Well, I watched 9500 Liberty last night on Mtv. It was pretty much what I expected – the polar opposites on both sides of the debate spent most of the time on screen. I don’t say that to condemn the piece, many “documentary” films operate this way. Conflict sells. I did find the use of a WaPo reporter as a quasi-narrator point-maker a bit weird.
People see in films and other visual media (including real life) what they want to see. Having been involved in both very public and private aspects of this debate, what I see in the very precise editing of 9500 is a product that is very nearly propoganda. Now, I understand that this is a hell of a thing to say but I’ll stand by it and here’s why: take the scene where someone is filming Greg L. who is filming them. Greg was there that day filming the day laborers who used to flock to the 7-11 over in coverstone. When that bit was filmed it wasn’t unusual for there to be 30 dudes hanging around. After about 10:00 when most of the jobs were gone, they remaining people didn’t leave. The ground around there was stripped bare of any grass, bushes were killed and the adjoining property owners had to put up signs that were ignored. People were peeing in public. It was a wreck – still is. Did you see any of that in 9500? No, it didn’t make the cut. It didn’t help paint the David and Goliath story.
See, I was elected to City Council the spring after the repeal of the City’s family definition ordinance. I was in the middle of that debate – part of the clean-up crew. I took the angry calls from citizens demanding action. To be sure, some had motives that were less than pure but most just wanted their life back. Indeed, if you fill a house with young men of any stripe and remove supervision, you’re looking for trouble. Go to any frat house if you think I’m wrong.
As a Council member I didn’t hear from Mexican without Borders or Numbers USA or really any other group who play such a large part in the movie. I heard from people who were having their lives wrecked because the house across the street had 20 people in it. I got a letter from a guy over on Landgreen St. a couple of years ago complaining about the overcrowded house across the street and decided to go knock on his door. It was a hot day and he was a little surprised to see me on his doorstep but he came on out and we talked. I asked him about the For Sale sign in his front yard…he remarked that it was little more than a decoration. Nobody would buy his house due to the house across the street. He was right, it was a free-for-all. Cars came and went – at one point cars were triple parked out into the street. Two of them were running with nobody in them but both had their stereos at max volume in some sort of bizzare unattended battle of the bands. Young men were drinking in the front yard and there was at least one car in the back yard. It was a zoo. I recieved at least a dozen of those complaints in the first year or two of my time on Council. It wasn’t hard to find these places yet none of this appears in the film….
This is the single biggest problem I have with the film: for all of it’s claimed documentary traits, it spends no time at all on what caused all of this. To be sure, some folks would simply be uncomfortable with the demographic change but the people who rang my phone wanted their lives and communities back.
The film makers fight is clearly with the response and I’ll be the first to point out that it was ugly in places. However, the complete lack of coverage of the inconvenient side of the equation – cause – leaves me and many others suspicious of the motives behind the film. A 5 minute exposition with Chris Pannel just isn’t sufficient to convey the seriousness of the problem that locals faced. It was a nightmare then and still is in some places. It’s hard to take the balance of the work (which was pretty well done) seriously with such a glaring hole.
September 28, 2010 at 6:27 am
If you saw the film’s focus as resolving who was right and who was wrong, then your comments are on the mark. I believe the film’s purpose was to show a light on the ugliness that often accents public debate in this area. The film makers’ showed both sides in that light fairly. The political attacks against the police chief by Chairman Stewart and black velvet were true and the political attacks against certain memmbers of the Board of Supervisors by both sides of the issue were also true. Civil discourse in Manassas and Prince William is often at a middle school level.
September 28, 2010 at 7:04 am
I don’t know that I was as much intersted in who was right or wrong as much as an equal treatment of the entire subject.
September 28, 2010 at 9:34 am
Andy,
I myself could do a full length film on the issue. Agreed 5 minutes isn’t just enough. They did film some nasty houses around here on one of my “field trips”. I was the only one strongly against illegal immigration to actually sit down and talk to them. Well, Greg did, but the religious clip at his home caused several to leave HSM. I just wished others that shared my opinion had had the b@lls to have sat down with them. I was fully aware that major editting would be done. Otherwise, they only clips of people the weren’t shown in a flattering light.
September 28, 2010 at 10:00 am
There were also privacy issues that prevented houses and people being shown. It wasn’t possible to go up to someone’s house and start rolling film.
Chris is to be commended for, as she puts it, having the b@lls to have an extensive interview. Any time one speaks with the media, major editing takes place. Always has, always will.
More people should have been willing to step up to the plate to actually establish a dialogue over what was wrong in the neighborhoods. Chris did step up to the plate and she did so knowing the risks of how some people would treat her.
And BS is correct also. There is no resolution to who is right and wrong.
Finally, NumbersUSA did generate letters to the BOCS who were debating the resolution. The fact that the City Council was not considering legislation probably kept them from being the target of thousands of robo-emails. These are still in storage at complex one.
September 28, 2010 at 10:30 am
When I was asked to speak with the film makers, I declined, because I had a feeling they weren’t all that “neutral” or unbiased, even though they presented themselves such. My suspicions proved correct, as the film makers quickly injected themselves into the debate. They have a right to their opinion, and a right to try to advance their agenda. Not criticizing those who chose to give an interview, at all. If you feel strongly enough about an issue, it is your right as an American to speak out.
Andy, you hit on a great point. By glossing over the root causes (overcrowding, increased crime, etc. etc.) of those the anger of those citizens who demanded action from their electeds, the film makers were able to paint HSM as a xenophobic group, racists, etc. Elena, Alanna, and those citizens who were on the other side of the debate were presented in the best light possible. Again, they have a right to express their opinion. It was a socio-political debate, and our political system is adversarial in it’s function. Now we have the latest debate regarding “Ye Olde Towne Porne Shoppe”, and it is no surprise that a few of those who were/are on the other side of the illegal immigration debate from that which I am on, are also opposite me on this issue. It is another socio-political debate.
And while BS and Moon-howler are correct, in a debate there is seldom a resolution as to who is “right or wrong”, I will have to say there is a resolution as to “victor or defeated” Political contests, sports games, (and in the extreme) wars are not really a matter of “right or wrong”. They are a matter of “will”. You may believe you are “right”, “just”, “correct”, and still lose. Anybody who has been married for any length of time can understand this concept 🙂
September 28, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Hi Andy! I’m glad to see your review of the film here, and I wanted to say that I totally agree with you. As an immigration attorney, I originally had high hopes for this film. Boy, was I disappointed. In fact, when I first saw it several months ago, it took all of my effort not to walk out in disgust. This is not an immigration film. It is a piece detailing the batle between two sets of activists. The immigrants are only props.
What makes me so mad is that the immigration system in this country is so very very broken, and our government really doesn’t want to fix it. An entire economy has been built around it that creates a permanent underclass out of undocumented workers. They have become modern day slave labor. I saw so many heartbreaking things in my work. I can’t count how many times I had to close my door at lunch and just cry. There’s an important story to be told. It wasn’t told with “9500 Liberty.”
I’m not sure what the point of the film was. If the point was to document the plight of undocumented workers and to garner sympathy for them, it failed miserably. If the point was to paint anyone who opposes immigration as ignorant racists, then it was more successful. Most importantly, if the point was to make the immigration activists feel good about themselves for being caring and concerned, then it was successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
I just know that I came away feeling like yet again my clients were the scapegoats. There was nobody there truly looking out for them.
September 28, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I came away feeling that my community was the scapegoat, all over an election and that we were being used as guinea pigs by FAIR and our elected officials.
Mrs. Barg was right. It was all about an election..
September 28, 2010 at 2:13 pm
@Steve, actually, it is Elena and I who oppose your point of view re the adult boutique. I don’t believe Alanna has a dog in this fight.
I just wanted to clear that up. She probably would appreciate not being included in all of that. I have not heard her say word one on the subject.
September 28, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I am also in agreement that is was all about an election.
September 28, 2010 at 3:06 pm
A documentary is a launching point. Watch it, take away what you can & put your new awareness to work. I’ve volunteered for Manassas Midwifery, which has delivered 124 babies in the past year, representing 50+ countries. That’s our changing demographics.
Produce your own film. Really. Connect with Dr. Nina Shapiro, the documentary storytelling professor at AU. Students film “untold stories” throughout the DC area each semester. Two sets filmed in the Prince William area last spring. No cost. Zero.
The new business owners in Old Town are legal. Quit bullying them. Spend the $70K+ on youth and other great local causes. Google “secondary negative doctrine” and it takes you to the First Amendment Center. Read the cases there.
September 28, 2010 at 3:08 pm
make that “secondary effects doctrine”
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/adultent/topic.aspx?topic=secondary_effects_topic&SearchString=secondary_negative
September 28, 2010 at 4:01 pm
@Moon-howler: Thanks for the clarification, although I did say a “few”, and didn’t mean all. However, best to make that clear. Also, just to make my position clear on Ye Olde Towne Porne Shoppe… I primarily oppose the “where” as much as the “what”. While I do believe that “Adult Businesses” detract from the community as a whole, I understand that there must be a market, or the other two would have failed long ago. I believe that had they chosen a location outside of Old Town, there would have been little to no objection. I have never set foot in MVC or the other place. The business owners want to be right smack in the middle of our economic center of gravity, and then expect the taxpayers to tolerate it. there’s a whole bunch of us, who won’t take this sitting down.
September 28, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Moon-howler, I would agree with you about the community being a scapegoat. That’s one reason I’m surprised you’re so in favor of this film. I think the film does the same thing from the liberal side that FAIR did from the conservative side.
Look at the story arc. It was predetermined who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. The bad guys had an initial victory with this horrible law. Immigrants got scared and moved away. Then the good guys moved in. A terrible fight ensued. The good guys kicked butt, and the horrible law was overturned. Good triumphed over evil. All was right wih the world. Then the good guys were able to ride into the sunset like the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
Only that’s not really what happened. There was no real victory here. The new law, while a big improvement from the old one, is still concerning. Immigrants, both documented and undocumented still have fear of PWC. The law didn’t really make immigrants leave. The intervening economic downturn and specifically the housing collapse was the real culprit. Some of the tensions from that time have eased, largely because a lot of the problems left with the exodus. So things have settled down, but they are far from settled. The issue is still brimming beneath the surface, waiting for another chance.
But there was victory in the eyes of the film makers, and the weird ending of the film shows what it was. Barack Obama riding into PWC and turning it blue was the real victory. These filmmakers weren’t really concerned about the immigrant question. In fact, they showed very little actual knowledge of it beyond the rhetoric. They were concerned about the blueing of the country. The victory is the ascendancy of the democratic party in general and President Obama in particular.
The reason PWC was so ripe for this controversy is that the true issue here isn’t really immigration. We see it also in the KKs question and others. The issue is the fight to turn PWC blue. PWC for years was a more rural, largey republican county. The housing boom brought more affluent, more liberal people into the county (and the immigrants came along to help build their houses). These people like having larger houses and lots and more green. They don’t like the republican values and government. They want Arlington/Fairfax values at a PWC/Manassas price. That’s the real issue here and the reason for the angry response.
But that story isn’t nearly as sexy as immigration or porn. And more importantly, it doesn’t advance the democratic way. So it goes largely unnoticed. The fighting and the vitriol will continue, with one issue after the other, until we can all settle down and admit what is really going on and start addressing the root problems instead of just the symptoms.
September 28, 2010 at 8:13 pm
There is no need to make a film about this. All one has to do is read the news on a daily basis to realize illegals are not a good thing for the Country. Anyone who supports them, is just as guilty as the illegal who rapes a child, kills a Nun, etc. And, as such should suffer the same punishment.
The supporters of illegals are a pretty stupid bunch, when they try to justify why we should not only allow illegals to stay here, but also to be happy about it.
What lead to a crack down on drinking and driving? People started to get fed up with the number of deaths caused by those drinking and driving, and that caused our elected officials to take steps to cut down on it. Of course people still drink and drive, but as a society, we do not look the other way as we once did.
What lead to many States in the 1990’s to do away with early release of criminals from jail, and to do away with parole? Or, what lead to many States to enact tougher sentences for crimes against children? Because enough people started to complain about the number of criminals who were released by liberal laws who then went on to commit more crimes, when they should have been in jail.
So, the outrage over illegals, who are in fact criminals is nothing new. Americans, for the most part do not like criminals and in particular those that seem to have no respect for our laws.
It’s as simple as that. It’s just a shame, we have people who would rather have more children raped, more people killed, than to do the right thing.
September 29, 2010 at 2:50 am
Patty, I don’t think what I wrote here was what I would call a whole-hearted endorsement. However, I do support the film and I suspect you got that from elsewhere, other than the above comment. It is no secret that our blog has a relationship with the film makers.
I don’t care much for the Obama ending either. I don’t feel it fits with what really happened (in fact the Obama election was a year after the marathon night at Complex 1).
I am thankful that the events were documented. As for what made immigrants leave, don’t you think different people left for different reasons? Many people moved back, especially those with families.
It would be my hope that the walk-away feeling from the film wouldn’t be about good guys and bad guys but about policy and what happens to communities when local governments legislate bad policies without full transparency. To that end, both documentation and an opposing blog brought some issues to light that otherwise would not have been known to the general public.
September 29, 2010 at 5:48 am
Folks definately left for a variety of reasons but the overcrowded houses (which were my primary concern at that point) largely disappeared when the demand for construction labor evaporated.
MH: I would argue that the famalies never left the City. One of the data points that never really changed through all of this was that the ESOL enrollent in Manassas never fell much. I do not know what happened in PWC but I don’t believe that any of the latinos in PWC were moving to Manassas to avoid the ROL resolution.
September 29, 2010 at 6:50 am
Yes moon-howler, I have read your blog and got your true feelings about the film and the film-makers from it. I won’t post on your blog, because so much of what I read there is unkind. Andy and I disagree lots of times (maybe most of the time?), but I have never ever caught him being unkind. I trust him, and I trust his blog.
I’m sure you’re right that people left for lots of reasons. I only know my experience, and that is that I had lots of clients from PWC and not one person ever told me they left because of the law. People living in the kind of poverty I saw don’t have the luxury to do that. They live where they can afford to until they can’t afford to anymore and then they figure out what to do next.
As for the good guy/bad guy view, that was very much what I walked away from the film with, and what I found so objectionable about it. I’m as pro-immigrant as anyone I know, but I can totally understand the concerns of the citizens at that time. To paint them as ignorant, racist haters is a way of dehumanizing them in order not to have to take them seriously. And I find that utterly objectionable. Tolerance and compassion are a two way street. The goal should not be to win at all costs, but to understand each other and see the inherent worth in each and every person. I don’t see very much of that these days anywhere, and I certainly didn’t see it in this film.
September 29, 2010 at 8:48 am
Patty,
With all due respect. I assume you read other local blogs and choose not to post there for the same reason you stated about MH’s blog. You and I don’t share the same political views, but we can discuss the issues with respect. I like reading Andy’s blog because the “blog bullying” doesn’t seem to fly here.
September 29, 2010 at 8:50 am
People left PWC for a variety of reasons. The foreclosures were well underway before the resolution was introduced in July of 2007. The jobs were drying up and the economy was about to tank. I think very few, if any fled because of the resolution in PWC. Especially, since the student population grew beyond what had been forcasted.
September 29, 2010 at 9:12 am
Yes, Chris. I don’t post at other blogs either. I don’t post anywhere much, but I have never posted on either of the local blogs for the very reason I described above. I don’t mind disagreement. In fact, I think I actually kinda like it sometimes. It makes me think. But I do mind name calling, and whenever I see it, as far as I’m concerned the conversation is over. I’m with you about Andy’s blog. That’s why I like reading it too.
September 29, 2010 at 9:17 am
Of course, that’s two nice things about Andy in the same day. I must be coming down with something. I better go out now and run it off!
September 29, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Hello Patty!
September 30, 2010 at 12:37 am
Patty, I hope you are not characterizing our blog as promoting that those who had neighborhood concerns are “ignorant racist haters.” That doesn’t happen. As a matter of fact, I have always verified that there were real neighborhood problems that needed to be dealt with.
People like Cindy B and Chris have devoted hours upon hours of their own personal time going out and trying to improve not only attitudes in the community but also services and solutions for those in the troubled communities.
Sorry you find me unkind. Its a nasty job but someone has to do it, I guess.
September 30, 2010 at 7:11 am
Why are they troubled communities? Because they are illegal, and like any other criminal, should not get breaks, or services that are intended for those that are in real need.
September 30, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Communities may be troubled for many different reasons. Lake Jackson might not have the same problems as some places in Yorkshire. Georgetown different problems than Point of Woods.
It isn’t all about ‘criminals.’
September 30, 2010 at 8:45 pm
There are fewer illegals in Lake Jackson. So ya, their issues are different from GTS and Point of Woods, where there are more illegals.
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