Screen/Society--Kenan Ethics Film Series--"Human Terrain"

HUMAN TERRAIN (dir. James Der Derian, David Udris, and Michael Udris; 2010, 82 min, USA, in English, Color, DVD) -- HUMAN TERRAIN is two stories in one. The first exposes the U.S. effort to enlist the best and the brightest of American universities in a struggle for the hearts and minds of its enemies. Facing long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military adopts a controversial new program, 'Human Terrain Systems', to make cultural awareness a key element of its counterinsurgency strategy. Designed to embed social scientists with combat troops, the program swiftly comes under attack by academic critics who consider it misguided and unethical to gather intelligence and target potential enemies for the military. Gaining rare access to war-games in the Mojave Desert and training exercises at Quantico and Fort Leavenworth, HUMAN TERRAIN takes the viewer into the heart of the war machine and the shadowy collaboration between American academics and the armed services. -- Q&A to follow with director Michael Udris!