Domestic Violence Awareness Month

THE MAGICIANS KNOW THE TRICK
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> I‘ve been volunteering at a Crisis Centre for some years now, and to my surprise many of my most successful calls have been with battered women. Unfortunately, dealing with these victims one-at-a-time is like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon and doesn’t even address prevention. I've come to the conclusion that the only practical way to reach the large numbers of people involved is with a short film.
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> I am working to film a video I’ve written called “The Magicians Know the Trick,” about how abusive relationships are initiated. The premise if the film is: “If I would like to select one of you out of the group and beat you, but I don’t want you fighting back or calling the police afterward, there is a way I can do that. Oh, yes, there is. I’ll have to set you up first. It might take some time. This is how I’m going to do it.”
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> The purpose of the film is not to lament the horrors of abuse, but to educate every high school student in North America about how a battering boyfriend, husband or pimp can manipulate someone into accepting abuse and even violence. This is fundamental information to enable people to spot and understand this behaviour so they can defend themselves and their children (i.e. run), or help others who are trapped.
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> The thesis of the film is that battering takes place only after a human being has been destroyed in a process that is largely verbal, often involving games with (public or private) humiliation, alternately giving and withholding affection or money, and drugs and/or alcohol. Once a person has been crushed they can be turned out on the street as a prostitute, sent into a high school or a shopping mall to recruit others, and beaten, raped, tortured or murdered as the batterer/pimp chooses. The film draws strong parallels between the behaviour of pimps and batterers, and features discussions of personal attacks and bullying, the effects on children who grow up in abusive homes, and the difficulties and danger victims face when trying to extricate themselves. The discussion is inclusive of different sexual orientations.
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> Domestic violence is widespread in North America, affecting people especially in intimate (both hetero- and homosexual) relationships, and in other relationships as well (e.g. between family members, employers and employees, or caregivers and their physically or mentally disabled, or elderly charges). This is timely information for high school students because most will be entering their first intimate relationships in their late 'teens and early '20s and may, from inexperience, be at their most vulnerable to manipulation. And because there is a general trend toward independence at this time in their lives, the information in the film may also help those who've already had their self respect crushed (perhaps by growing up in an abusive home), as they reinvent themselves, to "unlearn" being a victim.
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> It is also hoped that friends and other potential allies will learn how to recognize and help when they encounter abusive relationships instead of, as happens all too often, criticizing the victim out of frustration. The film may even help batterers who, if their previous abusive behaviour doesn't "work" anymore, will have to learn to deal with people more respectfully, if only to avoid ostracism and criminal charges.
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> The film is meant to be shown in high school classes over a period of years, just as the Vancouver Crisis Centre's film about suicide awareness has been shown for several years now, reaching large numbers of students. It will be coupled with a web-site containing the script, questions for school study and information about sources of help. And with even a one-time exposure on network television, the video will reach large numbers of people currently trapped in abusive relationships and lay some of the groundwork for the process of escape.
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> I know, from doing Crisis Centre presentations on suicide and stress, how much energy it takes to hold the attention of 30 high school students in a room. The film will run about 22 minutes, so I’ll be working to MTV it up as much as possible and I’ve recruited a cartoonist (Dorrie Ratzlaff), to insert some of her brilliant, jagged illustrations of moods and situations.
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> As part of the learning experience, every class that sees the film will be expected, on the honour system, to raise a minimum of $10.00 for the nearest women’s shelter. This is intended, first, to bring home the reality of the situation; students can’t tour a transition house, so someone from the local crisis centre can come to pick up the cheque. This also presents a perfect opportunity for a question-and-answer session. Second, students will lose some of the feeling of helplessness that comes from confronting such an enormous problem. Millions of young minds with the idea that something can be done will, over time, produce results. Societies change: smoking and drunk driving are rapidly falling out of favour, and dueling is considered ridiculous.
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> The cost of the project will be probably less than $20,000 because people who will be involved are volunteering in order to make it happen and I have a small, temporary grant to help with equipment rental and editing. If anyone is interested in contributing or helping with fundraising, I can organize a script reading and a performance of some of the score for them.
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> Maybe we can do some good. Thank you for your time and attention.
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> Paul Botkin
> (604) 873-4774
>pbotkin@telus.net
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