitchell and I also associate the idea of `
I want to change the world’ with their music.
As a musical culture what do you think we learned the most about when it
comes to using music during the anti-war movement of the `60s and how does that
facture into your film?
I’m more familiar with the world music than the heavy metal scene but I’ll
use SOAD as an example. Their music is a commentary on our times,but they
also bring with them their history and their music sounds like their Armenian
roots and here they are trying to make their ancestors and their culture
survive through their music. And even though the Turks tried to wipe out awhole
race of people, they failed and the evidence of that is in the music. It’s
about the culture surviving as much as the individual, and that give me hope. All
it takes is for four guys in a band to be extremely popular and every timeI
hear their music I say, `This is our culture surviving.’
At the end of the Harvard screening a gentleman who was from Darfur said
that the film made him feel paralyzed by the whole situation, but he endedby
saying that the film is doing something very important in taking the firststep
of making people aware. It’s so important to at least give people a chance
to know. Without that the situation is hopeless. You have to educate people
first and know the facts, then take political action.
What is the next step to take in fighting genocide?
STAND (Student Taking Action Now on Darfur) is helping out with getting
people involved. The DVD will also prolong the life of the film. Schools are also
getting involved and teachers are looking at including the film in
curriculum. Our government won’t do anything unless we rattle the cage. Right now it
starts with taking action on Darfur. Since box office numbers are still
important, going to see Screamers is important to furthering the cause. Atthe very
basic level, I want to at least get antennae up so you don’t look at the
news the same way or you at least start to ask some of your own questions.I
also know that most people are not quite the same after they see the film.
Interview by Chris Catania of _Popmatters.com_
( tures/article/32258/rattling-the-cage-an-interview -with-screamers-director-carla/)