WHAT MY STUDENTS SAY ABOUT "HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT"


Jillian: "[It was] a whole lot more than I was expecting. For some reason
when I heard you talking about making a film, I just assumed it was low budget
and visibly so. But I was taken away because this film, which featured my
teacher's name on it, looked like something that I would see on television."

Christine: "My favorite part was when Michael Parenti spoke. . . .This
documentary was definitely an eye-opener. I am glad I watched this film. I think
that years from now I will be able to use the information I got from this film
and use it. I feel much more educated about U.S. intentions and, in general,
I feel outraged."

Adam: "The film was incredibly powerful, and eye-opening in many respects.
To realize that the U.S. has played a key role in so many acts of terrorism is
absolutely atrocious! . . .Overall I really liked the movie. It made me
angry, sad, disgusted, and it thoroughly involved me emotionally. I am not always
a fan of documentaries that aren't about sports, music, or other trivial
topics. In this case I couldn't get enough of it. I sincerely mean it when I say
you did a hell of a job on this movie!

Pat: "With the creation of the School of the Americas, we have seen the
creation of a tool of the upper class to oppress the lower in its search for
capital."

David: "In this film we find exceptional video footage, good sound, and nice
scene transitions all with the appropriate background 'mood' music."

Carol: "One thing that I am confused about is the American involvement in
Latin America and all the massacres taking place there. I didn't catch the
extent of the involvement of the American soldiers. I know that there were
American men involved in the torture of Sister Dianna Ortiz, but are the American
troops over there killing all of these people or is it just the people that
graduated from the School of the Americas?"

Carolyn: "The personal interviews included in the documentary are very
important elements and were wisely included. [Dianna, Ana, and Hector] were all
very powerful. I think that people are more apt to ignore impersonal accounts
of events such as these when the people involved remain nameless and are only a
statistic. Or perhaps people try not to believe that terrible things are
happening in the world. If they are isolated from these events, they do not have
to deal with their reality. However, when an individual, such as Dianna
Ortiz, is put on film speaking about her own personal experiences, I find that it
is difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the reality of her situation."

Karl: "The stories, especially by Ana Chavez Fisher and Sister Dianna Ortiz,
struck me. It was interesting to hear directly from a person how their life
was affected by the SOA. It seems as if Americans have become desensitized to
people dying because it is heard about and talked about in such a casual way."

Laura: "I don't understand how [the demonstrators] can be arrested by simply
conducting a peaceful protest and crossing some stupid line in the middle of
the road. It's pretty retarded of our government to arrest a Father for
saying what he believes in."

Shannon: "I really enjoyed this documentary and walked out feeling lucky to
be who I am, and not have to deal with stupid crap like this. I just hope
that the Latin Americans don't ever again have to go through what they've already
been through."

Skylar: "Hopefully [the film] will. . . .fire people up to actually do
something. If there weren't documentaries about this school, and other government
actions, we the people would never know they existed. The government would be
the last to let you know that they were teaching people how to torture
children and families. They want you to just go about your ordinary lives, not
thinking twice. This film and class really made me think about this so-called
democracy that we are living in."

Adrielle: "I enjoyed the film. It was not a 'feel good' movie and it did
not leave me feeling happy, but it informed me about a world I knew little
about. . . .The sadness in the eyes of the people, especially the children, made me
want to learn more about what is going on in Latin America and to perhaps
become an activist myself."

Zack: "Now that I have learned from this documentary, I plan to take action
by learning more about this subject and by writing to my local Congressman
demanding that the new SOA be shut down, as I hope the rest of the people who see
this film will do. I do not want to be represented by a government that
would commit such crimes against humanity because I would never commit such
crimes."

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