Last Tuesday’s presentation of documentary film-maker Robbie Leppzer’s “The Peace Patriots” triggered mixed feelings among students and faculty from both sides of the political spectrum. The film, which tracked the anti-Iraq War movement in western Massachusetts starting in 2003, sparked a flurry of sharp student responses during the question-and-answer session that followed. In the ensuing days after the showing of “The Peace Patriots,” the Choate community voiced both discontent and happiness with Mr. Leppzer’s documentary.

One aspect of the film that many students and faculty stressed in commenting on the documentary was a lack of any sort of diversity of viewpoints. Chris Mullen ’07 explained that “the movie was really one sided. It didn’t give an accurate representation of the other side.” The only non-protestors (aside from President Bush) shown in the film were three people yelling at the participants of an anti-war procession, one of whom barraged the demonstrators with a chant of “War is great, go to hell!”

Yet, the documentary’s one-sidedness did not upset the school as a whole. Drew Ruben ’07, head of the Choate Young Democrats, explained that the purpose of the film was “to show the protest, which it did.” He continued to elaborate that “I really do not feel it is the school’s responsibility to make sure it provides a counterpoint for everything it says.” Although he does not believe the school must always present both political viewpoints, Ruben did not agree with the film choice. “The school only gathers for such an event a couple times a year…It was not perhaps the best chosen documentary to show us.” Rather, he continued, “I think there are other issues that could have been addressed.”

Even some of those who agreed with the documentary’s anti-war and pro-peace message were unhappy with the method in which its views were presented. Bledar Zenuni ’08 explained, “I think the message that the film was trying to get across was great.” Yet, “the context in which it was presented was simply unacceptable.” Zenuni continued that “the people who were speaking in the film were so naïve and so ignorant. You cannot take one whole war and dissect it like the film just did.” Zenuni also felt that the representation of pro-war advocates was severely distorted. “I’m pretty sure that there are millions of people in the United States who support the troops and who support what we are trying to do because we brought a dictator down.”

Zenuni also felt that both speakers treated war too broadly. “I got the feeling that what the film was trying to convey was that war is bad on the whole scale…In the case of Darfur and the Balkans in Bosnia and in Kosova, war is needed to end oppression. And that is something that the film did not show. War sometimes is needed to end oppression and to end suffering and mass murders.”

Although many students were unhappy with the content of the film, the fact that it momentarily put politics at the forefront of discussion between students and faculty was seen as a positive step forward. Zachary Remsen ’07, head of the Choate’s Republican student group, explained that he would have been more agreeable to the film if “they showed protesting but were more sensitive to the other side.” In spite of the fact that he did not agree with the film itself, he was pleased that “what this special program actually did was it sparked critical thinking…from both sides of the political spectrum.” He emphasized that “to learn about politics in the first place is so important to this country.”

When asked whether he stood behind his “cheeky” comments from the question-and-answer session, Remsen said he supported them “one hundred percent,” for he needed to “stand up not only for myself but for my party and all of my conservative peers.”

Despite the existence of some negative feedback from students regarding his film, the student response after the program pleased Mr. Leppzer. “I feel it went very well. My main reason for making films is to spark discussion and debate, and it certainly did that.”

He continued that “I think that particularly this issue needs more discussion and debate, and needs to incorporate a much wider spectrum of opinions and perspectives.”

In making the film, Mr. Leppzer knew that it would not be accepted warmly by everyone. “I recognize that not everybody is going to agree with all the points of view in the film, and that’s okay. For me, ‘The Peace Patriots’ is about presenting the views and perspectives of voices that were left out of the debate.” He stressed that when “we have a healthy democracy is when people are able to fully discuss all of the issues.”

When asked about his reasoning for following a limited group, Mr. Leppzer conceded that “I wanted to focus on people in my own community…I wanted to follow people around over an extended period of time.” He elaborated that “that’s only feasible really, especially when you have a very small budget, to do that geographically where you live.”

Mr. Leppzer continued to explain that his film “is really not a thorough examination of the pros and cons of the Iraq War, and it’s not meant to be. It is really a film about a movement.”

Mrs. Connie Matthews, Choate English teacher and sister of Mr. John Bracey, professor of African American Studies at the University of Massachusetts who presented alongside Mr. Leppzer, enjoyed the student response. “The whole reason for having a school is to exchange ideas, and I think it’s exciting when those ideas bring passion to the surface.” She continued, “There is nothing greater than a great argument in class, as long as it doesn’t get personal or ungrateful.”

Mrs. Matthews did, however, feel sad about some of the students who felt the film shouldn’t have been shown at all. “How do you, in a school, object to the presentation of any ideas?” Although she thought that some students may have crossed the line of showing proper respect to the speakers, her brother explained to her that “these are students. They are young, they are immature, and in some cases maybe not as well read.” She continued, “his reaction was ‘if they were grown ups, it would be different. But these are children.’”

Mr. John Ford, Dean of Students, reacted similarly to the student responses. After seeing the film (for the first time at the special program), he explained that “I certainly wasn’t surprised by the audience’s reaction.” He elaborated that “Frankly I don’t have an issue with the behavior if we are talking about courtesy, respect, etc… I don’t think the audience was disrespectful except for a couple isolated times.”

Mr. Ford actually enjoyed the heated atmosphere. “I like the fact that it had a little bite to it. I thought that that was okay” As far as students being embarrassed by the behavior of their peers, he explained that “I’m just not there.”

Having not previously seen the film, Mr. Ford was not aware of the biased views the film would present. He felt that “we went too far on this one with a one-sided presentation. But, on the other hand I kind of like the controversy.”