There are so many documentaries made every year and few receive the attention they truly deserve. From my experience most documentary filmmakers work with virtually no budget. Passion and dedication is the driving force that gets their projects completed. Unfortunately after the film is edited and ready to be seen, the opportunities for distribution are commonly a dead end.
When was the last time you went to the cinema and paid to see a documentary? I’m ashamed to say for me it’s been a while.
With that said I urge everyone to make an effort to seek out documentaries either at the art houses or through their DVD rental store. You might be surprised at what you learn.
Yesterday I received via Netflix the Native American documentary “Broken Rainbow.” It’s an Oscar-winning documentary that I never knew existed, until now.
Made in 1985 it tells the story of the forced relocation of Navajo Indians in Arizona that started in the mid 1970s and sadly continues today. Though made in 1985, on the DVD there’s a special update called “2006: The Struggle Continues.” There’s no other word to describe what has happened to the Native Americans but genocide.
Why are the Navajo’s being relocated? Greed. The energy companies and government continually rape Mother Earth for money and power. Oil, gas, uranium, and coal are more important than preserving the sacred earth and indigenous people.
I would love to believe that corporate America and government will come to their senses but I know and you know that’s not true. Because they don’t have a conscience they are able to justify their egregious behavior.
Interspersed throughout the film are compelling interviews with various Navajo who give insight into their rich culture, their history, and the sacrifices they have been forced to make.
The closing song, “Broken Rainbow,” was written and sung by Laura Nyro:
The old people of the earth
Tell stories
An old woman
Of the old ways
She said -
"I recall my joy
In better days"
The young warriors
Of the open rainbow
Said "Tell me is it true?
Tell me, do some live
out of bags and rags
In the cities too?
Is it true?"
At the edge where I live
Home sweet home
America
Native American Nation
Caught in the devastation
An endless situation
What can I do?
The ghost of prejudice
Cuts thru the moonglow
Poet on a crying page -
Broken Rainbow
Broken Rainbow
Home sweet home
America
When was the last time you went to the cinema and paid to see a documentary? I’m ashamed to say for me it’s been a while.
With that said I urge everyone to make an effort to seek out documentaries either at the art houses or through their DVD rental store. You might be surprised at what you learn.
Yesterday I received via Netflix the Native American documentary “Broken Rainbow.” It’s an Oscar-winning documentary that I never knew existed, until now.
Made in 1985 it tells the story of the forced relocation of Navajo Indians in Arizona that started in the mid 1970s and sadly continues today. Though made in 1985, on the DVD there’s a special update called “2006: The Struggle Continues.” There’s no other word to describe what has happened to the Native Americans but genocide. Why are the Navajo’s being relocated? Greed. The energy companies and government continually rape Mother Earth for money and power. Oil, gas, uranium, and coal are more important than preserving the sacred earth and indigenous people.
I would love to believe that corporate America and government will come to their senses but I know and you know that’s not true. Because they don’t have a conscience they are able to justify their egregious behavior.
Interspersed throughout the film are compelling interviews with various Navajo who give insight into their rich culture, their history, and the sacrifices they have been forced to make.
The closing song, “Broken Rainbow,” was written and sung by Laura Nyro:
Tell stories
An old woman
Of the old ways
She said -
"I recall my joy
In better days"
The young warriors
Of the open rainbow
Said "Tell me is it true?
Tell me, do some live
out of bags and rags
In the cities too?
Is it true?"
At the edge where I live
Home sweet home
America
Native American Nation
Caught in the devastation
An endless situation
What can I do?
The ghost of prejudice
Cuts thru the moonglow
Poet on a crying page -
Broken Rainbow
Broken Rainbow
Home sweet home
America
Comments