The Body of an American

Institute History

  • 2010 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship

Description

In 1993 journalist Paul Watson photographed the desecration of a dead American soldier in the streets of Mogadishu. This photograph earned Watson a Pulitzer prize, and led to the U.S. pull-out of Somalia, and a general, and fateful, emboldening of Al-Qaeda. But Paul Watson has been haunted by this experience in a more personal way: as he took the photograph, in amongst a murderous mob, he heard the voice of the dead soldier speak to him: If you do this, I will own you forever. Performed by two actors, and with a structure inspired by the experience of post-traumatic stress disorder, The Body of an American depicts Watson’s career in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as his current work in Canada’s high Arctic, creating a portrait of the war reporter and examining the question of guilt, both personal and cultural.

Credits

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