10 Films by Influential Women

Through a Blue Lens

- Veronica Alice Mannix,
- 1999,
- 52 min 13 s

- 37,736 views
- 243 Like
- Share it

Synopsis
Point Of View
Education

Constable Al Arsenault, along with six other policemen, document the people on their beat to create a powerful film about drug abuse. This group of officers developed a unique relationship with addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. In this documentary, drug addicts talk openly about how they got to the streets and send a powerful message of caution to others about the dangers of drug abuse.

Katerina Cizek

Manifesto Point # 6: Work through the ethics, privacy and consent process with your partners before you begin, and adapt your project accordingly. Sometimes it means changing your whole approach – or even dropping it. That’s the cost of being ethical. Here’s a controversial one. An undoubtedly gripping and raw film, Through a Blue Lens (1999) raises serious questions about the ethics, privacy and consent issues when police arm themselves with video technology in the “mean streets” of Vancouver. The police motivation for making this film was honorable: they hoped to create an educational tool to help prevent drug use among young people by filming what they witnessed on the job every day. But video in the hands of law enforcement is a tricky issue. How much did the subjects have a say in the making and distribution of this film? This is one of the NFB’s best selling DVDs of all time. But should this film have been made in the first place?

From the playlist : Manifesto for Interventionist Media - because Art is a Hammer

Grade 8 - 11

Heath/Personal Development / Substance Use and Abuse/Addiction

Social Studies / Contemporary Issues

Educational purpose:

Encourage discussion about the stereotypes surrounding drug addicts. Discuss why so many teens turn to drugs as a coping strategy. Compare and contrast the reality of life on the streets with the Hollywood depiction of drug addiction. Students can research the term skid row, showing how it applies to some parts of large cities. Discuss the effectiveness of this kind of documentary as a deterrent. This film deals with mature subject matter .

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Comments

Through a Blue Lens

longroadhome

“I grew up with Randy in New West , we lived very close to the Millers and always hung around , we did our drugs in those days , weed , hash oil , acid but were always able to cope with things . Randy did have the world at his feet in sports like was said the the doc , hockey being ihis #1 passion , he by far the best player on the ice at any given time when I played Juvinile AllStar with him , But he had family problems and the hockey got passed over for the party life . Seing him in this doc made me think what a waste of a life and a really great guy and friend at one point . It was great to see the help he so muchley needed to get away from what Iam sure was a daily living hell . Hang in there bro love ya your pal Ray Thompson”

28 Oct 2011
Through a Blue Lens

Beryl

“I have a cousin that lives down there from time to time. This film opened my eyes to how bad it is. Damn Mr Harper if he shuts down the injection sites ”

16 Oct 2011
Through a Blue Lens

AODA_Student

“Our Instructor for Psychopharmacology had us watch and write a paper on this film. I am not, nor was I ever a drug addict, that is why I find this movie so fascinating and I had to look on the internet for it to watch again.”

8 Aug 2010
Through a Blue Lens

bwkerr@gmail.com

“This movie shows that prohibition of drugs just makes everything worse for everybody, not just drug users. Switzerland legalized Heroin for addicts and there has been not one overdose death since and 2/3 of the heroin users there have jobs and crime has dropped by 60%. Drugs are not a problem, they never have been. Before prohibition started 1.3 % of people were addicted to drugs and after 70 years or more there are still 1.3 % of people are addicted to drugs. Prohibition is the cause of the problems not drug use.”

22 Jan 2010