Review: Tattooed Under Fire
When I first started to watch clips of Tattooed under Fire by Nancy Schiesari, I started to see an outline of a unique story that needed to be brought to public television. I saw young men and women just out of high school who were preparing to go to war in Iraq as they as visited a local tattoo parlor near their base. There they revealed their American pride, their concerns and their fears about going over to fight. Then the film provides more revelations upon their return from Iraq. Each soldier gives their own personal perspective giving us the sense of the human and cultural cost of war. Tattooed under Fire gives a perspective and an experience that very few of us will ever experience in our lifetime.
As an independent producer, Nancy Schiesari has shown her skill in transitioning the original Fort Hood Diaries project into Tattooed under Fire. The early cuts that I saw have now been polished into this one-hour documentary. I want to thank her for listening to the many voices providing her with direction to finish this film. I also want to thank the folks from ITVS and with the LINCS project with the assistance in getting this program ready for air. They have provided lots of support to get this program on many of the public television stations. And the good news is that many of the public television stations around the country are planning to air the program in November around Veteran’s Day.
Tattooed under Fire is an excellent contemporary documentary that provides a unique look into our world. It is worthy of your viewing time. Look for it on your PBS station. Check local listings for days and times.
Tattooed under Fire can be seen on KLRU on Tuesday, November 10 at 9:00 pm and Thursday, November 12th at 1:00 am.
— Maria Rodriguez, senior vice president of programming
Tags: review, Tattooed under Fire
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November 9th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Given the recent tragedy at Ft Hood, this film is even more relevant. Tattoed Under Fire is an opportunity to listen to and reflect on the difficulty our service personnel face in this conflict, their patriotism and courage in service, but also their struggle with violence, loss and their own humaness in their relationships with family, comrades and friends. What we ask of them every day- to go to Iraq and Afganistan and take the actions and face the threats that these conflicts demand affects all of us, whether we realize it or not. I hope everyone who watches this will come away with a new commitment to support our military personnel and find an end to both of these wars.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Even though I am against the Iraq War. I stopped watching the movie after about fifteen minutes because I was tired of listening to the morose lady that owns the tattoo shop. I wasn’t interested in her anti-war feelings which came across too strongly. I wanted to hear the soldier’s stories and feelings about going to war.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Betsy says it quite well…but I must disagree Daniel–the owner was a blip in the film, she appeared only 1-2 times more in the film and for only a few seconds. She did relay her feelings in that brief instance up front, but you missed the bulk of the film where the vets spoke at length about the effects of the war and their fears and personal battles. If you had waited mere seconds, you would have gotten what you asked for.