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30 Seconds Fear


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About the footage:

Winter, 2004. I am in a U.S. combat hospital near Balad, Iraq when a Marine is rushed in with a horrible wound to his leg. Someone tells me that he has been hit by mortar shrapnel, on duty somewhere near Ramadi. Myself and another journalist follow the gurney into the operating room and I swing my camera up as the doctors start flushing out the wound. I can hear him groaning before the sedative finally knocks him out. I film almost the entire operation. After a little while I stop noticing the blood and raw tissue; one gets used to it. At the end of it they wheel him away with his leg in bandages but later one of the medics tells me that they’d had to amputate. War is a very sick business and is nothing to be taken lightly.






8.22.05 thanks to everyone for their comments. i'm sorry i just put up this explanation today, i agree that the piece works best with context. but remember, the 'current challenge' was for 30 seconds of unedited, raw footage, so that's a rather limiting structure. ---dmz
moleverde

18 responses // 30 Seconds Fear

  • this defines the word "graphic."
    butterfly
  • that is gruesome.
    Gabe
  • and the point of this video is what?
    unit
  • the point of this video is this:
    to show YOU, who are sitting here in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Perhaps not)
    what it means to be hit by a bullet, even if it is indirect.
    a bullet is meant to kill people.
    if it doesn't KILL YOU, it could wound you in a most terrible way.
    if you are the one wounded, your life will change dramatically.
    the HUGE CHUNK OF IS FLESH that was your body is now gone.
    is it painfui. it is a constant reminder that humans will attempt (and succeed) to kill one another and the point of that is WHAT?
    why don't you tell me, unit?
    backat28
  • I wonder if the person who posted this clip thought to themselves: "wow, this is gruesome and I think people will watch it.. now I just need to think of some powerful rationalization to explain why it's not just a gratuitous exploitation of another person's suffering."
    alexsaves
  • This is a good start, but it needs more analysis.
    As you can see, most people can't make the connection of WHY this marine has to suffer. Or WHY so many are suffering and dying.

    Some people will say YES, it's worth it, and some will say it's NOT. I would love to hear both sides.

    Regards.
    EnemyCombatant
  • Wow. That is graphic, but I don't think it's gratuitous exploitation. How else can a person show the realitites of war, or famine, or disease without documenting it - either through video, sound, or the written word? Is documentation of events, however horrific, gratuitous exploitation? What would make it otherwise?

    Every soldier who has been in combat knows first-hand the realities of war. As we sit in front of our TVs and computers waxing poetic, having someone throw something like this in my face is a wake-up call.

    To me it's a brief window into life on the other side. We won't always have a guide briefing us on the preceding events leading up to what we are seeing. What does your gut tell you, without someone else's opinion clouding your most innate sense of judgement?

    Does it matter that this man is a soldier, or a terrorist, a father, a son, a teacher, a thief, a priest, a criminal? What matters most?
    karmagrrrl
  • Yeah I think this needs more explanation of the fact that it is war. I know people that see this everyday in our ER's across the world and this doesn't seem all that diffrent than violence on the streets in the context we see it here. Yes it matters if it is a soldier, a terrorist, a father, a son, a teacher, a thief, a priest or a criminal if the point of it is the view of war we don't normally see.
    TT
    • TT
    • 08/20/05
  • I liked it, short and to the point. This would make an excellent series. De-glams all this hero horse pucky being fed our kids as they are sent to their deaths in Iraq for no good reason. Play on!
    petamni
  • I liked it's rawness. The wounded are often forgotten when they should be honored just as much as the dead.
    Of course, I wouldn't want to watch 90 minutes of something that raw. Doesn't take long to get the message.
    Swimmer
  • its very apparent you have never seen surgery let alone video taped such an event. your efforts show nothing of any medical information. maybe shooting a biology frog dissection for practice before you jepordize the health of a human in surgery. did it occur to you that your behavior may have caused more injury than the wound itself!
    medphoto
  • This would be much more effective if you set up the film with an introduction at the very least. I get what you were going for... try a re-edit with more information so people are not so confused. This is comparable to spanking a child without any explination.
    k8e
  • This "video" is presented entirely without context. It's totally ridiculous.
    christineg
  • if they'd put this in the recruiting brochure, this poor kid would have had a chance to run away, while he still had both legs.

    Raw yes, required reading for seniors "absolutely"...

    Thank You
    delgado_mon
  • I think it needs a more 'human' component to it to justify your intent... because then it just becomes like one of those defensive driving films where they showed people mangled and bloody... did those videos affect people? No, because it took the human element out of the situation and left us with just gore. If you want us to be moved by this, then you've GOT to show us the person behind this pain.
    april
  • Totally heavy! WAR is ugly and it is brave of you to show such a graphic spot. It seems like there is a great black out on the truth about War now. Thanks for your bravery and your 30 seconds. I pray for every one who is there and effected by this travesty. In life I cannot take sides, I hope that we can bring and end to this whole things swiftly.

    Respect, TJ Walkup
    gargoylex
  • Imagine if you will the tens of thousands of Iraqis who have gone through this same procedure. Most with little or no pain medication, no clean facility and no hope of a fruitful life afterward because there's no prosthetics, no therapists, little or no follow up care. Just imagine.

    I just wish Americans could see what Iraqis go through as well as footage of American soldiers.
    cwendy
  • I think this is TV ready, because mainstream media does not show us this. War is hell, but if it is too sanitized how are we ever going to mobilize to stop it? Yes, he could have done this or that to make this POD a little better, but what's important is that people see this. This is reality. This is what we are doing to men, women, children..........babies and for what, lies!

    Hey, medphoto, are you for real with this statement:

    "did it occur to you that your behavior may have caused more injury than the wound itself!"

    Did it occur to you that if something like this gets to air it could have a huge impact of peoples perception of the war? Think of how many legs we could save by starting peace now.

    Wake up folks, this may be graphic, but this is tame compared to the shit that goes on daily in a war zone.

    Current staff, what gives? 48 votes, 100% YES and the video score is 41.0? How could that be?
    covelogibbs

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