Bang Bang Galore!
A Filmmaker’s BLOGELLA
Written by Steve Rosenberg
Blog 41
John and his students return from their artistic retreat and rave about the wonderful time they had on the Mangalore Coast. Located a few hundred kilometers south of Mumbai, the area boasts some of India’s most popular beaches on the Arabian Sea. “You should have come with us!” Anthony says apologetically. I am pleased John hasn’t spoken ill to his students. I don’t want to leave on a sour note after all the terrific experiences I’ve shared with these children. I need to erase uneasy feelings that have developed between John and myself.
At the moment, he seems preoccupied with an Indo- American reporter covering a story on child abuse in India. This seasoned reporter writes for several major US publications and network television shows such as 60 Minutes. In a recent survey of 12,000 Indian children across thirteen states, 50% of respondents claimed to be victims of child abuse. The US reporter mentions that child abuse is rampant in most orphanages here and she is pleased to report that The Born Free children are in good hands. It is great news.
John and I have our long awaited meeting that is truncated, but somewhat informative. Like charitable organizations, John is suspicious of my motives and resents my recent focus on the APSA organization. We spend twenty minutes trying to paper over our differences and I am once again engulfed by his problems and his ongoing devotion to his children. There are many challenges in his life right now. He has been kicked out of his art studio and recently a fifteen- year old boy Born Free student impregnated a young girl. Funding for his organization is paltry and if this story circulates further, there are plenty of people that will see this problem as another reason to sabotage his school.
When I ask John if I will be welcomed back as a film teacher, he is gracious; we talk through our issues. Both of us agree that in order to teach a technical film course, it would probably make sense to have a few cameras, computers and editing software in place. It would be foolhardy for me to promise a donation of this magnitude, but I don’t rule out the possibility. I am deadened by the weight of ambivalence. I am painfully aware of the organization’s cash shortages, yet I can’t seem to commit with my wallet.
People think it is easy to criticize, but I think it is easier to be swept away by flashy performances and popular media heroes. There has been plenty of negative ink written about mother Teresa in recent years. American author, Christian Higgins, writes about how Mother Teresa received millions of dollars from wealthy westerners without even the most rudimentary scrutiny of her organization financial books. At the time of her death, her decrepit fifteen- bed Calcutta hospice was severely run down, yet there are four hundred sparkling new church’s around the world that bear the name Mother Teresa.
There were so many worthy indigenous worthy candidates who helped orphans, yet it was she who received the lion’s share of international publicity. Like Mother Teresa, John is a wonderful media story that continues to gain more press than many other more deserving candidates. For me, John may not be the real deal, but his star power is on the rise.
