S Y N O P S I S

1. typical of a class, group, or body of opinion. 2. a person chosen or elected to speak and act on behalf of others in a legislative assembly or deliberative body. 3. serving as a portrayal or symbol of something.

I was thinking about some of the worst ideas humans have had, especially decisions made in the name of the United States of America. I don’t guess Reader’s Digest Condensed Books is one of the worst ideas ever—they look like books and they have words in them—but they taste like another form of margarine foisted onto the public in the name of convenience and health. I wonder sometimes if the internet isn’t just a little bit like Reader’s Digest.

I’m really worried about what’s happening to our country right now. I don’t know what to make of it. The free press isn’t what it used to be with the convergence of the 24-hour news cycle and the internet. I understand why I gravitated to NPR, PBS NewsHour, and the New York Times. Some would say this is just the liberal version. Maybe so, but at least they don’t fabricate conflict and make up alternative facts to fill up time sold to advertisers.

The public has long been familiar with documentary footage of the various above ground nuclear tests performed by the United States from 1945 through 1963. I have a strong sense of ownership of these images because so many of the detonations happened at the Nevada test site. I remember when seeing film of these explosions frightened me. Why did they do this in my back yard endangering the health of my family? Obviously, no one knew what a bad idea it was. My favorite meta moment in the film is the clip of the cameramen standing on the beach a few atolls away, filming the detonation of Operation Hardtack I: Koa Event (May 12, 1958: 1.37 megatons), at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. They are dressed in shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Why not?

Our official account of history tells it perfectly reasonable that we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Manhattan Project seemed necessary at the time, but not only are we are going to pay for the legacy of Hanford and the Savannah River Site, we have a huge problem with North Korea right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen, all I know is nationalism is bad for everyone.

I fail to understand why anyone would think a border wall between the United States and Mexico is a good idea. Footage of the eight wall prototypes Trump commissioned in 2017 appears throughout this film. You’re not supposed to recognize what you are looking at right away—I am hoping the realization will creep up on you. I don’t think most people are aware of the current Department of Defense (DoD) activities being videotaped around the globe by men and women from all branches of the armed forces, or that this trove of digital footage is available free of charge in the public domain on the internet. These are your tax dollars at work recording precious moments destined for history. I can only imagine what this footage will reveal about our hubris 50 years from now. If the United States is still here 50 years from now.

When my mother died my father shipped all of the keepsakes and photographs he found in her closet FedEx overnight to my doorstep. In his grief, I’m sure he did not notice that among these items were his press clippings, campaign flyers, and other political souvenirs that she had saved without his knowledge.

Like so many men in his generation, my father was taught not to express his feelings. He made sure that I never met his parents, and although he talked about himself a lot, his childhood in Michigan was not up for discussion. Something happened in his past that he took to his own grave. I often wonder if he shared it with my mother. When he was hard on me she would say, “You don’t know him like I do.”

Sorting through the items my mother collected, I discovered two ticket stubs to a high school reunion in Michigan. I took a chance and emailed the school registrar. Once again a FedEx package appeared at my door. It was my father’s yearbook from Harper Woods High School, Class of 1961. If he was still alive he would be mad at me for violating his privacy, but he can’t do anything about it now. This is the youngest photograph I have ever seen of my dad. I recognize his face as my own.

My father taught me to pay attention to the news and to love the grand experiment of our democracy. I started off making a film about how everyone should do their civic duty and participate like my dad did when he became an assemblyman in Nevada. In the process, however, all these emotions I had been sitting on overtook my psyche. Going through his papers, I can see that I turned out even more liberal than he was.

My father was a great man but he was also a jerk. I hate how he treated me sometimes, but he’s the only dad I have. I love him. I feel the same way about the United States. I don’t like what we’re doing right now, but this is the only country I have. What can I say? Relationships are complicated.

E X H I B I T I O N   R E C O R D

C R E D I T S

g e n r e / c a t e g o r y :  Experimental; Documentary; Women

d i r e c t e d   b y :  Kelly Wittenberg

d i r e c t o r   o f   p h o t o g r a p h y :  Kelly Wittenberg

p r o d u c t i o n   a s s i s t a n c e :  Taymar Pixleysmith

v i d e o   e d i t i n g :  Kelly Wittenberg

o r i g i n a l   f o o t a g e :  Kelly Wittenberg

p r e l i n g e r   a r c h i v e s   p u b l i c   d o m a i n :

y o u t u b e   c r e a t i v e   c o m m o n s :

t o t a l   r u n n i n g   t i m e :  9:00 minutes

 

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