Parables of War - Reflection

   Every year the Global Peace Film Festival brings films to campus that continually change my ways of thinking and interpreting the world we live in. Parables of War by Nina Gilden Seavey was also one of these films. As someone who has many personal connections to veterans and service members, I found that this film really opened my eyes to the daily struggles, both emotionally and physically, that war veterans deal with on a regular basis that I previously couldn't comprehend. With this being said, this film also opened my eyes to how little is being done to support these members of our communities. As discussed in class, the call to action for the films shown at the GPFF are usually the most compelling and inspiring part of the festival. Most of these small films are developed with the intention of educating the public on major social issues, while as the same time inspiring these viewers to take a more active role in correcting these issues. Parables of War, to me, went about this is a more subtle way though compared to some of the other films shown at this years festival, as well as past festivals. 

   This film was powerful, but in a subtle way. It captured the audience in an emotional way without tearing their hearts out and stomping them on the floor. Instead of focusing on the truly gritty realities of the mistreatment of veterans, like homelessness and mental disease, this film chose to focus on the healing process that these men go through. Most are uneducated in the various methods of therapy used for this healing and I thought that by focusing on a veteran who found dance as his way to heal broke down one of the many stigmas that effect veterans today; the stigma that a war veteran must remain as "tough" outside of the war zone as they were in the war zone. Dance is an expression of emotion; it is intimate and it is something that many would argue is a perfect contrast to how a veteran is supposed to act. I think this is why the film works so well and I think it is in this where you find it's call to action. Although you are not directly asked to volunteer at your local VA or donate to a homeless veteran, you are asked to understand and absorb what these men go through, and to be tolerant and open minded in how they find their peace once they return home. As mentioned in the panel after the film, peace does not need to be about resolving conflicts in war torn countries or solving world hunger, it can also be about supporting each other as humans and promoting acceptance in all aspects of human society. Here is the films call to action, simply put and accessible to anyone.