And when Dubya spoke, they all laughed

My husband and I had the pleasure of attending the Opening Ceremony of the 9^th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival at the Olympion Theatre last night. We were lucky we could get an invitation at the last minute, because it was the only screening of Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing we would be able to go to. There were a few dignitaries present, including the American Consul (otherwise known as the woman who didn’t want to speak to me in English), the guy who hosts Cinemania on ET3, the mayor of Thessaloniki, and Barbara Kopple, the woman responsible for Shut Up and Sing (and also one of the documentary film makers being honored at the festival).

We were first entertained by a host of humdrum public speakers, people responsible for the festival who did not seem comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. The mayor of Thessaloniki dared to speak, to the jeers of the Greek audience, which was surprising considering he was recently re-elected by the good people of this city. His speech was met with much rudeness among the crowd – people talking, quite loudly, and one person who thought it would be a good moment to cycle through all their ringtones. It might have been better had they had the civility to shut up and listen. I understand perfectly the resentment of a public official who was elected despite my own wishes, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to behave rudely in their presence. If anything, I prefer to listen to what they have to say, lest they declare themselves king, or something.

Finally, Ms. Kopple gave us a brief introduction to her movie, and all I can say is she really looks good for 60. The movie was entertaining, interesting, and presented with a light edge, but far more fascinating than the picture itself was the reaction of the Greek and European audience. In the early part of the movie, when they showed Bush briefly, talking about going to war with Iraq, the crowd broke out in insane laughter. When Natalie Maines turned to the camera and called Bush a dumb fuck, the entire theatre erupted into cheers and applause.

Such movies cause antipodal reactions for me. On the one hand, it is a factual account of the backlash and ridiculousness of the reaction against Maines’ “anti-Bush” comment, and I appreciate such documentaries. On the other hand, it helps to feed the foreign stereotype about America and Americans - what we believe, how we feel about what is going on, our hatred, our ignorance, whatever. While obviously the film did give a true representation of some Americans, it certainly didn’t represent the whole. Europeans seem to see Americans as simply pro-Bush, completely and unequivocally devoted to the government – and even for pro-Bush Americans, this isn’t what their lives are all about. America, and Americans, are a lot more than the sum of their government. We love, we have pain, we struggle to make ends meet, we worry, we live our lives as best as we can. We may be right, we may be wrong, but we believe in what we believe. Some agree with Bush, some support the war in Iraq, and some don’t.

By the end of the movie it was clear that many opinions had changed about Maines’ comment (and the war in Iraq), but I think the stigma was still there, at least in the minds of any foreigners watching the movie. These movies that so brilliantly point out to Americans what is wrong with their country also present that side of America to the world. While the problems in America might be overwhelming and real, there are still bright spots in America’s present, and hopefully, the future. At least there is still hope.