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Scenes
from an Endless War: Film Review
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By
Dilshad D. Ali |
08/07/2003
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Scenes
from an Endless War
Norman Cowie,
United
States, English, 32 m
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One
of the cleverest scenes in the movie emphasizes how subtle special
effects can lend for a powerful punch |
Since
we entered the 21st century where “war” was fought, analyzed and served
to us on a platter in the safety of our living rooms through the talents of
embedded journalists and peppy news anchors whose stories can run the path
of absurd when viewed through the camera lens of hindsight, according to
Norman Cowie’s Scenes from an Endless War. The film had its New York
premiere at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 2003.
This
concise documentary offers a montage of “scenes” comprised of original
news footage, remixed media images, jumbled-up interviews with world leaders
and other experimental film devices. The film moves scene by scene without
characters, on-camera interviews or even a real story line.
In
fact the classic components of a documentary – a story, theme, mood,
protagonists, supporting characters, dialogue – are all swept aside to
present a new illustration of what the U.S.’s “war on terrorism” was
really all about. It brings a new meaning to the phrase, “More than meets
the eye.”
Take
Scene 5 for instance. Cowie mixes up a number of images in a repeated
effect, speeding up the footage until the whole situation becomes rather
absurd – when what the news media was originally portraying was meant to
be serious. There’s a medley of news intros and captions (“Target:
Terrorism”), Paula Zahn’s gently smiling face greeting us (with that
slight, nauseous tilt of her head), helicopters hovering overhead and our
favorite, Osama bin Laden testing a machine gun.
The
juxtaposition of the images coupled with the increasing speed throws a whole
bizarre spin on the original intent of each image. Why was it so necessary
to put a quick, neat and impactful label on each move the U.S. government in
those early days of the “war on terrorism?” Were we really so easily
fooled? Perhaps so, Cowie seems to suggest.
Every
nuance Cowie uses adds to the ludicrousness of the situation. From the music
he chooses to the way he splices news footage, it all seems to root out how
we were taken for a ride by the government and the media, whether
unwittingly or not. Scene 8, for example asks the question: Is the FBI’s
powers intrusive or necessary? This question is fleshed out to the tune of
“War, Good God Y’all! What is it good for – absolutely nothing!”
Go
figure.
Perhaps
the cleverest scene in the movie emphasizes how subtle special effects can
lend for a powerful punch, as when Cowie shows a speech Bush is giving on
terrorism to congress. On both sides of Bush’s desperately grim façade is
the picture of the new terror advisory alert system. But it has been changed
to resemble a stereo’s volume control.
With
each inflection of Bush’s voice, the meter flickers on the alert system
until the climatic moment when Congress gives Bush a standing ovation –
and the advisory alert plateaus on “Severe.” It’s truly a hilarious
moment.
Some
scenes go easy on the special effects by highlighting various world leaders.
But here again Cowie slows the film down, perhaps focusing on the mouth or a
certain gesture, or playing a quote in slow motion to give us time to really
digest what that person was saying. There’s the Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld, who in scene 20 offers a particularly chilling quote
(chilling in retrospect, that is):
“If
we can conduct a war in Afghanistan from an office in Florida, I don’t see
why we can’t invade Iraq from my ranch in New Mexico. All I’d need is a
modem upgrade and a new generation of UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles).
Killing by remote control would also shield us from rogue courts and war
crimes prosecutors.”
Where
do you begin with a quote like that, asks the film. There really is no need
for commentary. The quote speaks for itself.
It
all goes to show the length of emphasis the government puts on spin, image
control, carefully constructed speeches and seemingly interesting spot and
feature news stories. The Scenes from an Endless War seems to ask, is the
media truly independent, or a puppet of the government? Is the way news is
offered to the public truly objective, or is there a secret agenda?
You
decide. 
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