Kickstarter

ABOUT THE PROJECT

War Against the Weak is the untold story of American Eugenics, a movement that attempted to breed a Nordic master race through the elimination of the “unfit'. In the first three decades of the 20th Century, American corporate philanthropy, combined with the efforts of the scientific, academic and political elite, created the pseudoscience eugenics, and institutionalized race politics as national policy. The goal was to create a superior, white, Nordic race and obliterate virtually everyone else.

Under the Nazis, American eugenic principles were applied without restraint, careening out of control into the Reich's infamous genocide. American eugenicists openly supported Germany's program, with both financial and intellectual capital. Once WWII began, Nazi eugenics turned from mass sterilization and euthanasia to genocidal murder. War Against the Weak explores this complex relationship between American eugenics and the horrors of the Holocaust.

War Against The Weak traces the clear path from American scientists to the Holocaust, and raises troubling questions about how the legacy of eugenics is still affecting us today.

(Our DVD includes audio description and is closed captioned.)

WHY THIS MATTERS

So why should anyone care about a film that deals with a dark period of American history, something that happened nearly a century ago? Sure, tens of thousands of American's were forcibly sterilized. Sure, children were purposefully infected with contagious diseases. Sure, the Supreme Court said it was OK to stop undesirable people from having children. Sure, these policies and ideas inspired one of history's greatest monsters on his genocidal quest to create a master race. But when it's all said and done, why should anyone care about the past?

Well, for one thing, even if eugenics was dead and buried, the voices from the past - the children who were kidnapped from their homes and subjected to forced surgeries, the poor and unlucky who were crammed into American concentration camps to die - are still unanswered. Their calls for justice, for recognition of the crimes perpetrated against them, continue to echo across the land. But perhaps more importantly, the answer is that the ideas, the crimes, the schemes of those responsible have never really gone away.

War Against the Weak, although set in the past, resonates uncomfortably, because it feels so contemporary. Immigration? Poverty? Drug addiction? Class warfare? Have these gone anywhere? Has America really become more civilized? Or have the calls by the elite to eliminate those who are different, either through misfortune or choice, really ever stopped?

Our film is a history lesson, yes. But it is also a story about our present - about how dark prejudices can be masked in the guise of science to unleash unspeakable horrors. And it may also be a story about our future - a future that is in some way inevitable, if the mistakes of the past remain hidden.

One more thought. We've taken this film to every outlet you can think of. Public television, cable companies, distributors big and small. We're not being arrogant here, but our film is pretty darn good. The fact that we can't find distribution speaks to a simple truth - that the gatekeepers, the big media, those in the control of the elites and the moneymen are still afraid of this story. They don't want it to get out. And that's why we need your help. Because every student, every young person, every American, should know this history - so they can remember the dead, and protect the living.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING 

"A Strong and Important Work." - Dean Koontz, Author

"As we enter a world where there's a fine line between gene therapy and gene enhancement, it's useful to remember how easy it is get on the wrong side of history." - John Railey, Winston-Salem Journal

"Will leave you shaken and angry." - Ron Sutton, Documentary.org

"If the torture debate has taught us anything, it's that Americans are hardly immune from the "evil" acts that our culture purports to stand against—if anything, we're in a unique position to become the very things we demonize." - Melissa Lafsky, The Daily Beast

"WATW was nominated for the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s Social Justice Award—I’m not surprised. Justin Strawhand has created a compelling, important and entirely unique piece of art." - Anne Norda, MovieMaker.com

"War Against the Weak is a must see film for anyone seeking the truth.  This powerful film reminds us of what can happen when you are judged by appearance, race, or disability.  Every disability group in America should see this film." - Joyce Bender, Chair of the Board, National Epilepsy Foundation

"The result is a film that manages to unfold like a surprisingly linear stream-of-consciousness, one which builds to some of the most unsettling staged images I’ve ever seen in a nonfiction film." - Karina Longworth, LA Weekly

“War Against the Weak is a compelling film that explores a period of American history that is often left out of our history books.  It is critical that we familiarize ourselves with this appalling history so that we can be sure never to repeat it.” - Andrew J. Imparato, Senior Counsel and Disability Policy Director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee

"May this history be a warning to all of us." - Jane Ginn, University of Phoenix

"The visual style of War Against the Weak breaks out of the Ken Burns slow-pan-across-a-tabletop with innovative computer graphics, dramatic re-enactments, and frank, non-exploitative, Errol Morris-like interviews with current members of society's "weak" who lead productive lives, or struggle to do so." - Tom Moody, Visual Artist

"Director Justin Strawhand’s adaptation of the controversial book War Against The Weak is bound to ruffle many feathers but nonetheless casts an appropriately menacing spell." - Michael Tully, HammerToNail.com

AWARDS

WHAT THE MONEY IS BEING USED FOR

$40,000 to clear licensing.

$35,000 for Promotion / Public Relations / Marketing. Including a weeklong theater run in New York.

$5000 Artwork / Packaging / Design. 

$5000 Educational Materials

$15,000 E&O Insurance / Legal

FIND US AT:

OFFICAL WEBSITE

watwmovie.com

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/groups/244405308931608/

THE TEAM

Justin Strawhand
Director

Peter Demas
Producer

Edwin Black
Consultant

Jay Silver
Director of Photography

Mario Grigorov
Composer

Kathy Ruopp
Production Manager

Richard Belfiore
Co-Writer