Oscar 2012 Documentary Shorts

It seems like documentaries are supposed to be sad films about tragic circumstances. This year's selections of documentary shorts have sad subjects but with the additional uplifting addition of triumph of the human spirit. The Barber of Birmingham:Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, is about Mr. James Armstrong who was a barber from 1955 until his passing in 2009. He owned a USA flag that he carried in all the civil rights marches in Birmingham; God is the Bigger Elvis, is the story of Delores Hart who starred in films with Elvis Presley among others then changed careers to become a Benedictine nun in 1963; Incident in Baghdad, is about one soldier's reflection about the 2007 killings of unarmed reporters and civilians; Saving Face, is about women in Pakistan who are burned by acid and the surgeon who tries to help restore their image and life; The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, is about the devastation from the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 contrasted to a cherry tree that has survived over 1000 years. Besides God is the bigger Elvis which was not viewed (thanks Sundance and the Oscars), they are all moving accounts of the way humans can overcome most anything. I would have to give the edge to Saving Face as the most inspirational and compelling story of what can happen when individuals, community and government work together to benefit us all. Two un-burned thumbs up. Political side note (used to these at the Oscars): those three working together sounds like fiction in this tumultuous time in Wisconsin and the nation but hopefully some day we will realize that the only thing that happens in a pissing contest is both sides get wet with nothing else accomplished.