Leslie Wilcox Blogs

Documentaries Forged in High Heat and Deep Cold

    If you're watching PBS Hawaii's nightly broadcasts of the CARRIER series(9 to 11 p.m. through tomorrow night, Thursday, May 1), you see big drops of sweat rolling down sailors' faces as they are interviewed aboard the USS Nimitz. On the flight deck and below decks as well, it's not unusual to have temperatures of 120 degrees and higher in the Persian Gulf.

    The high heat isn't only a human inconvenience and health threat. It's a challenge to the electronics used in recording video and sound for the documentary.

    Would the video equipment hold up under the scorching sun? The video crew fussed and worried for much of six months, the length of the deployment in 2005. To the relief of the CARRIER documentary team, the high-definition gear performed without major incident.

    The CARRIER folks can swap climate-challenge stories with a crew assigned to a Discovery Channel documentary in Alaska. Temperatures along the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race fell to 18-below.  In addition, the field equipment had to go in and out of small planes and snow mobiles from Nome to Anchorage--and bumps and scrapes were inevitable. However, on this project too, the video and audio equipment held up well.

     Hot or cold, the equipment worked. It's a reflection of both the quality and resilience of the technology and the skill and hardiness of the professionals taking on the natural elements.

Storytelling in Honolulu

    We love stories here at PBS Hawaii. And as the name of our weekly program LONG STORY SHORT indicates, we don't think they need be extended to be effective.

     Neither do Manoa author Gavan Daws and Honolulu publisher Bennett Hymer, who've come out with the book HONOLULU STORIES, featuring two centuries of writing in this city.

    Here are a few short but complete stories from the many written voices in this fat, rich book:

     From educator Richard Hamasaki:

     Tourist drowns

      In perfect waves

      From Canadian-born former Honolulu resident W.J. Illerbrun:

      Bus from Manoa

      Always the same hair and dress

    Japanese tutus

     And from a boy named Mark who submitted this essay at Makaha Elementary School in 1981:

      My mother lives in Las Vegas my father lives in Hawaii. I am my father's son and my sister is icky. Our family has small noses and soft faces. If you ask me one day I will soar like an eagle to visit my mother.

       Other stories are told with more words but not necessarily with more feeling or authenticity!      

         

   

Don't Call Him "Uncle" Robert Cazimero...

      When your name is Robert, people tend to like to shorten it to a nickname of their choice. You become Rob, Robby, Bob, Bobby--unless you object.

   "The Bobby one makes me a little queasy," says Robert Cazimero, one half of the Hoku Award-winning musical duo Brothers Cazimero and kumu hula of Halau Na Kamalei.

     "Call me Robert," he tells people.

      He knows that in Hawaii, folks are accustomed to showing respect for life experience by adding "Uncle," and he's often addressed as "Uncle Robert."

      Once again, he says simply, "Call me Robert." He's not having any of the uncle stuff. He's good-humored but he's determined.

       "When you're in the entertainment business, there's no such thing as age," he told me. "Once you get out of high school, we're all the the same age."

         Robert shares stories with me Tuesday evening, April 29,  at 7:30 on PBS Hawaii's LONG STORY SHORT. It'll be Part 1 of a two-part conversation. The second part airs at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday, May 6.

        And at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8, Robert and his all-male halau are the subject of an excellent national documentary on INDEPENDENT LENS, carried by PBS Hawaii, about their 2005 return to the Merrie Monarch hula festival in Hilo. The documentary is "Na Kamalei: Men of Hula."

        Robert says he felt a little uncomfortable under the national cameras' long, unblinking scrutiny.

        But at least the cameras didn't call him you-know-what.

        "Don't call me Uncle," Robert reminds folks. "And don't call me Auntie, either!"

Coming Home to PBS Hawaii

    You never know whether a new job, a different career track, is going to work out. As it happens, I truly celebrate the start of my second year as President and CEO of PBS Hawaii.

     Last year, it was a bit daunting to leave a secure (longterm,"no cuts") commercial TV anchor contract with Hawaii's most-watched TV station, KHON2, for a new role at this small non-profit public television station, still re-inventing itself following decades as a State agency.

     My former longtime news co-anchor, Ron Mizutani, departed from KHON2 shortly after I did, to become a VP at Hawaiian Telcom. He found it was a role that took him away from his family too much and he missed the engagement in covering news. In six months, he joyfully returned to the anchor desk.

      Fortunately for me, PBS Hawaii is easy to love.

      I was attracted to PBS Hawaii by: its local ownership and the prospect of having more agility to serve the community; the smart and dedicated staffers who've insisted on quality as their standard in television and in dealing with others; board chair Neil Hannahs and other sage, committed board members who've navigated legal and funding transitions; the viewers who've kept contributing money even though they can watch PBS Hawaii for free; the corporate underwriters who've sponsored fine TV programs as an investment in Hawaii; and the perfect vehicle it offers to tell more stories of Hawaii and the Pacific.

      And who's not captivated by the mission of informing, inspiring, entertaining?

      Once settled in my new office, I learned about other things that PBS Hawaii doesn't highlight in employment ads, but which also matter to me.

      There's a family attitude of pitching in and helping, whether it's one's job or not. There's a culture of sharing good food. There's a dedication to taking care of and appreciating what we have. There's a fierceness in protecting the trusted, non-commercial PBS brand, a determination to uphold the model of television for the public good. And there's courage and good humor in facing the unpredictability of a media industry undergoing digital transformation.

     The person who served as interim CEO before I got here, Karen Yamamoto, could've sat back and watched me figure out over time the complex PBS national system of funding and program "streams," and divisional acronyms. Instead, she ably guided and advised me. For the most part, staffers welcomed me warmly, and we work collaboratively and productively. Independent producers stop by with fascinating projects. Top television talents with decades of Hawaii high-performance experience--filmmaker Robert Pennybacker and marketing exec Linda Brock--have joined our management team. Our other managers are great veterans here: Karen, Steve Komori, Lisa Levine, Lucy Ahn.

       Sure, I miss my friends and colleagues at the old workplace, I miss the Lokahi Giving Project, and I miss the satisfaction of crafting fair news stories under deadline pressure. But I've no regrets about leaving.

       Yes, you never know whether a new job, a different career track, is going to work out.

       I'm glad to be traveling my new road. In fact, I feel almost as eager to get to the office every day as I feel happy to see my family after a long day. On each end of the commute is a home. 

CARRIER "is no commercial for the Navy"

     "This is no commercial for the Navy," said both retired four-star Navy Admiral R.J. "Zap" Zlatoper and current Rear Admiral Townsend "Tim" Alexander at different PBS Hawaii screenings of the upcoming documentary CARRIER.

    However, both admirals, who viewed the first hour of the 10-hour character-driven series that'll be shown nationally starting tomorrow night, said the film appeared to accurately portray life on an aircraft carrier. They pointed out that the average age of crew members is 19 or 20, and that some make poor choices.

    Admiral Zlatoper, who retired from the world's largest naval command in the Pacific region, served on 12 deployments in his long Navy career, including one on the USS Nimitz. The Nimitz, 24 stories high and 3 football fields long, served as the home of the PBS documentary team for the duration of a six-month deployment in 2005.

     "Why do you think the Navy gave unprecedented access to the documentary crew?" asked an attendee at last night's CARRIER screening at PBS Hawaii studios in Manoa.

     "I think the Navy allowed it because the Navy is confident about what it does," Zlatoper said.

      The film focuses on the sailors. Admiral Zlatoper said the Navy believed that any negative incidents would be understandable in the context of complex ship operations and 5,000 crew members. In addition, he said, the Navy's role in transforming raw recruits would shine.

     "Sure there are things in CARRIER we would have preferred didn't happen or weren't shown," said Rear Admiral Alexander, who leads Navy Region Hawaii.

      "But this shows young people what they're getting into when they join the Navy and it shows how important the mission is."

      In the first hour, we see a supervisor rebuking a young sailor for "skating" on chores in kitchen duty. And another young sailor is penalized pay for unauthorized liquor. When a "man overboard" alarm is sounded in the middle of the night, the Nimitz' Executive Officer is incensed that three sailors weren't immediately accounted for, so that he could have determined more quickly that it was a false alarm.

     We also see young sailors showing discipline and stamina and mettle and skill in carrying out vital jobs, including flight deck jet traffic control in 120-degree heat.

     We see universal themes on this colossal ship, a mini-city, and we watch how crew members navigate issues of faith, patriotism, separation from family, race, sexuality and other personal matters.

     "I never thought the Navy was perfect," said one of our local event attendees. "And the documentary shows it's not. But I never realized how much they train young people and how very committed they are to every detail of what they do. It's a very big and very hard job."

      Another attendee said, "I have a new appreciation of what the Navy is up against, and I have more optimism about the newest generation reaching adulthood."

       PBS National calls the documentary "a raw and honest look at the Navy's controversial role in the Iraq war."

       Our local PBS Hawaii will air CARRIER from 8 to 10 pm Sunday, April 27, and from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday, April 28 to Thursday, May 1.

       In conjunction with the national documentary, PBS Hawaii will host a live hour-long discussion of the impact of repeated Iraq War deployments on Hawaii's military families. Email questions in advance to insights@pbshawaii.org or call during the program, ISLAND INSIGHTS, Thursday, May 1, at 7:30.

    We'd like to thank some 300 Hawaii residents who joined us for a "sneak peek" at the documentary, and all of the speakers who addressed the groups,  answering questions and providing perspective. 

    

      

      

Giving as a Way of Life in Hawaii

      Many children tend to ask parents a lot of questions, like "Will you take me to the mall?" and "Can I have that? "

      Kailua mom Lisa Levine doesn't get much of that kind of inquiry from her two girls, Elisabeth, 11, and Sera, 10 (pictured on the left with Auntie Leslie.) They're more likely to ask, "Do you need help?"

     The young girls are old hands at PBS Hawaii community outreach events, greeting guests, directing them, handing out programs, serving desserts. 

      "They enjoy the interaction and they feel they're doing something worthwhile," their mother says.

        And it's a way of spending time with family, because the whole family helps. Lisa is PBS Hawaii's Vice President of Development. Her husband Wolf delivers the food, her mother Maureen Doi helps put out the spread.

        The family enjoys pitching in for a good cause, and they believe in the value of public television. In fact, the girls watched ONLY public television until they were six or seven years old.

        "It's not only PBS Hawaii events that the girls like to help with," Lisa says. "They volunteer for beach clean-ups. They helped the other day at the Straub Foundation education seminar. Elisabeth volunteers all the time at her school. They look forward to it."

         For this family and for many other people in Hawaii, giving is natural and comfortable and worth making time to do.

         My thanks to Elisabeth and Sera, Wolf and Maureen--and our Development chief Lisa Levine, who contributes so much to PBS Hawaii, in both her paid and unpaid time.

          "Do you need help?" Love that question! And when a community event is over, you know what the Levine girls ask? "When's the next time?"

           It sounds too good to be true. But true it is. Because for the Levines, giving isn't an isolated activity; it's a way of life and a source of enjoyment.

          

         

PBS Hawaii's CARRIER Screening Attracts A Crowd

     Some 220 Islanders accepted our invitation, contained in our March program guide, to see a preview of PBS' upcoming new character-driven documentary CARRIER last evening at the USS Arizona Memorial Museum at Pearl Harbor.

       "It was so real," said one of our guests. "It didn't play favorites. Whether you support the Iraq War or you don't, you get a feeling in your bones of what it's like to be on a aircraft carrier on war duty."

       A retired U.S. Navy officer  told us, "It's no commercial for the Navy, that's for sure. But it shows the Navy's culture of discipline and you see the Navy taking raw kids, many from underprivileged backgrounds, and turning them into skilled professionals."

      One of the sailors featured in the first installment is Shaneka McReed, of Georgia, who joined the Navy to escape poor prospects. She said her father was a pimp and her mother was a prostitute. On the USS Nimitz deployment she handled air traffic control duties on a busy and gigantic flight deck, with fighter jets coming and going.

     A 17-member production crew was given unprecedented access to the carrier Nimitz on a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. Authorization to allow the high-definition videotaping was given from the top levels of the Pentagon.

      The focus of the 10-part series starting nationwide April 27 is individual sailors. Many have never been away from home before and they must deal with job learning curves, separation from family, faith, patriotism, and many other personal issues. 

       "It truly is a high-stakes environment where literally one mis-step can get you seriously injured--or worse," says director/co-executive producer Maro Chermayeff. "At the same time, it's like living 24/7 in a high school."

        "Many of the sailors are still teenagers." Cherymayeff said. "They form cliques, they gossip and they generally act like kids back home. But these young sailors and Marines are saddled with tremendous responsibilities, loading bombs on jets and launching pilots on high-stakes missions over Iraq. Not your average 9 to 5 job."

     PBS Hawaii viewers who attended our CARRIER screening,  held jointly with the National Park Service and the USS Arizona Memorial Association, stayed to mingle and enjoy heavy pupus against the evening backdrop of ships docked at Pearl Harbor.  Some, like one of the event speakers, Rear Admiral Alexander, had extensive military experience; many had none.

       These viewers, with PBS Hawaii in common, got to know each other a bit, trading observations, opinions and laughter.

       Most people agreed the first episode, seen at the screening, was balanced and a fascinating immersion in reality.

      But not Peter, a longtime PBS Hawaii viewer who engaged a new viewer, age 22, in a spirited discussion.

       The new viewer, Shannon, said the conversation went something like this:

        Peter: "What those young sailors are doing is helping fighter jets bomb and kill young Iraqi children! A couple of the sailors even admitted they don't know what's going to happen. Why feature young people who admit they're ignorant? PBS shouldn't be doing this."

       Shannon: "The documentary's job is to show how things are, not how you think they should be. You may think some of the young sailors are ignorant but they know a lot about what they left behind, with terrible backgrounds back home. They're answering the nation's call to duty. They have a story too."

        The two peacefully agreed to disagree.

        While the Navy gave the TV production crew members unlimited access, with no "minders" accompanying them around the ship, the Navy did ask that three scenes be omitted from the final cut.

         Those three scenes showed classified weapons systems. The producers agreed to eliminate those three scenes. "Classified is classified," said co-exec producer Chermayeff.

          Show originator Mitchell Block says the Navy did not attempt to control the editorial content. The result is 10 hours of compelling television, as the carrier travels to the Persian Gulf, provides air support to our forces in Iraq, and returns via the Western Pacific.

          CARRIER begins at 8 p.m. Sunday April 27 on PBS Hawaii. It's a two-hour event. Monday through Thursday, April 28-May 1, the series continues, running from 9 to 11 p.m.

          I urge you to watch! Please let me know what you think of CARRIER.

"WordWorld" Has 26 Stars

       Who's the first PBS kiddie character that comes to your mind?  Big Bird? Whoops, you must be "of a certain age," like me! Big Bird has long been surpassed in popularity on PBS' "Sesame Street"  by the furry red character Elmo.  In fact, surveys show Elmo is the #1 most-liked character in the children's television universe. But Elmo's got a wily monkey on his tail, Curious George, from  the top-rated children's show of the same name on American television, also a PBS creation.

      Three irrepressible characters--Big Bird, Elmo and Curious George--are educating a lot of kids, who don't realize how much they're learning. It all seems like effortless fun.

       And there's a new crop of PBS characters on the scene, to provide more learning and more fun. The new arrivals are lively letters of the alphabet. 

        Yes, in "WordWorld," there are 26 stars of the show, always coming up with new words and new story twists. These shows are captivating.

        I have a canvas bag with the "WordWorld" logo, and when I'm out and about where there are children, it's inevitable that the little ones come up to me with a big smile pointing at the logo. They don't always know how to pronounce "WordWorld," but they clearly know and love the show. Elmo and Curious George may have to move fast to stay ahead of the lively letters of the alphabet!

       "WordWorld"  has just been named the recipient of the 2008 Parents' Choice Gold Awards for television and two DVDs. 

        Established in 1978, the Parents' Choice Awards honors the best material for children. It's a project of the Parents' Choice Foundation, the nation's oldest non-profit guide to quality children's media and toys.

         Wonder what the new generation of pre-schoolers will think of in adulthood when they're asked their favorite children's TV character? a, e, i, o, u?

Saying Good-bye to Dr. Ryoji Namba

     A local World War II veteran who was pictured on the cover of PBS Hawaii's monthly program guide, "View," sharing his stories about the war with his family for the first time, has passed away.

     Dr. Ryoji Namba was 86, an old 442nd Regimental Combat Team soldier and a member of the "Greatest Generation" who are  leaving the world in large numbers. He died in his sleep, in his home in Niu Valley.

      I met Dr. Namba when I was in the fifth grade, through his children who were my schoolmates at Aina Haina Elementary School. I've been friends with the family ever since.

       He was physically imposing, a longtime weightlifter with a powerful neck and shoulders.  His friends called him "Bull," and I assumed it was because of his physique.

       "Nope," his daughters Nodie and Anne told me. "It's because he's so bull-headed. Even his closest buddies say so. They ESPECIALLY say so."

         He definitely had a strong will and strong drive. Once a poor kid, he went to college on the G.I. Bill, earned a Ph.D on the Mainland, and became a University of Hawaii professor of entomology. Among many accomplishments in his field, he discovered a new fly species, which he affectionately named after his wife. (She's Winifred; the species is Winifredae.)

         Dr. Namba didn't talk much about himself. (He tended to be terse and gruff--although I'd  often notice his underlying amusement or concern.) That's why his wife, children and grandchildren were glad to sit with him last fall  and hear him share what it was like living and fighting in Europe during World War II. The family was intensely interested in this previously closed chapter of his life, and after a bit, he enjoyed opening up. But he was humble about his contribution to the war. "I'm no hero," he said.

         In the year before he died, Dr. Namba finally talked about himself in another way, too. He wrote his memoirs. I was fascinated to read what life was like for him growing up.

         He lived not far  from where I work at PBS Hawaii, on Kahuna Lane, one street kokohead of University Avenue in Moiliili. Back then, it was referred to as Champions' Lane, because several of the boys on the street had won boxing titles. Young Ryo learned to swim in a large spring-fed swamp in what is now Old Stadium Park. One of the favorite foods of his childhood was roasted eggplant with shoyu. There was no such thing as between-meal snacks or 7-11 or kids' allowances, so the neighborhood kids would go searching for mangoes, guavas, Java plumas. He and his buddies would chew black tar as a form of gum.

          They loved outings to the Waikiki Natatorium and they used a shortcut. They swam across the Ala Wai Canal. It wasn't polluted back then. They'd strip, secure their folded clothes on their heads with their belts, and paddle across.  On the other side, behind bushes, they'd put their clothes back on and head for the Natatorium. That's where Dr. Namba loved to jump into the pool from the highest diving platform. He said the kids ingeniously learned to hold a wide leaf in their teeth, to keep water from driving up their nostrils when they plunged in.

           These are just a few details of a rich life that took him and his family all over the world for research during sabbatical leaves from the UH Manoa.

           His family is left with the memories of a great husband and dedicated father and grandfather.

           I spent so much time hanging out at his family home over the years, he was a beloved father figure for me, too.  I'm so sad to see him go.  Mahalo nui loa with tremendous aloha, to Dr. Namba.

Remembering Aunty Nona Beamer Tonight

    A champion of Hawaiian culture, Winona Beamer, died this morning at her home in Lahaina, Maui. Aunty Nona was 84. She'd recently been released from the hospital.

     Aunty Nona descended from a family of story-tellers, and it was a privilege to hear her share her stories on PBS Hawaii's "Long Story Short" last fall, in what may have been her last televised interview.

     Tonight, in memory of and in tribute to Aunty Nona, PBS Hawaii will re-air that conversation on "Long Story Short" at 8:30 pm. Following that, at 9 pm, we'll have an encore presentation of "Na Mele" featuring Aunty Nona, her son Keola and her daughter-in-law Moana.

     When I sat down with Aunty Nona last October, she was as quick and akamai and mischievous and courageous and wise as ever.

      She said her goal in her 80s was to "keep the Hawaiian-ness in things as much as possible...It's this aloha feeling--the kindness between people. You know, speaking nicely, looking at each other, smiling. Oh, it seems like so little. But it's a gargantuan concept to keep this aloha in the world. And that's what we all have to do in our own hearts--to keep this aloha."

      We'll miss her tremendously and always keep aloha in our hearts for her.