Soldiers in Their Youth
Digital video montage, 20min, 2009
Soldiers in Their Youth is a montage assembled from videos found on the Internet created by American soldiers and civilians reacting to the Iraq War. This footage offers a raw view of war from the perspective of those closest to it. The found videos are repurposed through editing into a cohesive yet abstract narrative of life for soldiers in Iraq, their families and loved ones back home, as well as their difficulties readjusting to civilian life after returning from war. This project illustrates a human side of a long, difficult, and controversial war by showing soldiers as complex men and women, who are at once naive and wise, frightened and brave, crude and compassionate.