In November, SHOOT is scheduled to publish a Special Report on the best of this year’s "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery. Though we’ve just begun to sift through many noteworthy entries, one came to my mind before we even had the chance to re-screen it: "Becoming a Man," a public service spot promoting the National Campaign Against Youth Violence. The Ad Council-sponsored PSA was directed by Bob Giraldi of bicoastal Giraldi Suarez Productions for FCB, San Francisco (SHOOT, 5/26, p. 15).
The catalyst for jogging my recollection of the ad was a recent weeklong series of organized events that got underway in Southern California just prior to the start of the high-profile Democratic National Convention.
The "Week Against Hate" marked the one-year anniversary of the horrific shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and later on a quiet street in nearby Chatsworth. The latter claimed the life of Filipino American mailman Joseph Ileto.
The world was shocked by the violence on Aug. 10, 1999, and by the next day’s arrest of an avowed white supremacist, Burford O. Furrow Jr., who is scheduled to be tried in February on charges of murder, attempted murder and hate crimes. The images of toddlers from the community center forming a line—hand-in-hand—while being led to safety by police officers became indelibly etched in America’s consciousness. Three young boys, a teenage camp counselor and the community center’s receptionist were wounded.
The "Week Against Hate" started with the dedication of a Chino Hills post office in honor of Ileto and included a community meeting in East Los Angeles and a candlelight vigil Downtown. Culminating the week was the "Unity Over Hate" rally at Woodland Hills-based Pierce College. Los Angeles residents turned out to present a united front against hate crimes and gun violence.
The aforementioned PSA from FCB and Giraldi opens on a man who talks as if he’s trying to mentor a youngster. "There isn’t a real man out there that hasn’t been in a fight," relates the adult. "You’ve gotta stand your ground. You’ve gotta be tough. That’s how you earn respect."
As the man speaks, subtle changes can be seen in his face. His voice and appearance become younger, and then the transformation is complete: He is a teenage boy, presumably the one to whom the adult was trying to teach a lesson about manhood. The boy continues the lecture started by his elder: "You’ve gotta get the first punch in. Then you go for the weak spots—the nose, the throat. And when you really want to hurt him, you give him a kidney punch like this: Pow. Pow. Pow."
A super then appears across the screen, accompanied by a voiceover: "As adults, we need to be careful about the lessons we teach."
The powerful idea was facilitated by visual effects embodied in a slow, subtle morph created at R!OT, Santa Monica. The FCB team consisted of creative director Peter Angelos, copywriter Betsy Decker, art director Mary Ann Saltonstall and producer Rob Thomas.
"Becoming a Man" is a prime example of what filmmaking and creative advertising talent can do to impart positive, progressive messages to society. Unfortunately, airtime has been relatively scarce for the :30—just as media coverage of the "Week Against Hate" was minimal, lost in the hoopla of the Democratic National Convention and its accompanying protests. Both the spot and the grassroots anti-violence movement merit significantly more exposure and consideration.
