The Invisible War
Promotional poster
Directed byKirby Dick
Written byKirby Dick
Produced byAmy Ziering
Tanner King Barklow
CinematographyThaddeus Wadleigh
Kirsten Johnson
Edited byDouglas Blush
Derek Boonstra
Production
companies
Distributed byCinedigm
Docurama Films
Release dates
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$71,968[1]

The Invisible War is a 2012 American documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Audience Award.[2] The film has been lauded by advocates, lawmakers, and journalists for its influence on government policies to reduce the prevalence of rape in the armed forces.[3]

The Invisible War is the recipient of a Peabody Award and Emmy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Outstanding Investigative Journalism.[4][5] It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.[6]

Background

In 2010, 108,121 veterans screened positive for military sexual trauma, and 68,379 had at least one Veterans Health Administration outpatient visit for related conditions. Also in 2010, The Department of Defense processed reports of 3,198 new assaults but estimated the actual number of assaults to be closer to 19,000. However, these reports resulted in convictions against only 244 perpetrators.[7]

Synopsis

The Invisible War features interviews with veterans from multiple branches of the United States Armed Forces who recount the events surrounding their assaults. Their stories show many common themes, such as the lack of recourse to an impartial justice system, reprisals against survivors instead of against perpetrators, the absence of adequate emotional and physical care for survivors, the unhindered advancement of perpetrators' careers, and the forced expulsion of survivors from service.

Interspersed with these first person testimonies are interviews with advocates, journalists, mental health professionals, active duty and retired generals, Department of Defense officials, and members of the military justice system. The film also includes footage, often shot by the veterans themselves, which documents their lives and continuing struggles in the aftermath of their assaults.

In the film's most prominent narrative, Coast Guard veteran Seaman Kori Cioca struggles to earn benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay for the many medical difficulties that have resulted from her rape. With the help of attorney Susan L. Burke, Cioca, along with other survivors featured in the film, brings Cioca v. Rumsfeld, a civil suit against the Department of Defense alleging a failure to adequately address sexual assault within the military.

Other past incidents of sexual abuse recounted in the film include the 1991 Navy Tailhook scandal, the 1996 Army Aberdeen scandal, and the 2003 Air Force Academy scandal. The Invisible War uses these examples to argue that the military has consistently made empty promises to address its high rate of sexual assault. These stories culminate with an examination of the previously unreported[8] culture of sexual harassment and sexual assault at the prestigious Marine Barracks Washington.

The survivors and advocates featured in the film call for changes to the way the military handles sexual assault, such as shifting prosecution away from unit commanders, who often are either friends with assailants or are assailants themselves.

Interviews

People interviewed in The Invisible War include:

Members of Congress

Military personnel

  • Major General Mary Kay Hertog, Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office
  • Dr. Kaye Whitley, Former Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office
  • Rear Admiral Anthony Kurta, Director, Military Plans and Policy
  • General Claudia J. Kennedy, US Army (retired)
  • Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught, US Air Force (retired)
  • Brigadier General Loree Sutton, M.D., US Army (retired)
  • Major General Dennis Laich, US Army (retired)
  • Staff Sergeant Stace Nelson, NCIS Special Agent, USMC (retired)
  • Veteran Robinlynne Mabin-Lafayette, USAF Disabled Veteran

Response

Following its release, The Invisible War was heralded for exposing a culture of widespread sexual harassment and sexual assault at Marine Barracks Washington.[8][9][10] In March 2012, eight women, including two who appeared in the film, filed suit against military leaders for maintaining an environment that tolerates rapists while silencing survivors.[11]

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta viewed the film on April 14, 2012.[12][13] On April 16, 2012, Secretary Panetta issued a directive ordering all sexual assault cases to be handled by senior officers at the rank of colonel or higher, which effectively ended the practice of commanders adjudicating these cases from within their own units.[14] In his 2014 memoir Worthy Fights, Panetta states that watching The Invisible War was one of the main factors that influenced him to take action on the issue of sexual assault in the military.[15]

On June 25, 2012, the Marine Corps unveiled a new plan to combat sexual assault. Marine Corps Commandant General James F. Amos met with all non-deployed Marine generals to review the new procedures, which seek to discourage unsafe environments while increasing reporting.[16][17] In November 2012 Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh met with all active wing commanders to screen the film and discuss the problem of rape in the military.[18] The film's distributor estimates that 235,000 service members viewed The Invisible War in 2012.[18]

On January 4, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. This law included many improvements to the military's handling of sexual assault cases, such as barring individuals with felony sex abuse convictions from receiving enlistment waivers, forming special victims units to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases, and installing new policies to prevent professional retaliation against assault survivors.[19]

According to The New York Times, the film "has been credited with both persuading more women to come forward to report abuse and with forcing the military to deal more openly with the problem."[20] The Times also notes that the film helped spur the House Armed Services Committee to hold a January 23, 2013, hearing on sexual assault in the military.[21] During the hearing, Rep. Mike Turner acknowledged the film for illustrating the hostility faced by many survivors who speak up or seek help.[22] The Invisible War was again discussed during a Senate subcommittee hearing on March 13, 2013, in which lawmakers and military officials described the film's impact on military training programs dealing with sexual assault.[23]

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand credits The Invisible War with inspiring her to create legislation to reduce sexual assault in the military. In her 2014 memoir Off the Sidelines, Gillibrand writes, "Nothing in my life...prepared me for what I saw in that film.... Whatever it took, I had to help bring justice to these survivors, and I needed to work to prevent future crimes."[24] In November 2013, Gillibrand introduced the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would require military sexual assault cases to be handled by an independent judiciary body.[25] In March 2014 the bill failed to secure enough votes to break a filibuster.[26]

Reception

The Invisible War received widespread acclaim from critics. The Invisible War has an approval rating of 99% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 72 reviews, and an average rating of 8.20/10. The website's critical consensus states, "The Invisible War is a vital and frank expose on sexual assault in the U.S. military, shot by master filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film is Not Yet Rated)".[27] It also has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[28] At the end of 2012, it held a 100% Fresh rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which also listed it as the #1 film of the year.[29]

The film appeared on numerous year-end best lists, including in The New York Times, Time, and the National Board of Review.[30][31][32] The Chicago Film Critics Association named it the Best Documentary of 2012.[33]

The Christian Science Monitor's Peter Rainer observed that the film broke new ground, as it "was the first to really explore the issue of rape in the military" and that "the fact that this subject has taken so long to achieve full-scale exposure was itself symptomatic of the problem." He selected it as one of the top ten films of the year.[34][35]

The Boston Globe's Christopher Wallenberg noted that The Invisible War "achieved a rare feat for a documentary by breaking a national news story: The alleged coverup of incidents of sexual assault and harassment at the prestigious Marine Barracks Washington." Other critics also focused on the film's investigative journalism,[36][37] including A. O. Scott, who wrote in The New York Times that Dick is "one of the indispensable muckrakers of American cinema, zeroing in on frequently painful stories about how power functions in the absence or failure of accountability."[38]

Jonathan Hahn of the Los Angeles Review of Books wrote, "There are some works of writing or painting, speech, or film that do more than just stand as great works of art. They change things. They put before us something fundamentally wrong with the world — with the society we take for granted, with the institutions on which we depend and that in turn depend on us — and demand change. The Invisible War belongs in that pantheon, and is easily one of the most important films of the year."[39]

Two survivors and one service provider who appear in The Invisible War criticized the filmmakers for their fleeting focus on male victims. Director Kirby Dick responded, saying that he is empathetic toward their concerns, but felt that focusing on women would serve as the best "entry point" for the discussion.[40]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result
2012 Sundance Film Festival[41][42] Audience Award for Best Documentary Kirby Dick Won
Human Rights Watch Film Festival[43] Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking Won
Dallas International Film Festival[44] Silver Heart Humanitarian Award Won
Seattle International Film Festival[45] Audience Award for Best Documentary Kirby Dick Won
Provincetown International Film Festival[46] Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Won
DocuWest International Documentary Film Festival[47] Best of Festival Won
Peace Over Violence Awards[48] Award for Advocacy Won
International Documentary Association[49] Best Feature Kirby Dick Nominated
2013 Independent Spirit Awards[50] Best Documentary Kirby Dick, Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering Won
WGA Awards[51] Best Documentary Screenplay Kirby Dick Nominated
Academy Awards[6] Best Documentary Feature Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering Nominated
DGA Awards[52] Documentary Directing Kirby Dick Nominated
Ridenhour Prize[53] Documentary Film Won
Peabody Awards[5] Won
Impact Awards[54] Jury Special Commendation Won
2014 Emmy Awards[4] Best Documentary Feature Won
Outstanding Investigative Journalism – Long Form Won

References

  1. ↑ "The Invisible War". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Invisible War at Sundance Film Festival". Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ Draper, Robert (November 26, 2014). "The Military's Rough Justice on Sexual Assault". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Winners Announced for the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards". emmyonline.org. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "73rd Annual Peabody Awards". Peabody Awards. May 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Oscars 2013: Complete list of nominees". The Los Angeles Times. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military: Fiscal Year 2010" (PDF). Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Ellison, Jese (March 6, 2012). "Panetta, Gates, Rumsfeld Face New Suit Over U.S. Military Rape 'Epidemic'". The Daily Beast.
  9. ↑ Dawson, Stephanie (June 19, 2012). "Film Review: The Invisible War". Limité. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ Honeycutt, Kirk (May 31, 2012). "The Invisible War". Honeycutt's Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  11. ↑ Standifer, Cid (March 6, 2012). "Military women's lawsuit alleges rape, assault". Army Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  12. ↑ Ellison, Jese (June 11, 2012). "The Invisible War Filmmaker Kirby Dick Takes on the Pentagon". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  13. ↑ Pond, Steve (June 18, 2012). "Military Rape Documentary 'Invisible War' Leads to Policy Changes Before Its Opening". The Wrap. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ Daniel, Lisa (April 16, 2012). "Panetta, Dempsey Announce Initiatives to Stop Sexual Assault". American Forces Press Service. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017.
  15. ↑ Panetta, Leon (2014). Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace. New York: Penguin. p. 453. ISBN 978-0143127802.
  16. ↑ Hlad, Jennifer (June 25, 2012). "Marines release new plan to prevent sexual assault". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  17. ↑ "THE AMOS PLANS: Generals Will Lead USMC's Fight Against Sexual Assaults; Young Corporals and Seargeants Get Suicide Prevention…It's Gonna be a Tough Year". The Military Suicide Report. August 30, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Rosenberg, Alyssa (February 7, 2013). "'The Invisible War': How Oscar's Military Rape Documentary Might Change Everything". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  19. ↑ "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 Wrap-Up". Invisible No More. January 4, 2013. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  20. ↑ Risen, James (January 23, 2013). "Air Force Leaders Testify on Culture That Led to Sexual Assaults of Recruits". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ Rohter, Larry (January 23, 2013). "A Documentarian Focused on Trauma in Its Many Forms". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ "House Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing on Sexual Misconduct at Lackland Air Force Base, Panel 1" (PDF). CQ Congressional Transcripts. January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Hearing to Receive Testimony on Sexual Assaults in the Military" (PDF). United States Senate. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  24. ↑ Gillibrand, Kirsten (2014). Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0804179096.
  25. ↑ Huval, Rebecca (May 10, 2013). "Sen. Gillibrand Credits The Invisible War with Shaping New Bill". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ Neuman, Scott (March 6, 2014). "Senate Blocks Bill To Overhaul Military Sex Assault Prosecutions". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  27. ↑ "The Invisible War". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  28. ↑ "The Invisible War". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 Movies of 2012". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  30. ↑ Holden, Stephen (December 16, 2012). "The Year of the Body Vulnerable". The New York Times.
  31. ↑ Corliss, Richard (December 4, 2012). "The Invisible War". Time. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  32. ↑ "2012 NBR Awards Announced". National Board of Review. December 5, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  33. ↑ Benzine, Adam (December 17, 2012). ""Invisible War" feted by Chicago Critics". real screen. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  34. ↑ Rainer, Peter (June 27, 2012). "The Invisible War: movie review". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  35. ↑ Rainer, Peter (December 21, 2012). "The best films of 2012". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  36. ↑ Kim, Jonathan (June 20, 2012). "ReThink Interview: Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering on The Invisible War". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  37. ↑ Bittencourt, Ela (June 13, 2012). "Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2012: The Invisible War". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  38. ↑ Scott, A.O. (June 21, 2012). "For Some Who Served, an Awful Betrayal of Trust". The New York Times.
  39. ↑ Hahn, Jonathan (June 22, 2012). "Jonathan Hahn interviews Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick". The Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012.
  40. ↑ Briggs, Bill (February 8, 2013). "'Betrayed': Male rape victims slam Oscar-nominated filmmakers over focus on women". NBC News. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  41. ↑ Riskind, Jonathan (February 26, 2012). "Collins, Snowe rank as least conservative GOP senators". Maine Sunday Telegram. MaineToday Media, Inc.; www.pressherald.com. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  42. ↑ "British film continues to shine at Sundance". The Daily Telegraph. February 8, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  43. ↑ "Sundance: The Invisible War at The Human Rights Watch Film Festival". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  44. ↑ Libresco, Caroline. "Silver Heart Award Winner: The Invisible War". Dallas Film. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  45. ↑ "SIFF 2012 Award Winners". Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Provincetown International Film Festival". ptownfilmfest.org. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  47. ↑ "DocuWest International Documentary Film Festival: September 11-15, 2013". Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  48. ↑ "41st Annual Humanitarian Awards - Peace Over Violence". Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  49. ↑ "IDA Documentary Awards 2012". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  50. ↑ "The Invisible War - Spirit Awards 2013". Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  51. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (January 4, 2012). "WGA Announces Nominations Ranging from 'Lincoln' to 'Looper'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  52. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (January 14, 2013). "DGA Awards Documentary Nominations Announced". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  53. ↑ Lee, Diana (February 22, 2013). "2013 Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize Winner Announced". The Nation Institute. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  54. ↑ "PUMA Impact Award Goes to...The Act of Killing". britdoc.org. BRITDOC Foundation. November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
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