SPA shows documentary

By Marty Swant

Published May 2, 2008

A documentary tracking the experiences of four American citizens as they traveled to 14 countries around the globe to learn how America is viewed abroad was shown Tuesday night in Johnson Auditorium in Middlebush Hall.

“The Listening Project,” co-directed by Joel Weber and Dominic Howes, gives Americans the opportunity to hear the thoughts of people living on five of the seven continents.

The goal of the film was to bring back the ideas and opinions of the rest of the world about America and how the nation’s actions affect others, the filmmakers said. They wanted to present a rich, visual sense of what the rest of the world is like and show the human ideals behind all of it, they said during a question-and-answer session after the showing.

Before arriving at a destination, the filmmakers hoped to have at least one contact who had agreed to spend some time with them so they could see a glimpse of how life was in each country. Some of their most informative conversations, though, came from strangers, found on street corners, in cafes and in pubs.

“Sometimes 30 seconds with a person was as enlightening as three days,” Howes said.

People at every destination treated them warmly, like family, he said. This often included invitations for picnics, homes and lots of green tea, which was especially prevalent in Afghanistan.

Finished only three months ago, the film has already won Best Documentary at the Oxford, Durango and Omaha film festivals.

Howes said they plan to mail a copy of “The Listening Project” to the White House and every member of Congress. They hope to show the film frequently in the following months, especially as the elections draw near.

The film is not meant to be a partisan program, they said, but rather to show people what “global citizenship” looks like.

“To be a good citizen I think is to recognize you are a citizen of the planet Earth,” Shan said. “I don’t want my friends and neighbors to live in poverty.”

Howes and Shan hope Americans will no longer see themselves as a superior class but rather have a hunger for material that enables them to learn what it means to live in a globalized world.

The movie was brought to MU by Students for Progressive Action, a student organization created as an outlet for students who are interested in progressive ideas and to raise awareness of them, SPA member Michael Koch said.

“I think it is an important film for people to see that there’s a whole world out there,” Koch said.