NTanio_UCI EcoGovLab Skill Mapping (pt2)
ntanioI bring visual and graphic expertise, good organization skills, focus on pedagogical issues;
I bring visual and graphic expertise, good organization skills, focus on pedagogical issues;
We need social media skills, organizational skills, community organizing skills, expertise on environmental research; teaching;
This film follows the story of USMC Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger. After the death of his 9 year old daughter to lukemia, he searched for the cause of his daughters illness, and his persuit led him to discover a Marine Corps cover-up of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. The film follows Jerry's investigation and persuit to make the truth known to the public and to force the Marine Corps to be "always faithful" to the thousands of Marines and their families exposed to toxic chemicals at the camp, and at other military bases across the country where similar occurances took place.
The narrative is made and sustained by establishing Jerry's back story, then following his investigation and persuit of the truth which lead all the way up to a congressional hearing. Information on the chemicals found in the water and the effects on humans is presented in the film, and it does have an emotional impact at these diseased effect children and destroy families and lives.
There are 2 major groups of stakeholders described in the film, the Marine Corps and the people effected by diseased linked to the marine corps camps. The marine corps needed to grapple with the problems of waste disposal and the aftermath of how to deal with the effected people, while the people effected needed to survive the diseases, rebuild their lives, and persue justice from the military.
I found the parts of the film regarding the initial investigation and the release fo marine corps documents on the internet to be most compelling, because this was the establishment of the proof that the corps knew fully about the potential health concerns at Camp Lejeune and actively covered it up and did nothing to improve the conditions until it was too late.
This film would best address an audiance of young to middle aged adults, possibly with military ties such as being a veteran. These people would have an interest in the acountability of the goverment and its various agencies and branches.
The viewpoints of elected goverment officials on the state and federal levels are lacking from this film.
To enhance it's eduacational value, more of the scientific links between the chemicals and environmental hazards present at camp lejeune could have been explored and not just stated as a fact.