The Tailenders

Infobox Film
name = The Tailenders


caption = Tagline: "A film of epic portions."
director = Adele Horne
producer = Adele Horne
writer = Adele Horne
starring =
sound design = Maile Colbert
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = New Day Films
released = 2005
runtime = 72 minutes
language =
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
mpaa_rating =
tv_rating = | website = http://www.adelehorne.net/
amg_id = 1:345723
imdb_id = 0829875

"The Tailenders" is a 2005 documentary directed, produced and narrated by Adele Horne, an American independent filmmaker based out of Los Angeles. It is in limited release and has been screened in the U.S., Mexico and Scotland. According to a P.O.V. press release, "The Tailenders" was broadcast nationally in the US on PBS on Tuesday, July 25, 2006.

The film follows Gospel Recordings a missionary group founded by Joy Ridderhof in California in 1939 [ [http://www.thetailenders.com/Page02.htm Web page] ] to make audio recordings of Bible stories in every language on Earth. The group is part of the umbrella network GRN - Global Recordings Network which has sister offices in over 30 countries. The film claims there are over 8,000 languages and dialects in the world and, as of the making of the film, Global Recordings Network has recorded Bible stories in 5,485 of them. It is mentioned in the film that their archive houses more spoken languages in one place than any other single area in the world. The significance of this lies in the notion that the Bible is not only the most published book around the world, passages from it are also translated into the most spoken languages as well. This is beneficial because many of the languages utilized by Gospel Recordings do not have written counterparts, and even if they did, most who spoke the languages would not be able to read it anyway. Another benefit of this group's work is the growing set of unspoken languages that are catalogued over the years, which act as a strong counterpart to historical records of various cultures. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, God is claimed to be responsible for the vast variations of languages described in the story of Babel. "The Tailenders" claim that half of all languages occur in eight countries.

Global Recordings Network, founded in Los Angeles in 1939, specifically targets indigenous people in remote areas of the world. In the years of 2002 and 2003 the organization prearranged trips to The Solomon Islands, Mexico, and India. Three countries termed the "tailenders" since they were the last group of people to be reached by missionaries transmitting the message of God, unchanged. According to Matthew 28:19-20

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe, all that I command of you and lo I am with you always, even til the end of the age".

Jesus said this to His disciples according to the New American Standard Bible. This is one of many verses within the Bible that commands Christians share the Gospel with others. These missionary groups do this through the use of their simple technology, faith and prayer. In the three countries mentioned earlier, there are a total of 769 different languages and dialects spoken, 74 in The Solomon Islands, 295 in Mexico, and 400 in India.

The film attempts to explore the connection between missionary activity and global capitalism by using low-tech audio devices to speak to communities that face economic crisis. The missionaries targeted these communities that were in crisis because they found that displaced and desperate people were more receptive to evangelical recordings. Also because these people were more interested in the audio recordings because they were more comfortable with listening to their native language. It seems to provide an interesting view on mass-evangelization as the filmmaker shows the viewer that by placing a concentrated emphasis on these native people and using a recording of their own language as a way of connection to Christianity; to make them feel comfortable in learning a whole new way of thinking about the world. This is a new evangelistic approach because it brings hope to people who have never even been exposed to a higher power or belief such as Christianity. The group that paved the way for this movement, the Gospel Recordings, hope to help these people in need by showing them that there is a higher power that can bring enlightenment to them.

The role of technology in the film

The makers of the documentary emphasize the strategy of reaching and giving communication technology to those facing hardships in their very own land. For example: the communities in Patutiva, Solomon Islands faced the threat of logging which would consequently lead to no water, homes, and the destruction of the native ecosystem. The narrator of the documentary also seeks to explain why the devices they used to spread the gospel message were so effective. "Separated from its body, a voice become superhuman," she explains, "It can speak to more people than any single person could." The native tongue on the recordings allowed Global Recordings Network to bring a source of comfort and trust for people who have been long separated from their homeland. They used the inherent appeal of the medium to gain converts. The film "has presented disembodied audio as a religion unto itself." [cite news |first=Virginia |last=Hefferman |authorlink= |title=How Missionaries Spread the Word, and U.S. Capitalism. |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/arts/25heff.html |work="The New York Times" |date=2006-07-25 |accessdate=2007-04-11 ]

Because of the low development in these places, devices had to be used that could work without the use of electricity. The devices they used to are referred to as "Hand Crank" and consisted of cardboard record players and hand cranked cassette players. They take apart pieces of technology and re-assemble them in order to make the technology serve their purposes. They used people within the cultures who understood and spoke the different dialects in order to record the stories they wanted to share from the Bible. To make sure that the stories were authentic, translators were used.

[Global Recording Networks] [http://globalrecordings.net/topic/messenger2 Global Recording Network]

The "Hand Crank" cassette players were a tool of attraction in itself. They were made with deliberately bold colored buttons that would attract the attention of the children. The "Hand Crank" would even attract the adults who have never been exposed to the missionaries before. The missionaries also made it a point to charge the people of these poor third world nations for the cassettes made by The Global Recording Network. The missionaries felt that the people valued the messages on the tape and the tape itself more when they have to purchase it, rather them being handed the tapes free.

Global evangelism and human language

The Global Recordings Network worked very hard to translate the biblical messages and songs into every language possible. They trained recordists to choose the most appropriate scripts in order to appeal most to specific groups of people. They had scripts prepared to target many different groups from spirit-worshipers to Muslims or Buddhists. The missionaries believe that people's own beliefs are false hope and that God is the only way. Recordists go into villages and conduct interviews with community members in order to decide which scripts would be most appropriate to gain converts in that area. The final products of the scripts that are recorded appeal to the specific groups of people because the "Spirit" speaks through background noises such as children's voices, bugs, and other sounds that relate to their cultural environment.

The missionaries developed a diagnostic procedure to determine a person's exact native language or dialect. They did so by playing audio samples in differing dialects until the individuals heard their native language. Finding their exact language helps the people relate back to their homeland because most of them have been uprooted to find jobs. These people are in need of something to fall back on and these biblical recordings helps them relate and continue their faith.

An example of this includes their trip to a poor village in India. The documentary focused on one older Indian couple that were having terrible financial troubles. The wife leaves at 7 a.m. every morning and returns at 5 p.m. every night. The wage she earns is less than a dollar for a 10 hour work day. The husband is unable to work because of a medical condition called 'vertigo'. Employers did not hire him due to this, and thus, he cannot make any money. The missionaries talked to the husband and discussed everything in life can be better when you reach out for salvage from Jesus.

The effectiveness of audio native-language evangelism

Some common problems that they encountered were language mix-ups and background noise. Although these problems were serious to the spread of their message, it seemed foolish that the devices were given to people who were so poor that they could not afford to fix holes in their roofs The missionaries purposely sold the tapes for monetary value so they would value the tapes and listen to them more. Had the missionaries given the tapes away for free the chances of individuals using the tapes carelessly would have increased. Along those lines when the recipients that were given the technology asked for other assistance, the givers simply told them they would "pray for them." This is where the recipients must have faith and believe what these missionaries (and essentially strangers) are telling them so that their cries for help would be answered miraculously by this new concept of Christianity.

More problems include the fact that some messages get lost in translation. An example of this was clearly shown in the documentary when they played a popular children's game called "telephone." The sentence, "Air carries the vibration to the recording device" was passed in English from one person to the next, who then passed it along in Hindi, then Nepali, then Manipuri, then Tangkhul, then Manipuri, and then back to English. At this point, it became "When we record the language, after we record, it's come out...its come out through the vibration." One short sentence became a long, descriptive passage with a slightly altered meaning. When one story or message gets translated into over 500 languages, the emphasis may shift, and meanings may differ. Different words mean different things to different people in different cultures.

When the missionaries went to Mexico, the families get excited because they know they will receive free gifts and Christian tapes for their families. It helps to bring hope to the poor families. To many of the poor families in Mexico, Christianity is very appealing. Families often see that others who have become Christian end up gaining more financial stability than they used to have.

The missionaries often picked translators who spoke clearly and had knowledge of the local language to help them record the Bible passages. Some of the translators used by the missionaries would take liberties with the translations that deviated from the core message. For example, one translator told a fictitious Bible story about a pig. The missionaries were not aware of this until later when they played the finished tape for someone else who spoke the same language.

The work of the GRN is controversial in some of the communities they work in. In Oaxaca, some community leaders noted that converts often become less willing to engage in community projects to increase social welfare, instead focusing on bettering their own family's situation and praying for everyone else.

At the end of the film, the narrator explains the effect of the missionaries work, saying, "the strongest message received may be the technology itself. An emblem of wealthy machine culture and its power. To convert is to be joined to this power."-the power of communication technology.

Educational uses of the film

For people that attend the University of Illinois, you can rent/reserve a copy of the movie at the U of I undergraduate library located on Gregory street. Unlike other course reserves, these movies are not available to take out of the library and must be viewed there. If you'd like a copy for taking home you can rent the movie from pretty much any rental store around campus including Hollywood video, or Blockbuster. Another great place to locate the documentary is at That's Rentertainment they have a whole section devoted to strictly documentary films and have the most exstensive collection on campus. That's Rentertainment is located at 516 E John Street, Champaign, IL. Their telephone number is [phone].

Native Language Missionary Work

The impact and potential power of hearing the Gospel in one's native language has fueled other missionary efforts to disseminate native language media.

Organization like Wycliffe have been trying to translate the Bible into native languages since 1942. It's vision is to have a translated text in every language by 2025.

This movie "The Tailender" will also be viewed on the University of Illinois campus. The open discussion after the on campus viewing of "Tailender" will give viewers a detailed critique of the movie.

Reactions

Colin Scott, the US Director of Global Recordings Network (GRN), the organization whose efforts are the subject of "The Tailenders," has expressed displeasure at the way the film depicted his organization [cite web
first=
last=
pages=
title=A response to "The Tailenders" documentary
date=April 10, 2007
publisher=Global Recordings Network
url=http://globalrecordings.net/article/768] . In an open letter, Scott condemns filmmaker Adele Horne for her skewed perspective on the work GRN does. He says that Horne's finished work misrepresents the organization's motives, competence, and their ability to effectively spread the word of the Bible, which is their mission. Furthermore, Scott claims that Horne did not make changes requested by GRN and that his organization did not sponsor or authorize the film.

The critical response to the film was very positive, although some reviewers criticized the interpretation provided by the voice-over. The Wall Street Journal noted, "Annoyingly, the documentary is interrupted by the cryptic and often political musings of filmmaker Adele Horne." [cite news |first=Nancy |last=deWolf Smith |title=TV Review |page=W-4 |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) |date=2006-07-21 ]

This film was a very eye opening and interesting film. The methods and technologies used to spread the word were fascinating. For example, the tri-folded piece of cardboard that could play a record was amazing. While these technologies were simple and stale-dated, their usages and purposes in the movie make them a very important tool for the missionaries to complete the task of spreading the word of the lord to those whom it has previously failed to reach. There is a current blog site for viewer's reactions to the movie. This blog site can be found through the PBS webite. The blog offers a wide range of reactions and prompts questions for visitors of the blog [cite web
first=
last=
pages=
title=Tailenders Blog
date=April 11, 2007
publisher=PBS
url=http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=158]

Awards

* "Axium Truer Than Fiction Award," Film Independent's 2007 Spirit Awards [cite web
first=
last=
pages=
title=The Tailenders
date=April 10, 2007
publisher=New Day Films
url=http://www.newday.com/films/tailenders.html#reviews]
* National PBS Broadcast on POV
* Documentary Fortnight, Museum of Modern Art

Filmmaker's Bio

Adele Horne is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. "The Tailenders" is her first feature-length documentary; it was broadcast nationally on the PBS program POV in July 2006. Horne received support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the California Council for the Humanities to make the film.

Horne's film and videos have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art's Documentary Fortnight, the Flaherty Film Seminar, Anthology Film Archive, Pacific Film Archive, San Francisco Cinematheque, Film Arts Foundation, PDX Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Mix Festival, Women in the Director's Chair, and Mad Cat Women's Film and Video Festival, among other venues.

Horne was born in Nova Scotia and grew up in Houston. She received an M.F.A. in film and video from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. from Williams College. She teaches film and video production at California Institute of the Arts, University of California, San Diego, and California State University, Northridge.

Adele's current project is a 16mm film exploring peripheral vision, which she is making in collaboration with Paul Van De Carr. [cite web
first=
last=
pages=
title=The Tailenders Bio
date=April 10, 2007
publisher=
url=http://www.adelehorne.net/Page03.htm]

Screenings

This movie deals directly with course content from a University of Illinois course called Speech Communications 199B (Communication Technology and Society) taught by Professor Christian Sandvig. In this course topics are covered that correlate with ideas behind different forms of technology and their effectiveness in presenting different messages.

A screening of the film was required of each student enrolled in the course. Two screenings were April 3 and 4, 2007 on the University of Illinois campus. Few people attended the first screening of the film on April 3.

Other students, besides those in Professor Sandvig's class, attended the filming simply for pleasure. Advertising for the screenings was through fliers that Professor Sandvig and other Speech Communications students put up around campus. The screenings were full and were enjoyed by many.

For those unable to attend a screening, the film is available at the Media & Reserve Services at the university's [http://www.library.uiuc.edu/ Undergraduate library] where it can be viewed in a media viewing cubicle. Additionally, film rental stores have copies for at home viewing. Most rental stores on the campus at the University of Illinois did not carry the film The Tailenders or it was checked out. Many students were forced to resort to using online film rental services such as Netflix and Blockbusters online service.

Credits

*Written, Produced And Directed by Adele Horne
*Editing by Catherine Hollander, Adele Horne
*Sound Design by Maile Colbert
*Sound Recording
**Rebecca Baron
**Beth Bird
**James Uribe
**Yolanda Cruz
*Cinematography in the Solomon Islands, Mexico and India Adele Horne
*Cinematography in California
**Shana Hagan
**Leo Chiang
**Adele Horne
*Consulting Producer Laura Nix
*Solomon Islands Pijin Interview Jones Sanga
*Spanish-Language Interviews
**Beth Bird
**Yolanda Cruz
**James Uribe
*Archival Image Research Maryam Kashani and Sophie Ohara
*Translation Raquel Cruz and Jigyasa Taneja
*Transcription Richard Brenin
*Sound Mix Barking Dog Sound
*Online Color Correction Christopher Gray Postproduction
*Music From Evan Ziporyn:
**"This Is Not A Clarinet", available on Cantaloupe Music, California, 21002
**"Partial Truths"
**"Four Impersonations Honshirabe Pengrangrang Gede Thum Nyatiti Bindu Semara"

References

External links

* [http://www.newday.com/films/tailenders.html New Day Films]
* [http://www.adelehorne.net/ Adele Horne's Website]
* [http://globalrecordings.net Global Recordings Network]
* [http://www.thetailenders.com The Tailenders Documentary]
* [http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/tailenders/about.html PBS Review and Pictures for the Movie]
* [http://www.wycliffe.org/ Wycliffe]