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We Are Not Done Yet

We Are Not Done Yet

2018

PG

Director

Sareen Hairabedian

Runtime

40 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

5.6/10

Fair


Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Fair

The film focuses on shared military trauma rather than specific non-cisnormative identities. While the workshop setting suggests a baseline of tolerance, LGBTQ+ representation is not a primary narrative driver.

Gender Representation

Fair

The documentary avoids traditional combat-centric masculinity by emphasizing emotional vulnerability. It centers on the intellectual agency of service members, though it lacks explicit evidence of gender-based subversion.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Good

A multi-ethnic cast is implied through the mention of varied backgrounds within a national military hospital. The use of personal writing allows diverse cultural perspectives to drive the narrative.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

The film explores the tension between Western military institutions and individual psychological truths. It prioritizes the messy process of healing over rigid, institutional morality or singular cultural perspectives.

Disability Representation

Good

Participants are granted significant agency while navigating invisible disabilities like PTSD. The film treats neurodivergent processing with sophistication, avoiding tropes by framing veterans as active creators through writing.

Strengths

  • Provides significant agency to individuals navigating invisible disabilities and PTSD.
  • Replaces traditional military archetypes with nuanced portrayals of psychological resilience.
  • Uses creative expression to allow for diverse cultural perspectives and personal narratives.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks explicit representation or critique regarding LGBTQ+ identities and heteronormativity.
  • Does not provide specific evidence of gender-based subversion within the narrative.
  • Does not actively deconstruct the Western institutional structures it depicts.

AI Analysis

Sareen Hairabedian’s documentary disrupts conventional military portraiture by replacing archetypes of physical strength with nuanced explorations of psychological resilience. By centering on an arts workshop, the film shifts the focus from institutional stoicism to the internal, subjective realities of trauma recovery. The film succeeds in providing agency to those with invisible disabilities, using the written word to facilitate a sophisticated portrayal of mental health. This approach avoids reductive tropes, instead treating the veterans as intellectual agents of their own healing processes. However, the narrative does not aggressively deconstruct Western institutions or explicitly highlight specific LGBTQ+ or gender-based identities. The diversity is present through the varied backgrounds of the participants, but it remains secondary to the universal theme of trauma.

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