I'm watching the superbly dubbed english version (featuring voice acting from Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, and Jada Pinkett-Smith) of Princess Mononoke. There is a fantastic theme in the movie - that Prince Ashitaka's mission is to "see with eyes unclouded by hate." The first reference to this theme comes from this line:
"You cannot alter your fate, my prince. However, you can rise to meet it, if you choose. Look at this. This iron ball was found in the boar's body [ed. referring to a demon boar, rampaging through the forest, that Ashitaka killed]. This is what hurt him so. It shattered his bones, and burned his way deep inside him. This is what turned him into a demon. There is evil at work in the land to the west, Prince Ashitaka. It's your fate to go there, and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate." - Village Elder @ 8:26 [Veoh Link.]It reminded me of a recent monologue by Rick Sanchez targets some simply ignorant remarks made by the infamous "Joe the Plumber." Joe, "reporting" from Israel, informs us that he doesn't think "journalists should be anywhere (around) war... I think media should be abolished from, you know, reporting. War is hell." Rick responds quite effectively to this pseudo-political icon, and his spouting, suggesting that journalists are requisite to democracy, and even honoring the 43 journalists killed in action since the beginning of 2008. It is, indeed, the job of journalists to go into war zones and see with "eyes unclouded by hate."
James Nachtwey does just this. His infamous M.O. -
"I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events
I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated."
He goes into war zones, and illustrates the horror of hatred enacted (see his terrific TED Prize acceptance speech). His camera truly is an eye unclouded by hate, and he knows for certain that war is hell. The James Nachtweys of the world let us know where our tax dollars spent on munitions end up, and where our attention should be placed. Journalists in the war zone are the medics for our souls, and we must enable, protect and empower them. Read more, and donate at http://www.cpj.org/.
