Gena Crawford
Marketing Program Manager, HP.com

This is my fourth year attending the Sundance Film Festival as a volunteer for HP. Over the years, in between scheduled work activities, I’ve taken in films that have run the gambit. Some films have been funny (Friends with Money), some have been beautiful (March of the Penguins), some have disturbed me (Harry & Max), and others have been downright weird (“Forgetting Jonathan Brandis”). But this year, I saw a film that absolutely shook me to my core and made me question the culture in which we now find ourselves post 9/11.

The historic Egyptian Theatre, Park City, UT

The film, Strange Culture (directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson), is a documentary that takes an unconventional approach to tell the complex and frightening story (that, by the way, is still unresolved) of Steve Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz, a college professor and environmental activist/artist, was preparing for an exhibition in Boston. His wife and creative partner died suddenly. When Kurtz dialed 911, it was the beginning of an ongoing nightmare that would involve the FBI, Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.

Because of the nature of his art supplies and the subject matter of his exhibition he became suspected both of the “murder” of his wife and bio-terrorism. Unable to comment directly on the legal case still pending against him, actors are used to depict the sequence of events leading to Kurtz’s detainment. Watching the film, I was convinced that what happened was illegal and a violation of his basic civil liberties.

This is just my personal opinion, but the thought of having my civil liberties stripped in the name of the Patriot Act, is beyond my comprehension. We clearly need to protect our citizens, and I respect the Patriot Act’s intention to do just (and only) that. But, this film shows what can happen if those special powers that we entrust to our leaders go unchecked.

There is so much more to this movie than I can articulate in a review. One of the key ironies is that Kurtz and wife were acting in a civic-minded and responsible way—they simply intended to educate the public about genetically altered food and the possible risks that consuming such food may pose.

I could tell that the entire theater was moved. The question is, will that temporary emotional indignation that we all shared and felt so acutely lead to an awakening and spur any action?

For me, I’m going to read the Patriot Act. What about you?


Gena Crawford
Marketing Program Manager, HP.com

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