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HEARTFELT MESSAGE LOST IN ALL THE NOISE 'SCREAMERS' TACKLES GENOCIDE
By John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press, MI
May 4 2007
Head banging and finger wagging share the stage in "Screamers,"
a rock documentary of sorts featuring metal band System of a Down.
Lead singer Serj Tankian is just one of the Armenian-American band
members raised on tales of Turkish atrocities against the Armenian
populace around 1915. Though an estimated 1.5 million Armenians
died, some countries -- including the United States and Britain --
are reluctant to officially call it genocide for fear of tangling
with Turkey.
The goal of the band, and Carla Garapedian's film, is to educate
the world about the links between the Armenian situation and the
Holocaust and to more recent examples of ethnic cleansing in Rwanda
and Darfur. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities remain fiercely unrepentant.
The talking heads fit clumsily with high-decibel System of a Down
concert footage, where the band rocks and roils while news reports
or photos of slaughtered children flash on screen.
Many of the songs deal with human rights issues, and though some fans
obviously get the message, at least two female audience members just
want an excuse to remove their tops.
Though Tankian and company obviously have their hearts in the right
place, the movie gets mired in a mosh pit of noise, silly facial hair
and awkward encounters with uptight politicians who have honestly
never heard of them.
Despite the noble effort, the medium and the message just don't mix.
By John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press, MI
May 4 2007
Head banging and finger wagging share the stage in "Screamers,"
a rock documentary of sorts featuring metal band System of a Down.
Lead singer Serj Tankian is just one of the Armenian-American band
members raised on tales of Turkish atrocities against the Armenian
populace around 1915. Though an estimated 1.5 million Armenians
died, some countries -- including the United States and Britain --
are reluctant to officially call it genocide for fear of tangling
with Turkey.
The goal of the band, and Carla Garapedian's film, is to educate
the world about the links between the Armenian situation and the
Holocaust and to more recent examples of ethnic cleansing in Rwanda
and Darfur. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities remain fiercely unrepentant.
The talking heads fit clumsily with high-decibel System of a Down
concert footage, where the band rocks and roils while news reports
or photos of slaughtered children flash on screen.
Many of the songs deal with human rights issues, and though some fans
obviously get the message, at least two female audience members just
want an excuse to remove their tops.
Though Tankian and company obviously have their hearts in the right
place, the movie gets mired in a mosh pit of noise, silly facial hair
and awkward encounters with uptight politicians who have honestly
never heard of them.
Despite the noble effort, the medium and the message just don't mix.