[The 90’s raw: men against violence, building demolition, Letelier]

Raw footage for the award-winning series The 90's. The first section of tape is from the Brother Peace event, where people are gathered to stop violence against women. Strangely, the group seems almost apathetic about the subject, even though they have gathered for the purpose of acknowledging it. Various speakers get up and complain about rape, sexism, pornography, etc. The second part of the tape shows a building demolition at night, and Becker fruitlessly asks people about the building the next day. The widow of Orlando Letelier, Chilean ambassador to the U.S. during the Allende administration, who was later assassinated by the U.S.-installed Pinochet regime, talks about the political history of Chile as it affected her life. She explains the history of Chilean politics and her own involvement in feminist politics in Chile and the United States.

0:00Copy video clip URL Becker attends the Brother Peace event in a park in Washington, D.C., an international day of peace to end men’s violence. A small gathering of people honors women killed by domestic violence. The footage starts by looking at a man on a small stage outside speaking into a microphone, speaking inspirationally to the crowd. The tape cuts to the same man speaking about rape. People hold hands for three minutes of silence, and then the man comes back on stage, and he wants to “shatter the silence,” and they all shout “No more!” The camera zooms in on one woman who is on the verge of tears. The tape cuts several times, with the same man speaking about rape of children, pornography, and similar topics. He wears a shirt that says, “Stop Sexual Assault.” He introduces a poet.

07:12Copy video clip URL A black woman comes onstage and recites a poem that she wrote after working in a shelter. The poem is about mothers and children who need help dealing with verbal and physical abuse. There are short clips of other people speaking.

10:12Copy video clip URL A man comes onstage to speak about his experience living in poverty. The tape cuts as he talks about being in the Vietnam war, and the military’s disrespect for women.

14:14Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to a list of names, presumably of battered women. The tape cuts, and the same man is still speaking about our cultural perceptions of women and his experience in Vietnam. The camera mostly focuses on the people watching, who are all stone-faced.

18:48Copy video clip URL The tape cuts and a woman gets up to speak about sexism and ageism. She focuses on the portrayal of older women in magazines. The tape cuts and the woman is speaking in the background, but the camera watches two men who appear to be arguing inaudibly.

20:54Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to a man who is walking by with a hat that says, “Old Fart’s Wife.” The camera pans to look at the park, and then moves back to the speaker, who is accompanied by a sign language interpreter.

21:45Copy video clip URL The tape cuts and a man with dreads begins to speak, and introduces a song he has just written, but the tape cuts. The leader then speaks emotionally, and starts crying.

24:59Copy video clip URL The tape cuts, and Becker talks to Allen Nelson, the man who spoke about Vietnam. He talks about men and women coming together in partnership, and how families will be changing in the ’90s. He does an introduction for the event, as well, summarizing the event.

27:17Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to Sam Deanar, a speaker, who also introduces the event, and was inspired by thinking about Carter’s draft registration. He tells a long story about himself, and how he got involved with nonviolence and nonsexist movements. He introduces and invites people to an organization called, “D.C. Men Against Rape.”

32:26Copy video clip URL The tape cuts, and Deanar speaks about movements toward peace. “Our challenge for the ’90s is to go out and build a movement–of men–to go out and fight sexism.” He then introduces the wall of battered women, which lists 51,000 battered women.

34:00Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to Russ Fun (?), the emotional speaker from before. He explains the wall, which lists the names of battered women to parallel the Vietnam wall, because they are both wars.

35:11Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to Russ talking to children about his pins, which are all about women. He interacts well with the kids. The tape cuts back to the interview, where Russ talks about the success of the event, and he is generally hopeful.

37:46Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to footage of the park, with the Washington monument in the distance. Then there is footage of the Vietnam wall.

39:06Copy video clip URL A building being torn down at night, an eerie scene. A giant crane gradually works away at the brick and a constant stream of water smothers the dust, as Becker watches from across the street. Becker talks to a man (a construction worker?) in the background, who gives vague information about the demolition.

45:26Copy video clip URL The same lot during the day with the building almost completely gone. A bulldozer is still doing some work. Becker tries to interview passersby about the building, but no one remembers it, other than guessing it was old. “If you walked by, it wouldn’t jump out at you.” Becker crosses the street to get a closer view of the bulldozer working. Another man says that it was an old house, and then that it was a Chinese restaurant. A construction worker says it was four stories, with a bar, and that it took them 2 nights to tear it down, and they will tear down the neighboring building soon. At the end of the segment, Becker looks at the neighboring building, which houses some sort of organization.

57:49Copy video clip URL The widow of Orlando Letelier, Isabel Margarita Morel Gumucio, sits at a desk and is doing work, and Becker asks her about her psychological state, and how the death has affected her opinion of Chile. Surprisingly, she wants to go back to Chile, and has no fear. Unfortunately, she lives in the U.S. now, and explains that she and her husband initially left because of mild political problems, planning to stay only for two years, but ended up building a life in the U.S.

01:01:36Copy video clip URL Gumucio explains the death of her husband, who was assassinated in Washington, D.C., after having returned to Chile as ambassador to the U.S. for two years. She talks about the Chilean regime under Allende, the military coup, and the current political state of Chile. Chile has an upcoming election, which she is excited and optimistic about, but notes that they will not have a “normal democracy,” but rather a transitional government.

01:09:06Copy video clip URL Gumucio says that she was exiled from Chile for a long time, but has recently been allowed to return, and she has been visiting for very short periods of time. She talks about the presence of the United States in Chile through the television. “People in Chile, as well as in the United States, are looking to the future.” She talks about globalization and the new export of fruits, and the impact of international relations on Chile. She mentions the women’s movement in Chile, and new environmental awareness. She also explains the secrecy of the current Chilean government. She talks about the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, and the importance of the indigenous people and their knowledge in preservation of the earth.

01:15:07Copy video clip URL Gumucio talks about her family, and how her youngest son is running for Congress in Chile. She continues to talk about the changes she anticipates in politics. “Politics is the art of what’s possible, and you can never have your dreams fully fulfilled, but we must keep dreaming. Dream is the vision, the utopia… If you do not believe that things can get better, then life is not worth living.” A phone rings, and she answers it in Spanish.

01:18:44Copy video clip URL The interview resumes, and Letelier’s widow talks about her experience after the assassination of her husband, saying she was “burdened.” But she quickly shifts the focus away from herself, to the economic plight of people in Chile at that time, which was only solved with agrarian reform and the export of fruit. Then she returns to the excitement of the upcoming election, though it alone will not fix the problems.

01:24:57Copy video clip URL Becker asks about her optimism for the ’90s, and she again talks about her son being a candidate. She also says that she is happy to have grandchildren. “We have seen the most oppressive regime… Latin America is at a very critical point.” She continues to talk optimistically, but says she is optimistic for the process and the effort rather than feeling that every problem will be solved.

01:30:47Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to the widow showing Becker a drawing of her husband. She has a shelf with pictures and photographs of Letelier. She shows us a photo of the cabinet in which her husband worked, and tells us how a bomb was put in her husband’s car. She shows us a poster of a yearly memorial award that they give out. “Instead of mourning the death of our loved ones, we are celebrated other people who are very courageous and defend human rights.” She also shows a campaign poster of her son’s, and a flag that has a rainbow and says “No,” from a movement last year giving them the democratic vote. In addition, she manages to find another poster for their memorial. She shows us crafts made by Chilean women in an effort to cope with their poverty, explaining that they sell the crafts to tourists. Woman made tapestries to show news events not covered by the press.

01:39:56Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to the photograph of the cabinet again, closer. There is a drawing of a man being hung, and of the drawing and a photograph of Letelier, as well as her son’s poster again. The widow then brings out more photographs, and lays them on the couch for Becker to tape. One photo is of a march just after the assassination of around 10,000 people.

01:50:14Copy video clip URL At the site of Letelier’s assassination at Sheridan Circle, Becker talks about his memory of the event. He says he was at home, and the car was detonated with a radio. Becker watches the cars pass, and shows us where the car came to rest. The memorial reads, “Justice, Peace, Dignity” and has a medallion showing the faces of Letelier and the woman who was also killed (Moffitt).

01:55:18Copy video clip URL End of tape.

 

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