BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY Outreach Campaign
by filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos

BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY chronicles my two-year journey to know my father, who was killed in Vietnam when I was three months old. It’s a personal, intimate and emotional story. But despite its “smallness” of subject matter, I wanted the film to have a larger impact: to shed light on issues of grief, loss and remembrance, particularly surrounding the Vietnam War.

In May 2001, I established Orphans of War Foundation, a non-profit organization, not only to fund the film, but also with the on-going purpose of increasing understanding of the impact of war and encouraging educational projects with themes of reconciliation and remembrance. In May 2002, I approached Kansas City Public Television (KCPT) to partner in an application to Independent Television Service (ITVS) for LInCS funding. We were awarded LInCS funding in September, which allowed for the film’s completion in May 2003. But we still carried a large amount of debt, which precluded being able to fund an outreach campaign. I turned to ITVS Community Connections Project (CCP), who graciously agreed to take the film on.

One of the first steps in working with CCP was to answer a detailed questionnaire to identify the goals of the campaign, as well as the audience. Most especially, I wanted to reach the estimated 20,000 American men and women who lost fathers in the Vietnam War, Vietnam veterans and other survivors, widows and families of those killed or lost in the Vietnam War.

Before developing materials and strategies to reach this audience, our next step was to hire an Outreach Coordinator. Her role would be to assist in the development of national partnerships, to maintain communication with key organizations and to work with field organizers in a dozen cities to develop local outreach strategies and events.

Outreach Coordinator

At first, as the filmmaker, I thought that I might be the best person to coordinate the outreach campaign. But in truth, by the time the film began to screen in festivals, my time was stretched far too thin to be able to manage this effort effectively. Also, I felt an increasing need to discourage my role as the film’s sole “spokesperson.” I found that this was sometimes unproductive, in that it reinforced my personal story, at the expense of the broader potential and impact we hoped for the film. It seemed it would be far more effective to have someone else in the role of contacting national partners, working with field organizers and strategizing about the educational uses of the film in a broader context.

Angee Simmons, a producer and promotions manager at KCPT, agreed to come on board. Because of KCPT’s partnership on the film, Angee was already an advocate for BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY and was the perfect choice.

Broadcast Date

In April 2003, BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY was selected to be a part of the Independent Lens series. We learned a month later about a Veterans’ Day broadcast date. We were thrilled. We thought that this “event” broadcast, timed to coincide with the national holiday of remembrance, would be instrumental in galvanizing additional support and mobilizing events and activities around the country. Also, we anticipated that our Veteran’s Day broadcast would increase the opportunities for publicity, which would, in turn, feed interest in outreach activities.

In many ways, we were right. But Angee Simmons also discovered that our broadcast date created some challenges: “Even though the film fit the mission of Veteran’s groups, the broadcast time (although seemingly perfect) conflicted with other Veterans’ Day activities.” It also meant that we had an accelerated timetable, with less than six months to write, design and implement materials, establish national partnerships, and coordinate local outreach activities and events.

Discussion Guide

As the filmmaker, I had been envisioning outreach with the film for over two years and knew the conversations I hoped it would encourage. Writing the discussion guide was challenging, however, as I had to “let go” of some of the ideas I had held for so long to allow for input from ITVS as well as from our National Partners. I am most proud of the on-going activities we developed—both the “memorial” and “interview” projects—and certainly hope that in the use of the guide people have responded to these activities as well.

The text for the guide was finalized at the end of August and was available to be downloaded by early September. The guide was primarily used for CCP events in October and November. As the guide is still available on the ITVS/CCP Web site, I hope that it will continue to be used in on-going outreach.

Intended Audience

In the process of writing the guide, our intended audience shifted. The decision was made not to focus the materials strictly on those impacted by the Vietnam War. We chose to reach out to audiences who had experienced loss and grief in general. In discussions after screenings, I had further insight into a wider audience who responded to the film. A psychologist wanted to use the film as a tool to encourage bereavement with his patients with repressed grief. People found relevance to the film who were adopted, and also adoptive parents. Still, the communities most responsive to the film and outreach activities were veterans groups, in particular those impacted by the Vietnam War. Also, the universities and high schools that did screen the film usually did so as part of their curriculum about the Vietnam War. In the final analysis, the strongest response and impact was with the core audience we had originally identified.

Web Site

The Independent Lens Web site for BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY launched in late October. This turned out to be a great space for encouraging many of our outreach objectives, such as an entire component created for memorials as well as a Share Your Story feature, separate from the customary Talkback section. The site is now an important companion to our continued outreach.

National Partners

During production, KCPT and I garnered the support of the Swift Boat Sailors Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Now, we wanted to include grief organizations as national partners, such as the Dougy Center. It was also important that our national partners represent different political perspectives. Therefore, we sought not only the support of the Veteran’s Administration, but also the support of Veterans For Peace. To appeal directly to an important segment of our intended audience, we partnered with Sons and Daughters in Touch (SDIT) and Gold Star Wives. Finally, to encourage specific objectives, particularly the on-going activities outlined in the discussion guide, we sought the support of organizations dedicated to remembrance, such as Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and Veterans History Project.

Angee says she found the support from national organizations like the VFW, VVA/AVVA, SDIT and other smaller veteran community groups invaluable. “Not only did they help to build awareness of the film, both on a national and local level, their personal ties to the film lent extra emotion to their appeals.”

Events

Sometimes, outreach opportunities arose from unexpected places. Through my stepfather’s affiliation with the Unitarian Church, two separate screening events were sponsored by churches in San Francisco, California and Rochester, New York. Even the festival circuit provided opportunities for outreach. At the Aspen Filmfest, BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY was screened for over six high school classes as part of the festival’s educational component. An acquaintance I met at a friend’s brunch asked to screen the film at her school, Newton Country Day, for their Veterans’ Day assembly. In true grassroots fashion, one event would often lead to other.

One of the most successful screening events was held in early September at the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas. The film screened twice. Once, for a small group of Vietnam Veterans and military families, widows and survivors, with a facilitated discussion by the chair of the political science and history department. With a personal film like this, it is crucial to find facilitators who are not subjects or filmmakers (I was both).

Additional outreach events, coordinated by CCP field organizers, began in late October and were held in Washington, D.C., Salt Lake City, Utah, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Boise, Idaho. The strongest support for outreach events came from our National Partners, in particular Vietnam Veterans of American, Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars. They held screenings in October and November in Des Moines, Iowa, Tampa, Florida and San Diego, California.

Outreach Outcomes

The six-month CCP Outreach Campaign for BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY had challenges, but, in the end, I think we accomplished our goals. More than anything, the outreach campaign allowed us to reach our intended audience in a compassionate, proactive way—what a television broadcast alone could never have achieved. We formed a solid group of national partners who supported CCP events and sponsored others. Many of these partners, like the VFW and Vietnam Veterans of America, are continuing to look for ways to use the film as a tool with their members. In October and November, screenings were held around the country. In conventions, high schools, universities and private homes nationwide, discussions among students, veterans, active duty military, military families and survivors took place. We gave communities permission to mourn and to tell their stories. With time, I hope these discussions will be a catalyst to encourage other journeys of remembrance and reconciliation. I also hope that even beyond the scope of CCP and ITVS active involvement, materials will be downloaded, the web site will be visited, people will see the film in their community, talk back, share their story and the successful outreach with BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY will continue.