 "Photo: Courtesy Body of War")
On April 4, 2004, Tomas Young was on his first mission to Sadr City in Iraq. While riding in an unarmored Humvee with no canvas covering, Young was shot just above his left collarbone. He was paralyzed instantly. He had been serving in Iraq for less than a week.
"Body of War" is a new documentary directed by UT associate professor Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. The film chronicles Young's day-to-day struggles, dealing with his paralysis and taking part in anti-war protests. The Daily Texan had a chance to sit down with the directors and the star of the documentary when they were in town to premiere the film at SXSW.
Daily Texan: How was it working with Tomas over that period of time? Did you guys become close friends during that process or do you have to keep a certain distance while doing a documentary on your subject?
Ellen Spiro: I don't believe in the idea of journalistic objectivity, and the kind of documentaries that I make, I spend lots of time with people and I get to know them person-to-person, not subject under a microscope and examiner. To me, showing the truth of someone's story as deeply as possible is a way to show all sides of that story. In other words, there is no other side to Tomas' story, it's "Tomas' story." If it were a 40-second piece on a news show, you'd present somebody who wouldn't get to know him, and you'd throw in something that looks like the other opinion. There's multiple dimensions to every topic and every issue. If journalists really wanted to be balanced, they'd show a thousand voices and different opinions, not just, say, a Democrat and a Republican. But to me, this wasn't a political story. The greater part of the film, which is about Tomas, was a human story, and I wanted to get to know Tomas as a friend; and his mother and I became close also.
DT: How was it having a film crew following you for the better part of a year or two years?
Tomas Young: Well, at first I was a little hesitant and I thought of minding my p's and q's a little bit because I didn't know what kind of impact it was going to have, but as things progressed, it got to a point where I realized that the more in-depth that we go as to what I dealt with in my daily life, as well as what I say and do, that the more people will be able to see and know of the ramifications and consequences that go along with making any kind of impetuous decision; whether it's to enlist or preemptively go to war, or anything.
DT: How has it been since the documentary ended filming? Have there been any changes in your life?
TY: During the filming, from Phil and Ellen and my mother and everybody, I got nothing but love and praise heaped on me, which can get kind of old after a while [laughs]. When the movie started to get some press and I started reading the negative reactions, it gave me a new sense of purpose. I was worried that there were going to be people who were afraid to criticize a paralyzed veteran, but now I see that there are people who are not afraid to criticize a paralyzed veteran and his views. It makes me happy.
DT: How do you go about comprising a story for a documentary because you have Tomas' story running parallel to the decision to go to war on Capitol Hill? How do you come about what path a documentary takes?
ES: That's the beauty and the joy of making documentaries. The kind of documentaries I make are not scripted. We don't know what's going to happen. It's the surprise element that keeps me working on a film, in this case, for three years. If you're open to those surprises, it makes for an interesting film. Then [Tomas] started his own project, which we're all really thrilled about, that is the music album that Tomas chose all the songs for. Eddie Vedder helped him create, well a lot of people did, but Eddie and Tomas wrote letters to all the musicians and got them on board, and now there's a two-CD set.
DT: Was it as easy as that, just writing letters and people were like, "Here's our song?"
TY: Eddie had asked me several times if there was anything he could do for me, and I didn't particularly want him to help me out with medical bills or anything of that sort. It dawned on me that I might want to do something extra to maybe help raise money and awareness for a group I belong to called the Iraq Veterans Against the War. So I asked him if he would help me with this, and he reached out to his management team and they reached out to Warner Bros./Sire records. All of the artists that ended up on the CD all donated their songs pro-bono, because I'm not going to see any of the money from the CD sales. That money will go to the IVAW. I don't care if 5 million people see this film or hear this record; if none of them move to action, regardless of the commercial success, I'll essentially consider the movie a failure. But if only five people see this movie or hear this album, yet all five are spurned to do something, I will consider this movie a blockbuster and the CD a success.
DT: The parallel storyline to Tomas' was every senator that said "Yea" in going to war. Did you want to make everyone accountable for their decision in the documentary?
Phil Donahue: I wanted to show how superficial the bumper sticker debate on the floor of the house and the Senate was that led to an unnecessary, unaffordable, unconstitutional, unwinnable, immoral war that put Tomas Young in the wheelchair. This is how we got here. Without the congressional material in the film, the film becomes an "Oh that poor lad, how sad." Tomas did not want that kind of film, and I didn't either. He wanted a film with bite, with political bite. This film takes a stand; there's nothing nuanced about this film. This is the truth of the people you see in the film.
DT: Obviously Ellen has done several documentaries beforehand. How did you two work together on the documentary?
PD: Well, a swelling in my jaw has just gone down. [grinning] I'm teasing. Like most creative collaborators, we had our differences, but we think resolving them created a better movie. Ellen talks back and has a terrible habit of disagreeing with me [laughs].
ES: We love each other.
PD: Ellen did this fabulous job of capturing this family up close. We were very nervous; we didn't know what we had. I took the film to Florida to show to Bob Graham. Bob Graham is a two-term governor of Florida and a three-term senator and a no-voter in our film and has since retired from the Senate. And he watched the film and after the film ended he turned to me and said, "This film should be seen in every college and university in this country."
ES: That's a good note to end the article on [laughs].
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