War Tapes

1) What does Deborah Scranton mean by the “disconnect” she hopes to “bridge” with her documentary?
Scranton refers to how distant the War in Iraq is in relation to our lives. We tend to see the war as an event that occasionally comes to our attention and nothing more. The mainstream media only brings to our attention the death of a soldier or the aftermath of a bombing. With her film, Scranton hopes to make us aware that war is a daily reality for not just the soldiers, but for the civilians of Iraq who live in constant fear and panic. Scranton also wants to document the individual lives of the soldiers. People tend to completely disregard the value of a soldier’s service. Scranton wants to portray these soldiers as real people facing real obstacles in a real warzone.

2) How does media (television, news, documentaries, film) contribute to creating this disconnect?
The mainstream media is often impersonal. The mainstream media does not portray the soldiers as real people. The media only seeks out the facts and forego the experience of a soldier. Media has managed to turn death into a mere statistics. A reason they stay impersonal would be to avoid as much bias as they can (putting aside political agendas).

3) How can a documentary like "War Tapes" help remedy or bridge this disconnect?
War Tapes brings to us the human element of the war by bringing us face to face with the soldiers, and showing us the war through the eyes of the soldiers.