A Sunday in LA!
Today was a beautiful Southern California day. It had rained and snowed at night so this morning was crisp and clean. The sun was out, the skys were clear and the mountains were covered with snow. As I left my apartment and saw how beautiful the ocean looked and as my friend and I were driving into Los Angeles I could see the Hollywood sign perched on the hills, the skyline of Downtown looked incredible against the backdrop of the snow capped hills and I was reminded why this place we call home is so great.
Today I attended a screening of a Hrag Yedalian's documentary titled The People's Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry". The documentary was about Charles Garry, an Armenian-American attorney who spent his life defending high profile civil rights activists including some of the most prominent members of the Black Panther party. Hrag has truly done an amazing job with this film. He has been screening this film around California and hopefully his documentary will be picked up by a few film festivals so that more and more people will have the opportunity to be exposed to it.
In addition to highlighting Garry's selfless life and passion for his career, the film reminded viewers that not all lawyers choose to represent high profile criminals and become rich and famous. Garry wasn't defending his clients for personal fame or fortune. Garry and his clients were revolutionaries who used their lives to change our society for the better.
The main thing I took away from this film was seeing how an Armenian-American had dedicated his life to a worthy cause other than something related to the Armenian Community. This point resonated with me because growing up my father always instilled in me the notion that we are first and foremost human beings and only second to that are we Armenians. I hear my father's voice in my head repeating that sentence often. It has stayed with me through the years and it was for that reason that I chose the career path that I did and for that reason that I started volunteering for non-Armenian organizations. I never openly discuss that part of my life with my Armenian friends and family because to be honest I felt guilty for not dedicating those hours to Armenian organizations. During the Q & A, after the film, Hrag mentioned that he hoped this documentary would show some Armenians that it is important for us to get involved with other issues not just Armenian ones like the Genocide and I couldn't agree more. I have noticed that our community is paying more attention to things like the Genocide in Darfur and I hope we continue on this path because the only way to get people interested and active in our issues is for us to become interested and active in theirs.
Hrag's film was informative and inspirational and I commend him for all his effort and a job well done. http://www.peoplesadvocatethemovie.com/
Today I attended a screening of a Hrag Yedalian's documentary titled The People's Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry". The documentary was about Charles Garry, an Armenian-American attorney who spent his life defending high profile civil rights activists including some of the most prominent members of the Black Panther party. Hrag has truly done an amazing job with this film. He has been screening this film around California and hopefully his documentary will be picked up by a few film festivals so that more and more people will have the opportunity to be exposed to it.
In addition to highlighting Garry's selfless life and passion for his career, the film reminded viewers that not all lawyers choose to represent high profile criminals and become rich and famous. Garry wasn't defending his clients for personal fame or fortune. Garry and his clients were revolutionaries who used their lives to change our society for the better.
The main thing I took away from this film was seeing how an Armenian-American had dedicated his life to a worthy cause other than something related to the Armenian Community. This point resonated with me because growing up my father always instilled in me the notion that we are first and foremost human beings and only second to that are we Armenians. I hear my father's voice in my head repeating that sentence often. It has stayed with me through the years and it was for that reason that I chose the career path that I did and for that reason that I started volunteering for non-Armenian organizations. I never openly discuss that part of my life with my Armenian friends and family because to be honest I felt guilty for not dedicating those hours to Armenian organizations. During the Q & A, after the film, Hrag mentioned that he hoped this documentary would show some Armenians that it is important for us to get involved with other issues not just Armenian ones like the Genocide and I couldn't agree more. I have noticed that our community is paying more attention to things like the Genocide in Darfur and I hope we continue on this path because the only way to get people interested and active in our issues is for us to become interested and active in theirs.
Hrag's film was informative and inspirational and I commend him for all his effort and a job well done. http://www.peoplesadvocatethemovie.com/
posted by LORI at 10:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home