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November 1992

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Activists Mailing List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 20 Nov 1992 22:46:28 GMT
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I recently had the opportunity to review this
video which I think is an excellent resource
for people to know about. Excellent short video
perfect as a discussion starter in a classroom
or group. It also has a companion classroom study
guide available, which is very useful and includes
good teaching aids.
 
Jennifer Smith
Middle East facilitator, PeaceNet
[log in to unmask]
 
 
PRESS RELEASE
 
For more information call
Peter Wirth (315) 476-3396
 
 
Lines in the Sand
 
"Modern wars are not won and lost on battlefields but in front
of television screens, where attitudes and perceptions are
bought and sold." With footage from Vietnam, the invasions of
Grenada and Panama, Lines in the Sand illustrates how the
Pentagon increasingly manipulates the news we see. Michael
Deaver, who served as President Reagan's principal media
advisor, said that the Persian Gulf war was such a propaganda
success that a team of public relations experts could not have
planned it better.
 
This 12-minute video essay explores how information was
controlled and news managed during Operation Desert Storm to
keep the disturbing realities of war from affecting the
conscience of the U.S. public. Lines in the Sand raises crucial
questions concerning the ways that limited access to
information shapes public opinion. Footage shot in Baghdad by
producer and writer Ed Griffin-Nolan shows us the faces of the
victims we did not see on the nightly news.
 
An interview with a geology professor who lost his wife and
four daughters in the Ameria bomb shelter along with hundreds
of other civilians puts a human face on a war that was
skillfully and intentionally kept from our view. "Victory - but
victory at what price?" is the troubling moral question that
Lines in the Sand leaves us to ponder.
 
Now in use in hundreds of schools and churches in the US and
Canada, Lines in the Sand premiered in the 35th London Film
festival last November. Steven Bode, an organizer of the
festival wrote "their analysis of the media coverage of the
war and the questions it left unanswered is sharp, insightful,
and sobering." More recently, it aired on PBS in New York,
Washington, DC, San Francisco, and a number of smaller cities.
 
Randy Pitman of the Video Librarian gave Lines in the Sand a
"Four Star - Editor's Choice" rating. He wrote that Lines in the
Sand reminds us that not only were the human costs of the war
neither calculated nor reported - they were ignored on
purpose." Lander's Film and Video Review rated Lines in the
Sand in their "Highly Recommended" category.
 
Dr. Charles Kimball of Furman University in South Carolina,
whose book Angle of Vision: Christians and the Middle East was
selected to be the principal text for the 1992 ecumenical
study of the Middle East writes:
 "I am hopeful that your video will be used by many in these
local church programs since it illustrates some of the issues
and concerns I raise in my book. It is an important resource
complementing my book."
 
Professor William Griffen in the Education Department at SUNY
Cortland writes, "Congratulations on your video - Lines in the
Sand. I have used it with my college students and teachers and
the feedback was dramatic. Questions and issues either
minimized or ignored in the mass media were developed
intelligently, making Lines in the Sand one of the most
effective audio-visual aids I have used in the past decade."
 
Gabrielle Tinto, an eighth grade student at Levy Junior High
School in Syracuse wrote the following letter after viewing
the video in her social studies class: "Overall I liked the video
we were shown in class. It showed a side of war I hadn't seen
before. For myself and others who didn't have relatives in the
war, it seemed very distant. The US went in, bombed a few
bases, showed their guns and the opposing side surrendered,
neat quick and clean. What I never thought about were the
hundreds of people, civilians, who were being killed, family
members lost, homes burnt down . . . I gained a new perspective
of war from watching this video."
 
Lines in the Sand is produced by Ed Griffin-Nolan, former
media director for Witness for Peace, and edited by Laura J. E.
Marini. Available for $21.95, or $37.95 complete with a study
guide. Send orders to Griffin-Wirth Associates, 168 Parkway
Drive Syracuse, New York 13207, or call (315) 476-3396.
Prices include postage and handling.
 
Recommended for schools (junior high through college),
libraries, religious organizations and community groups.

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