A single picture stands out from the infamous dozen that were leaked to the public from Abu Ghraib prison in late 2003.
The photo depicts Army Reserve Specialist Lynndie England with a leash dangling casually from her hand, the end attached to a nude Iraqi man collapsed on the ground. A facial expression is absent and boredom is evident from the stance of her delicate, 5-foot frame.
The photo was a window into an appalling aspect of the U.S. Army that the public had never seen before, but the pictures only told part of the story. “Standard Operating Procedure,” the latest documentary from Oscar-winning director Errol Morris, looks beyond the lens of the prison guard’s cameras to tell the story happening around the photos.
The documentary, which will open in theaters Friday, screens tonight through Melnitz Movies at the James Bridges Theater, followed by an exhibition of war-themed art and a catered reception.
The event is sponsored by the nonprofit organization Meaningful Media in cooperation with Artists for Amnesty. Emily Meyers, founder of Meaningful Media and student in the MFA Producers Program at UCLA, said that “Standard Operating Procedure” looks beyond the frame of the photos capture a larger picture of the abuse at Abu Ghraib, an issue that was thought to have been laid to rest with convictions of several U.S. soldiers after the discovery of the photos.
“The movie asks the deeper questions about what we can mistakenly conclude from photographs,” Meyers said.
Director Errol Morris researched the story behind the Abu Ghraib photos for more than two and a half years, interviewing extensively, negotiating with lawyers and eventually contacting England herself, who makes an appearance in the film, now 25 years old and a convicted felon.
Morris’ labors will provide new material for the Abu Ghraib discourse, according to Raffi Sarkissian, a third-year communication studies student and a work-study intern at Meaningful Media.
“We’ve seen maybe a handful of the pictures released, but “˜Standard Operating Procedure’ shows hundreds of pictures that we haven’t seen in the media,” Sarkissian said.
Morris’ research not only yielded unreleased pictures, but also interviews from former Abu Ghraib commanding officers and interrogators.
Though Abu Ghraib has been mostly absent from news headlines for years, the issue is still an important one, according to Meyers, who finds the lack of substantial discourse over the issue of Abu Ghraib troubling.
“We were dismayed. … It seemed almost taboo to talk about this,” Meyers said.
Sarkissian believes that the film has the potential to spark a dialogue that he believes is essential in light of the abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
“The human rights issues that the film deals with are still going on right now. … It’s something today that people don’t really know or talk about,” Sarkissian said.
Sparking this discourse is Meaningful Media’s particular goal; the screening is part of the organization’s ambitious campaign to change the world by stimulating conversation through supporting and highlighting socially conscious media.
Inspired by a program that combined social activism and business during her undergraduate years, Meyers created Meaningful Media as a resource for those looking to create or access socially conscious media.
The organization now provides a variety of support services, including a “Meaningful Movies Database” that provides helpful information on a large number of films that target social issues.
“I realized that we had a vacuum in the film industry. … We really needed our own organization of people who wanted to use media to bring about change in the world,” she said.
In pursuit of that change, Meyers said that everyone attending the screening will leave with a prepared letter to their congressman that denounces the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and calls for its closing, which she believes is a similar situation to Abu Ghraib.
“We want to actively encourage people to learn about social issues and the deeper realities related to the film,” Meyers said. “As the media makers of the world, we should really be searching inside ourselves to … inspire people and change their perceptions.”
Sarkissian said his study of communications has convinced him of the need for an advocate and supporter for socially conscious media.
“All media outlets seem like they’re owned by about four people, and they have incredible influence as to what gets out there,” Sarkissian said, referring to media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner. “People don’t realize how much that affects their lives.”
Sarkissian believes that the special power of media to kindle strong reactions from people will be instrumental in fighting injustices like the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.
“By mainstreaming these lesser-known media that focus on getting the word out, we open this dialogue that can change peoples’ lives,” Sarkissian said.