I would like to do a documentary on what makes kids from families with highly educated parents decide to enlist in the military instead of going to college, or enlist immediately after graduating from college. I know there are many statistics about the majority of enlisted recruits coming from lower income families and I understand why this happens. I also disagree with a system that supports it, but that's for another post. Rather, I would like to understand what makes the middle- to upper-income kids with educated parents and the money to attend college choose the military instead.
This has personal meaning for me as I have a nephew who went to college for one year and then enlisted in the Marines; he will go to Iraq in April. It seems that the military is a good choice for him in regard to helping him mature and take responsibility for himself, but it seems a poor choice for his emotional needs. I would like to do a film that would give an honest portrayal of why he enlisted.I think the best way to do this would be to follow a few fresh recruits from middle- to upper-income families before they enter basic training. I would interview their parents, their friends, their high school teachers, and the recruits themselves. I would try to get a sense from their communities what options this child had and get a sense from the recruit what options he felt he had.
I would then like to follow the recruits through their time in the military. I would interview them after every major accomplishment (i.e., basic training, other training completions, tours of duty) and see if their feelings change. I would also like to interview their friends and families when the recruits come home to visit. I would like to get a sense of how the parents feel and if those feelings change over time. Did they give their child enough options? The right options? Are they happy with the decision to enlist? Was it a good decision for their child?
I do have a bias and would probably end up editing the documentary to show this bias, but I would like to keep it fair-sided enough that I could be proven wrong. My bias would be that many of the kids who enlist don't think they have other options and the parents have not provided/supported/encouraged those options. In many of these families, if you don't go to college, all is lost. I don't believe in a college-or-nothing attitude, especially at the age of 18. As long as I get my point across, I wouldn't mind also showing that the military might be the right decision for some kids in the long run.
2 comments:
Denise,
I really like this idea for a documentary, A couple of years ago I read a series of articles (I don't remember the publication) that followed West Point graduates into Iraq. These were often well educated, fairly affluent students that pursued a military career mostly because of family history. The students had a really unique view of duty and the role of war. I would definitely see your film!
A high school classmate of mine did the same thing as your nephew: he went to college for a year and then enlisted in the Marines. This was about seven years ago, and since then he has gone to Iraq twice. He says that college wasn't working out for him and he was just goofing off. He wanted to get involved in something where he could really take some action and DO SOMETHING. And it sounds like he did in Iraq. His comment in coming back is that everyone is a little "messed up in the head" after the experience but there are reintegration programs and in the end he said that he wouldn't trade his experience in the Marines for anything.
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