Call Me Chris
by Chris BurgardThey call me Chris.
When I first came to Hollywood as a ballet dancer in 1985, it felt good. This town was a breath of fresh air. This was a town where all things were possible and no one was too weird. You could sit down in any bar or any coffee house and have the coolest conversations with the most interesting people till closing time. Creativity was king and differing views were encouraged. So I thought. So I still hope.
See, even when I wore tights for a living I still believed in God and I still owned guns. Back then I thought that just made me an American. Twenty-three years later, and after I made the film: “Border,” I discovered that it makes me one of “them”: one of the few minorities in Hollywood that still face discrimination….the ideologues that dare not speak their name……a conservative!! Trust me when I tell you that I get more dirty looks walking into a Hollywood party in Wranglers and a cowboy hat than I did when I was jete’ing my way across the deep South.
As we were crewing up, I heard more than one of my industry acquaintances ask, “Why would you want to make a film about a bunch of Bush-loving racists looking to shoot Mexicans in the desert?” Please remember that when we first started test screenings for “Border,” border security and immigration were pretty emotionally charged topics. We were thrilled to see that the film played equally well with audience members from both sides of the aisle. After a few out of state screenings we were a bit concerned because some people had real problems with a disrespectful remark about President Bush that we had filmed. In later months we would actually face real pressure from conservative leadership to take this one remark out of the film.
Make no mistake, it was an offensive remark. It was not an easy decision for me to keep the comment in the film, but it was representative of opinions shared by a segment of people that we filmed on the border. To take the remark out would be to tilt the film towards partisanship. I didn’t set out to make a political statement. I set out to make a film about what I saw on the border. The film is what it is. The audience sees what we saw.
So I was pretty surprised by our first distributor rejection: “Intense film. Very Powerful. Moving. Not really for us. We wouldn’t know how to market this. We don’t do conservative films.”
That was pretty much the standard distributor response that we got across town for the next year and two months. Sometimes we would hear “not theatrical” or “not decisive enough”. I may not be a rocket scientist but I didn’t need another year to figure out that if “Border” was going to get out to the American people, we would be the ones to get ‘er done.
“Border” premiered for the US House of Representatives, played to standing ovations in 16 states and closed by screening for the US Senate last September. Our reviews and web site DVD sales were impressive enough to get “Border” into NetFlix, Blockbuster Online, Amazon and Barnes and Noble Online.
After one screening in Phillips, WI, a man came up to me as said, “Your ‘Border’ screening just outsold my 7pm ‘Harry Potter’ by almost 2 to 1.” An hour later, people were still standing outside the theater talking about what they had seen. “I own three more theaters. How fast can I get this film onto more screens?” That was a defining moment. I realized that just maybe, Hollywood distribution execs had misjudged flyover country.
“Border” also garnered the praise and endorsements of law enforcement agencies such as The Southwest Border Sheriff’s Coalition and The Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition.
Unfortunately, along the way I have been called a racist, a nativist, a propagandist and a xenophobe. I had to look that last one up. Fortunately, the name callers were all people who had yet to see the film.
When I went on national television and tried to warn America about how the drug cartels were running the border, and how, if left unchecked, the violence could escalate into a narco-terror war, I was called a “fearmonger.”
Now after two years of beheadings, more dead than the United States military has sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the United States Joint Forces Command, the Department of Homeland Security and ex Drug Czar: Barry McCaffrey all warning of a possible collapse of the Mexican government … they just call me Chris.
Some of my liberal friends do not believe that evil exists. They think that there is no right or wrong, only different perspectives and that to believe otherwise is to be too “judgmental”. I believe that evil needs to be confronted and defeated whenever possible. There are things happening on our southern border that are wrong. Terribly wrong.
I believe that in America, ranchers should not live in fear of armed paramilitaries from a foreign nation.
I believe that Mexican children should not be rented to drug cartels in order to smuggle narcotics and avoid longer jail time.
I believe that women should not be raped in our American deserts and their undergarments hung in trees and bushes as trophies.
I don’t need people to think like me, I just need them to think. We ended “Border” with three words: “Pay Attention. Participate.” Our Founding Fathers knew that we wouldn’t always agree. They created our government knowing that an engaged debate is essential to the forms of liberty and the democratic process. We must hold open the door to discussion.
It would be amiss if Hollywood failed to engage in this debate, or any other just because it was prejudged as “conservative.” Hollywood is a major force in popular culture and the national consciousness. Our voice is heard around the world. It would truly be a shame if we can’t hear each other.
I was raised to believe that “racist” was one of the worst names you could call someone. After these last three years I have come to know it is also the weapon of choice for those that would seek to avoid discourse of any rational kind.
We should be better than this. We can be better than this. After the Hollywood blacklists of the 1950s, we should be saying “Never again!”
President Obama has asked all Americans to rise above partisanship to heal America and help move us out of crisis. Will Hollywood hear our new President and heed his call?
My wife, my team and I made “Border” because we felt it was important. We wanted to capture what we felt was an historic part of American history. Ultimately, we did it for our kids. I hope that our children will be free to have those same late night discussions in any bar or coffee house in town.
Pay attention. Participate.
Chris Burgard
Bordermovie.com
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42 Comments
Bush? He cared more for Mexico than the US.
Welcome Aboard! Its gonna be a bumpy and scary ride so hang on buddy.
obama is gonna bring America down what a scary world this is thanks to this empty suit
Welcome Chris! hang on it will be a scary ride knowing obama is now president GOd Help us all. He will fail!
God Bless you, sir; I was just talking today about how amnesty is not going to stop the border problem. A friend at school is a Mexican, here legally, who is torn because she is playing by the rules—yet she witnesses the poverty that drives people to extreme lengths.
In addition to building a fence, and putting our military on patrol, we need to re-think our relationships with both Mexico and China.
China is an international leader in human rights abuses, yet we import our trinks and trash—and other sundry items, from this country, enabling the abusers. Give incentives to companies to move production to Mexico—-help Mexican dads who don’t want to be here anyway, stay with their families, and earn a legal living.
Yes, our cheap items will be more; but shipping them by boat can’t be cheap—-so they can come across land (to 48 of the 57 states, anyway)…
Thanks for documenting what is happening; is this movie available on DVD?
A nice post. I want to check your film. You sound like a true patriot.
Geroge Bush is the American Malinche. And, this problem is not thorny. Enforce current law, starting with fining and jailing those who employ illegal aliens. Simple.
MR BLIFIL
One thing at a time OK? You could say the same thing about people protesting Darfur, Lack of funding for AIDS, lack of funding for GW, etc. If you want to pick apart his essay go ahead but don’t accuss him of whining because he isn’t addressing your favorite bitch.
mr blifil:
If your b.o. doesn’t spend $1billions/month on welfare for banks and subprime(fraudulent?)borrowers we might make inroads in border security!
Growltiger –
Their economy is collapsing BECAUSE of the illegals that cost society far more than they contribute.
Thank you Chris for your movie.
I ordered the DVD the moment it became available. The film pissed me off, and terrified me. I thought I knew how bad the border situation was. I was wrong..it was much worse.
I have tried to show your film to the open-border leftists in my family. Their response is typical: “No thanks, I don’t watch right-wing propaganda.” I told them I would watch “Fahrenheit 9/11″ if they would watch “Border.” Let’s just say they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Please, keep fightin the good fight.
“I don’t need people to think like me, I just need them to think.” That line says it all – and says it all about you, Chris. Yep, I too hope our new President’s plea that we rise above partisanship and start working together – all of us – will actually become a reality. So let’s start reminding people of that, whenever necessary. Thanks for writing and I will order your film pronto.
An interesting post. Obviously, the movie is available on DVD, but I will be interested to see if it shows up in theaters. I prefer not to be in modern theaters, because manners are in short supply and I would prefer to be able to hit Pause, grab a beer, and see a man about a horse. Best fortune.
Chris,
I saw your film during it’s limited release and must ‘thank you’ for doing such an excellent job. No question, the issue is most difficult, however, as long as there are good men such as you willing to tackle the subject head-on, we citizens will be all the wiser for your efforts.
Keep up the good work and continued success.
Some of your “Liberal Friends” must not believe in Objective Truth either….tell them next time they enter a 10 story building to exit via the window and test out their theory.
I just put it on my Netflix list.
The Border Netflix customer reviews also give it the highest ratings.
And what happens if Mexico’s government actually collapses? It’s pretty tenuous at the moment. Is anybody else paying attention to the government people who get killed there regularly?
That’s the best article I’ve read on this site. Thanks, Chris.
Wow. This is a powerful post and I have to apologize, but I had not heard of your movie before now.
I am SO loving this blog and I’m also loving reading posts by Hollywood folks who can see what it’s really all about… and isn’t being fooled by others, because it’s just cool to agree with them.
I will have to look into your movie. It sounds like something I would love to see.
I never heard of your movie until now, but I am ordering it from Blockbuster online tonight.
I live in San Diego, and I believe that your statement about how the Mexican government may collapse is spot on. And frightening.
Ask you liberal friends, who don’t believe in evil, if George Bush or Cheney is evil.
You’ll probably find out that they believe in evil, but only among conservatives.
After reading this post, I decided to pull my Border DVD off the shelf and watch it again tonight. I couldn’t take anymore Obama worship on the TV.
I can say without hesitation it’s one of the best doc’s I’ve seen.
Makes me wish the people in the southwestern states would wake up. Makes me wish the whole country would wake up. Next time I hear an open-border nutjob talk about how conservatives lack “compassion” over the border issue…I’m going to bring up the story of “rape trees”. What’s so compassionate about rape trees? Or how ’bout forcing people into mule trains? Oh, the compassion.
Well since the Penn,Hank,Clooney’s and the rest of the liberal Hollyweirds are not getting anything out of my purse it will be a refreshing new breed I will be looking at. And once we all pull together and boycott all these that have their heads up obama’s arse the big boys that run this mess in Hoollywood will bring in Chris and many others that want what we want! Great entertainment!
I was honored to meet Chris at a screening of “The Border” in Los Angeles. He was such a breath of fresh air compared to the celebutards who have long overstayed their welcome on the airwaves and in the cineplexes. He then hosted a panel discussion regarding the immigration issue, and handled the crowd which got a little passionate at times. Chris is an amazing young man who put a lot on the line to make a very important film, and he deserves our support and our thanks. He is one of the heroes in my life. FoxNews, hire this guy. He’s an American treasure.
“Subprime borrowers who defaulted were not the problem, you ignorant stooge./Try turning Limbaugh off every once in a while and do some reading on the subject before participating in your own public humiliation.”
I actually have done some reading on this subject, but allow me to participate in some public humiliation of my own. Those financial firms were forced by Democrats (starting with Carter right on through to Clinton) to make those loans, so nice try at trying to blame the financial meltdown on the Republicans, but the facts show otherwise. And subprime borrowers are partly to blame. Anyone with half a brain in their head knows when they sign a loan whether they can pay it back or not, so you’ll have a hard time convincing me that the majority of those borrowers got punked by their banks. Get off the Kool-Aid IV drip, and do some reading of your own on the subject. Facts are stubborn things.
It’s a pretty sad state of affairs, when a film that is balanced, is thought too “conservative” for regular distribution.
There are plenty of coulda, woulda, shoulda’s in nearly every government decision. Casting the majority of blame on any one party or person, doesn’t really do justice to the complexity of the issues, or what’s needed to solve them.
I don’t know about Mexico collapsing, but the situation in Juarez, Mexico – right across the border from El Paso, TX – has gotten exponentially more dangerous and out-of-control over the last two years. My wife’s entire extended family (about 200 folks) lives in the El Paso area, and during our frequent trips there, there was always a venture into Juarez for a wrestling match or shopping by at least some of her clan….but not anymore. The gangs and drug organizations have been on such a rampage that it is no longer even remotely safe to go there. The local police are either too helpless or too corrupt to do anything about it. This December was the first time in the 70+ year history of the Sun Bowl that the two teams were not treated to day at the bullfights in Juarez, due to security concerns.
Even my wife’s parents – liberals to the core – think that the border needs even stricter controls than have been in place for the last decade or so in El Paso (since the stricter controls went into effect, El Paso’s crime rate has plummeted) or that the border should be closed entirely.
As for my position on the topic, I like to quote Father Theodore Hesburgh (another died-in-the-wool liberal), president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame: “We must close the door of illegal immigration so that we may keep the door of legal immigration open.”
It is not on topic, but the troll that absolves the subprime borrower makes a jump to derivatives. I’m not a fan of derivatives and don’t invest in them. However, long before derivatives became a problem, certain people came up with a brilliant idea, to package pieces of loans into bundles and “securitize” them, i.e., turn them into investment products. Those certain people are Penny Pritzger, an Obama supporter and “Financial Advisor” (whom crushed her own family bank with those crap products) and the Sandlers, Obama supporters, that sold-out their crap packages to other banks that then collapsed. Those weren’t complicated, inscrutable, derivatives transactions; they were fraud and both Pritzger and the Sandlers were well aware they were selling fraudulent products. They created them on purpose.
There are genuinely bad people in this world that do genuinely bad things, knowing they are going to cause harm to others. For them, perhaps “rape trees” may still be too harsh.
Just added ‘Border’ to my Netflix list. Looks good…
Mr Blifil
This is a movie about border issues primarily focused on security and to immigration policies by association. It is not about Iraq, or the housing crash, or oil, or Darfur. The issue affects the policymakers on both sides of the aisle. Its like chastising someone telling the story of the Titanic because they didn’t bother to mention the Lusitania.
AND if you happen to take the time to watch the film, it actually DOES accuse the Administration of allocating funds that would have been better used to protect our borders, and send them and our resources off to Iraq. So, really, your accusations are ill-informed and hollow. You seem to assume that because this is on a conservative blogsite that the director absolves the sins of Republicans. Obviously both parties make mistakes — and both parties have made BIG mistakes in the history of this young country. And the border is one where they BOTH continue to make huge mistakes.
Now — to your point about whining when Chris made the movie for his kids. He did. That’s what inspired him. However, making a film for the sake of making a film is nonsense. Only liberal arts BFA candidates make art for the sake of art. Art has no meaning unless it is seen by others, and affects others. This is especially important when that piece of art can affect national policy. How would Chris help his children? And his children’ children? Try and get the country to change policy. So, how do you do that, you may ask, Mr Blifil? You probably know the answer. You have quite a vocabulary. But, I’ll tell you, just for the sake of telling you. You need to have A LOT of people express their voice on an issue — then, MAYBE, the politicians will listen. What better way to get your message, your art (and yes, film, and this film, is a piece of art — by definition), your voice…how do you get it out to the most people? uhhh… Hollywood? So, Hollywood’s infrastructure to easily broadcast to a mass audience is closed off to Chris — why? because he, and the film, are viewed as conservative. The easiest way to affect a nation, and hence affect policy, and therefore help his children — has been stripped away.
Yes — perhaps there are other methods. But the most reasonable and effective one is gone… I’d be bitching too. And you know what? In the same situation? So would you….
Watch the film before speaking. Not a huge expectation.
“A friend at school is a Mexican, here legally, who is torn because she is playing by the rules—yet she witnesses the poverty that drives people to extreme lengths.” – Ohio Wolverine Mom
You should ask her if the subsidizing of the underclass in Mexico by us (billions sent back over the border from illegal workers here) is going to make their plight better or worse? How can maintaining a rigid class based system of corruption coupled with drug lords taking advantage ever get better if the lowest on the totem pole continue ‘getting by’ on our subsidy? If the Mexican government ever had to actually face all those people on the internal reality, they might actually have to consider how to at least let them make a living, lest they revolt.
Those supporting illegals here damn the poor there.
I look forward to seeing this film. Having spent most if my adult years in border states – CA and AZ, I’ve witnessed how things have gone from bad to worse. We used to go down to Tijuana to shop and have lunch. No more, when innocent citizens are gunned down in broad daylight by narcotraficantes. Mexico has, for years, been unable, or unwilling to do anything about the wretched poverty down there, despite riches in oil and tourism. Corruption? You better believe it. I had a friend who lived with a woman in Tijuana. Her son-in-law had been a colonel in the Federales. They told me if I EVER had a problem in Mexico, with ANYONE, to tell them I knew him. He lived in an opulent home, high on a hill, surrounded by abject poverty and wooden shacks for the less fortunate. The locals called it “The Winged Church” because of its shape and the ornate stained glass windows. In the attic he had 4,000 pounds of marijuana that he and his men had “confiscated.” He now owns a “security” company in TJ.
After viewing your film the “Border”..I was left w a feeling of enlightenment…Thanku for exposing the serious situation down on our borders and making us aware of the need for an humanity effort in our Country…u r a true film maker…
Mr. Blifil -
Try not to be so obtuse. The problem with the economy today was the Carter and later the Clinton administrations coming up with the nice-sounding theme “Affordable Housing for All” and then DEMANDING, under penalty of law, that lenders make housing loans available to just about anyone who applied–regardless of their income or ability to eventually repay the loan, as long as the money was used to buy a house. That artificially inflated housing prices because demand for houses went up. (I suppose you’ve heard of the law of supply and demand?) Banks did so, even though somewhat reluctantly, because they were told by Congressional Democrats like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would buy up those “sub-prime” mortgages, thus reducing their risk. Of course, Fannie and Freddie eventually were swamped with worthless mortgages and would have gone under if not for a Democrat Congress bailing them out, but by then worthless mortgages were EVERYWHERE and lending institutions started to fall like ninepins…along with the speculators who’d invested in boxes of the things. It wasn’t “greedy banks,” that caused this mess. It was idiot Democrats who, as usual, never stopped to consider the consequences of what they were doing–solely to garner support for their own re-elections and without any thought for the people they were purporting to “help.”
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