TV Eye
Out and About
By Belinda Acosta, Fri., March 17, 2006
It's a funny thing about reviewing TV. You have to be home to watch it. The piled-up newspapers and unwashed dishes, coinciding with the declining pile of clean dainties in the underwear drawer, are the telltale signs that I've been busy. But the DVR is almost near capacity, so I know I have a lot to catch up with once SXSW is over. In the meantime, here is a quick look at what's happening on and off the small screen:
The theatre of outrage: I slipped into the packed house for the one-on-one with Henry Rollins at SXSW last Sunday. The host of The Henry Rollins Show gave a no-holds, rat-a-tat talk on everything from pop culture, Hollywood, and music to the war in Iraq – largely the war in Iraq.
It was an interesting thing to observe: a rapt audience, eager to hear what he had to say, lured by his magnetic earnestness. He's not particularly eloquent, but he is sincere, gravely concerned about the world, something the audience seemed to crave and adore, and he seemed to feed from. That's not a slam. Good performers read their audiences quickly. What was weird (to me, at least) was how, even with his enthusiasm and his heartfelt thoughts on the war, the failings of the Democratic Party, how he wished front liners like Al Franken would cut their hair, put on a tie, and begin the hard work of giving the Dems some legitimacy, the audience did not feel compelled to get off their asses and do something (myself included). No, the rush was not into the streets, but to the dais, to get handshakes. Could it be that we live in a culture where believing yourself engaged, believing you're affecting social change goes no further than observing someone – Henry Rollins, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher – express the same sense of outrage you feel?
On the other hand, what do I know what anyone in the audience is or was up to outside this forum? Maybe this is just a sign of my own restlessness. All I know is that for all the voices out there, all the apparently shared disappointments in this administration, action from the liberal-progressive-radical side is not happening very fast, not when compared with the great, thunderous roll of the ruling machine. I wanted Henry Rollins to lead his rapt audience into the street. As he said, it would be fun just to sit around and talk about movies and art, but with the world as it is, that's just not going to cut it.
"Under oppressive administrations, art flourishes," Rollins said. But art and music are not enough. "If music could be a vehicle for change, it would have happened."
A new season of The Henry Rollins Show premieres April 1 on IFC.
Speaking of the war in Iraq: The Sundance Channel marks the third year of the war by screening four films documenting the war from different angles. The lineup includes:
Big Storm: The Lynndie England Story (D: Twan Huys): Huys' documentary goes behind the image of England, the soldier whose smiling face with Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison became the face of the scandal. England has her say in the film, as do Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker and others.
Occupation: Dreamland (D: Garrett Scott and Ian Olds): Filmed over six weeks in 2004, the film offers an unflinching look at what soldiers experience on the front line in Falluja. This film was the Truer Than Fiction prizewinner at this year's Independent Spirit Awards ceremony.
Torture: The Guantanamo Guidebook (D: Tim Carter): Seven British men voluntarily experience conditions similar to those at Guantanamo Bay. Former U.S. military interrogators question the men with officially sanctioned procedures.
Embedded/Live (D: Tim Robbins): An encore of the Actors' Gang Theatre production of Robbins' critically acclaimed play (see "TV Eye: Staged and Played").
The four films air on the Sundance Channel in a marathon March 19, starting at 8pm. Check local listings for complete details.
Austin film on PBS: Independent Lens brings Troop 1500: Girl Scouts Beyond Bars to its always appealing slate of critically acclaimed films. The film, by local filmmaker Ellen Spiro and Karen Bernstein, profiles an Austin-based Girl Scout troop whose mothers are incarcerated at Gatesville Prison. Video interviews between daughters and their mothers provide some of the most compelling moments in the film. Since its SXSW premiere last year, the film and the project have received attention from People and O Magazine (see "The Redeemers"). Troop 1500 airs Tuesday on PBS. Check local listings for airtime.
As always, stay tuned.
