Finally, Part 2

Another movie that doesn’t star Billy Drago was released on DVD this week. After a very limited theatrical release in 2006, the documentary Screamers finally hit the streets this week. I saw the film last year when I scored a copy off of Ebay that turned out to be a crummy screener copy that I ended up sending back and getting a refund (after watching it, of course!). Directed by Carla Garapedian, Screamers is a thought-provoking documentary that looks at the Armenian genocide that took place between about 1914-1918 which set the tone for the impending Holocaust. The Turkish people slaughtered the Armenians, then denied that a genocide had occurred. Subsequently, the United States government refused to acknowledge the genocide as such until very, very recently. The film documents the efforts of the Armenian-American band System of a Down to spread the message of the US government’s denial of the genocide across the world. The film contains a variety of enlightening, sometimes harrowing interviews with the activists of System of a Down as well as various historians, journalists (including the Turkish-Armenian Hrant Dink who was murdered early last year) and some of the last living survivors of the genocide.
I do not believe that one must be a fan of System of a Down to enjoy this film, though the heavy sounds of System may be off-putting to some. The music of the band and the politically charged stance they take is only one facet of the movie and its message (albeit a major facet). The film took forever to appear on DVD, but it looks like there are quite a few extras including more System music as well as a tribute to Hrant Dink. Screamers is a fascinating look at a culture affected by war and how our government just loves to forget about, or tries to erase entirely, the past in the most convenient ways possible.