BSR producer (and Brown University student) Britt Harwood brings us a story that introduces us to the daily anxieties of a mother whose son is a soldier serving in Iraq. Amazingly, she manages to do this in a way that's neither jingoistic nor politically slanted.
The Iraq war and all of its politics take a back seat to this exploration of the very personal worries of a mother who receives infrequent communications from a loved one in a dangerous situation. Producer Harwood got very honest and candid tape from an interviewee who obviously felt comfortable and at-ease around her, and the story blossoms outward from there.
This piece successfully put me in someone else's shoes for a few minutes and left me understanding something about a person I thought I had nothing in common with.
This piece contains some of the most meaningful and moving tape I have heard from American mothers talking about their children (sons in this case) in Iraq. A detail I won't forget: one mother, packing up Crystal Light to send to her son, telling us that the drinking water in Iraq is always warm, and so when her son came home the tap water made his teeth hurt because it was so cold. Also, a mother describing a goodbye to her son at a base in Germany, and the two of them looking back at each other from a distance and trying to memorize the other ones face. Beautiful, beautiful tape. Unfortunately, I think the piece gets a bit "in the way" of the tape itself. The piece has almost too much information, too much script. I wanted to hear more from the mothers, to listen to a piece that was less produced for a news slot and more focused on the emotions and tones of the mothers living through this experience.
Comments for Military Mom
Produced by Britt Harwood
Other pieces by BSR Radio
Rating Summary
2 comments
Aaron Henkin
Posted on August 25, 2006 at 07:36 AM | Permalink
Review of Military Mom
BSR producer (and Brown University student) Britt Harwood brings us a story that introduces us to the daily anxieties of a mother whose son is a soldier serving in Iraq. Amazingly, she manages to do this in a way that's neither jingoistic nor politically slanted.
The Iraq war and all of its politics take a back seat to this exploration of the very personal worries of a mother who receives infrequent communications from a loved one in a dangerous situation. Producer Harwood got very honest and candid tape from an interviewee who obviously felt comfortable and at-ease around her, and the story blossoms outward from there.
This piece successfully put me in someone else's shoes for a few minutes and left me understanding something about a person I thought I had nothing in common with.
Emily Hanford
Posted on June 05, 2006 at 09:41 AM | Permalink
Review of Military Mom
This piece contains some of the most meaningful and moving tape I have heard from American mothers talking about their children (sons in this case) in Iraq. A detail I won't forget: one mother, packing up Crystal Light to send to her son, telling us that the drinking water in Iraq is always warm, and so when her son came home the tap water made his teeth hurt because it was so cold. Also, a mother describing a goodbye to her son at a base in Germany, and the two of them looking back at each other from a distance and trying to memorize the other ones face. Beautiful, beautiful tape. Unfortunately, I think the piece gets a bit "in the way" of the tape itself. The piece has almost too much information, too much script. I wanted to hear more from the mothers, to listen to a piece that was less produced for a news slot and more focused on the emotions and tones of the mothers living through this experience.