Syracuse University IVMF Bridges the Military-Civilian Gap
Perhaps you've heard me say it in interviews or in an earlier blog post, one of the missions of our documentary is to awaken civilians to the urgent needs of our veteran-caregivers and military-caregivers in America. Veterans and active military alike often comment that the American public does not understand the challenges for them and their families. And I will also add that the American public has little comprehension of the pressures on the veteran-caregivers once a severely wounded veteran comes home. I knew nothing about it until I began working on this film. I had a great opportunity to attend a panel discussion about Bridging the Military-Civilian Gap sponsored by Syracuse University's Institute of Veteran and Military Families (IVMF) The panel covered how veterans and military are portrayed in films and television and how valuable they are behind the scenes.
Of course much of the discussion centered on the need to hire REAL vets as actors (like in the TV show “NCIS), but there was a lot of discussion about the hundreds of people working behind the scenes of every Hollywood project.
Carpenters, painters, set designers and others are working as a team with specific skills and jobs… much like the military. Veterans already know it’s imperative for each individual to do his or her job to accomplish the mission. That attitude is just what a show, film or studio wants and needs to put out quality entertainment. The message: veterans are a valuable resource for employment in Hollywood.
On the military-civilian and vetera-civilian gap, David Cloud from the LA Times gives a profound and stunning assessment of the conditions that have led to active military and veterans feel increasingly separated from civilians. Hollywood projects can do a great deal to heal that divide.
You can help bridge the military-civilian and veteran-civilian divide by signing up for our email list. You'll receive the latest news about our film and the most critical news we find on the needs of veteran and military caregivers.
