The Washington Post reviewed 9500 Liberty for its upcoming MTV Premiere this Sunday Night. Perhaps this is the best review I have seen of our hometown film.
Washington Post staff writer David Montgomeryguides his reader audience to the point in the film where we see film maker Eric Byler testifying before the U.S. Human Rights Commission in December of 2007, at which point we see Byler’s point of view. Rather than saying “Ah Ha!”, Montgomery leads us around this shift from neutrality to the fact that the film returns to showing both sides of this bitter debate. He tells us that those with strong opinion on either side might walk away not quite satisfied with the end result.
David Montgomery’s review is posted in its entirety:
TV Preview
“9500 Liberty” looks back at Prince William immigration warsBy David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 25, 2010Midway through “9500 Liberty,” their penetrating new documentary about the immigration wars of 2007-2008 in Prince William County, filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park let slip which side they are on.
Byler puts down his camera to testify at a hearing of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He and Park have been such equitable observers of the complicated controversy — posting serial YouTube clips of their work-in-progress, showing all points of view without editorial comment — that the commissioners must think they can shed authoritative light.
After Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart appears flustered and defensive when asked for facts to back his claim that illegal immigrants drag down the economy and drive up the crime rate, the commission turns to Byler. He lists the characteristics Stewart’s supporters cite to describe the people they want to drive out:
“Speaking Spanish, playing Latin music, owning a chicken, growing corn, not having health insurance, or living in crowded conditions. These are not a sign of your immigration status,” Byler insists. “This is a sign of a particular immigrant community that is struggling to overcome poverty.”
He cannot then pick up his camera and adopt the same detached posture as before, but “9500 Liberty” never feels like propaganda. (The name comes from an address at the corner of Liberty and Prince William streets where immigrant supporters erected a series of hand-lettered billboard commentaries.) There is a point of view, but it is earned, and the most zealous immigrant advocates will not be happy, either, with the compromise conclusion.
What Byler and Park portray as a victory for civic sanity is still one of the tougher local immigration enforcement laws in the land.
The story’s spine is how the county board, egged on by bloggers, came to unanimously pass a law requiring county police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop if they suspect the person might be an illegal immigrant. Six months later, faced with fiscal and legal realities and stiffening resistance from many non-Latino residents, the board retreated and required police to check only those actually arrested. Since all arrestees are checked, chances of racial profiling are diminished.
The film is edited and paced to make county board politics look Shakespearean. The camera nearly achieves the ideal of the proverbial fly on the wall, venturing into private homes and businesses in search of the stories behind the story.
The filmmakers’ good faith effort to create a “safe space” for all varieties of raw emotion pays off. The desperation of those who speak at the edge of tears about discrimination and deportation is heartbreaking. But the panic and anger in the raised voices of those who decry this “invasion” are no less sincere or moving, in their way.
Greg Letiecq, the anti-illegal-immigrant blogger, confides his religiously based worldview and invites Byler and Park to meetings of Help Save Manassas. He comes off as a nice guy — a little too sure of himself, but not a caricature.
“Not only do we want to send them back,” he says, “we want to send them back with love.”
9500 Liberty
airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on MTV 2, MTV U and MTV Tr3s (with Spanish subtitles).
Should have scrolled down to this heading before posting above.
Know how much you all love “seems like a nice guy” Greg.
Well, at surface glance, he does seem like a nice guy. Some how that old song by the Teddy Bears is now playing in my mind.
I doubt that Montgomery has been on the dark side either. 🙄
And in fairness to you Big Dog, you might have posted as I was putting this one up. I changed locations on which was first. This one didnt go up until this morning.
Ax murderers are also described by their neighbors as seemingly nice guys.
Send them back with love……..AWWW!
– The article in my copy of the paper is clearly headlined
“A lens on Manassas’s immigration wars” when the
Prince William County Resolution was clearly the major
focus. Where is WaPo?
– Anyway, I do plan to watch it – and but will hiss loudly at the
misleading title and anytime Fernandez is on
screen.
Can’t wait to watch it again tonight! Still not happy about the ending with Obama but other than that, it’s GREAT! Looking forward to some of the tucked in laughs again 🙂
I meant Sunday 😉
Maybe the ending has changed since we saw it last, Red Dawn. (hope springs eternal)
Big Dog, I have solved the mystery. The print copy is different from the electronic copy. Mr. H hogs the print copy of the Post and I never ever see it. I was working on line. It has a different title.
His title matches your title.
I will listen for those boos and hisses. I expect you won’t be the only one.
“Six months later, faced with fiscal and legal realities and stiffening resistance from many non-Latino residents, the board retreated ”
That’s not what I see. As I see it the board refined the policy to something more iron-clad. Notice we haven’t been sued and the resolution’s still in effect.
The film takes pains to falsely frame/define this part of history.
Rick, I disagree. When those cameras didn’t go through, some of the supervisors began to worry about county vulnerability with probable cause.
The physical arrest was supposed to keep lawsuits from happening. Plus it eliminated the question of police having to stopping people and question their status.
More iron-clad? That’s one way of looking at it. I look at it as leveling the playing field. If I get arrested, I will have my status checked like everyone else. There will be no tail light stop ….oooops…let me see your papers. We all know that even good cops can be directed to do stuff like this.
That is not falsely framing the history. It is explaining what happened and why it happened. It doesn’t take many of those busted tail light ruses to land your county in court.
Not arguing with what you say but just to vent … let’s stop defining special rights for illegal immigrants.
Right now police can pretty much stop everyone and have a chat with them claiming broken taillights and so forth. This can be used for racial profiling. It affects black people. It affects other people – it’s affected me when I’m driving with my wife.
It is necessary to have, or create via monitoring, faith that the police aren’t abusing this ability to pull people over for tail light issues. Or else stop pulling people over for real actual broken tail lights.
The enforcement of the law should generally trump the abstract possibility of racial profiling. And we all seemed to accept that fact until activists started using the “racial profiling” arguement to protect the welfare of illegal immigrants.
I will agree that targetting shouldn’t be happening to anyone. I say targetting because it isn’t always about race. Women get targetted after a certain time in the evening, for example. Young people get targetted also. @Rick
Other special rights we’ve been defining :
The right to not establish legal residency when enrolling children for school
The right not to pay taxes
The right to drive cars without legal residency
The right to overcrowd homes
When enrolling a child in school parents need to establish legal residency using a utility bill, a lease or a deed.
Plenty of people aren’t paying taxes of one form or another.
Anyone can live in an overcrowded home. My PWT neighbors were living proof of that. Thank goodness they moved.
“Women get targetted after a certain time in the evening, for example.”
I remember the Buck Carter story.
He was truly a pig. I had a close encounter with him with a son. He told me I was an unfit parent.