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Life & Times Transcript
10/05/06 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- It's a winning combination: advanced technology and the human spirit. Sarah Reinertsen>> The foot is a C-shaped foot. Its design is based on the hind leg of a cheetah, which is the fastest land animal. Once I got that foot, I took thirty-seven minutes off my marathon time. That was huge. Val Zavala>> And then, "The Departed" has a star-studded cast and is already drawing Oscar buzz. Will our critics agree? These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> Could technology close the gap between able-bodied athletes and their disabled counterparts? Well, these days artificial limbs are coming equipped with high technology and even computers allowing athletes like Sarah Reinertsen to compete in a triathlon. But what about the cost? What happens when it's covered for some, but not for others? Saul Gonzalez met some remarkable athletes who are pushing the envelope. Saul Gonzalez>> On a clear, crisp morning in La Jolla, California, athletes have gathered to compete in a triathlon. As participants prepare for the race, it looks like an ordinary sporting event except that many of these competitors aren't just made of flesh and bone. Organized by the Challenged Athletes Foundation, this annual competition is geared for the physically disabled, many of them amputees. [Film Clip] Saul Gonzalez>> As the race begins, the athletes face a daunting course starting with a 1.2 mile long swim in the very chilly Pacific Ocean. Once they return to dry land, the athletes begin a fifty-six mile long cycling leg followed by a thirteen mile run. This triathlon not only highlights the strength and stamina of the participants, but it also showcases recent advances in prosthetic technology, developments that are helping the disabled around the world, including some of America's nearly two million amputees. Sarah Reinertsen>> I've been an amputee for over twenty years, so I have seen such a tremendous change in the technology. Truly, the breakthrough that I've experienced has helped me to live a fuller life. Saul Gonzalez>> Sarah Reinertsen is something of a super-star in the amputee community. Born with a deformed leg that was amputated when she was seven years old, she's crashed through barrier after barrier as a disabled athlete from being the youngest member of the United States Paralympic Team to becoming the first woman to finish the Ironman Triathlon World Championship on a artificial leg. During her athletic career, Reinertsen says new prosthetic devices such as her specially designed racing foot have been essential to her success. Sarah Reinertsen>> The foot is a C-shaped foot. The design is based on the hind leg of a cheetah, which is the fastest land animal. Once I got that foot, I took thirty-seven minutes off my marathon time. That was huge. To be able to get something like that to help me run that much faster has made all the difference in the world. Saul Gonzalez>> Advances in prosthetics include the development of new tough, but lightweight, materials, improved shapes and designs and, most recently, the increased use of computers imbedded within artificial limbs. They allow prostheses to more closely mimic the movement and agility of real limbs. Peter Harsch>> We've made the technology smarter. Not only is it mimicking natural function, it's actually thinking smarter, thinking faster. "Push down into, push down into it, push down into it." Saul Gonzalez>> Peter Harsch, seen here in a mobility clinic for amputees, is a prosthetist for Ossur, an Icelandic-based manufacturer of artificial limbs. Among the company's products is a computerized prosthetic knee. It does thousands of calculations a second to keep the wearer quite literally on his or her feet. Peter Harsch>> It knows when the patient is on their toes and it knows when they're on their heel and it knows when it's in space or in a swing mode. So what you have is a very smart software package that's constantly downloading data. What happens is, if they come along some uneven terrain or, you know, maybe a child runs into them or a ball runs in front of them or they catch their toe on an uneven surface on a sidewalk, the knee recognizes that very efficiently at a thousand times per second and goes into what we call a true stumble recovery. Saul Gonzalez>> War, as it long has, is leading to further advances in prosthetic technology. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, some three hundred American soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have required amputations. One of them is Army Captain David Rozelle who is participating in the La Jolla Triathlon. He was wounded in Iraq in 2003. Captain David Rozelle>> I ran over an anti-tank mine that the terrorists had laid in my route which blew up underneath the Humvee, destroyed the right front end of my Humvee and, unfortunately, my right foot. Saul Gonzalez>> Two years after his foot and ankle were blown off, Rozelle became the first amputee to return to combat in Iraq. He's also competed in numerous athletic competitions. [Film Clip] Saul Gonzalez>> Rozelle says military amputees, like disabled athletes, are changing expectations about what amputees can do. Because of their youth and fitness, they're also demanding more from their artificial limbs and from the people who make them. Captain David Rozelle>> Our amputees say that, within the year, I want to run a marathon. Within a year, I want to do a triathlon. Within a year, I want to be back on the battlefield in Iraq. So it's those three hundred forty-one soldiers that are driving the research, driving the science, to make things now to give these American heroes the ability to be able. Saul Gonzalez>> However, strides forward in prosthetic technology have been accompanied by growing cost concerns. A state of the art artificial leg, for instance, can come with more than a thirty thousand dollar price tag. Military amputees have the expense of their prosthetics covered by the government, but many in the civilian world don't have that advantage. Laura Brumond lost her leg fourteen years in an automobile accident. She's eager to get a new prosthetic leg with a computerized knee, but her insurer has twice denied her request for coverage. Laura Brumond>> They're saying that it's an experimental thing, that it's not a necessity. You know, I'm thirty-three years old. I have a four year old son I need to keep up with. I'm pretty active. I'm in the gym three to five times a week. I think it would be a perfect fit for me if I could get that knee. Saul Gonzalez>> Parents with amputee children face another challenge. As their kids grow, they must frequently replace their kids' prosthetics. Sarah Reinertsen>> When I was a kid, my health insurance company said the policy originally stated that we will give you one artificial leg for your lifetime. I was seven years old when I had my amputation. How am I going to use the same leg for my entire life from age seven on? Saul Gonzalez>> Away from athletic competition, Reinertsen has become an advocate for expanding insurance coverage to amputees. Sarah Reinertsen>> They're capping now eleven hundred dollars for the lifetime of an amputee. They're now saying, look, we'll only give you one leg, we'll only give you one pass for eleven hundred dollars for your lifetime. Well, eleven hundred dollars isn't going to even get you the whole full leg. You know, my full prosthetic, knee, foot, socket -- the socket is so expensive because it's the custom part -- you're looking at about thirty thousand to thirty-six thousand or forty thousand dollars for an above-knee amputee. So eleven hundred dollars isn't even going to get you a toe. [Film Clip] Saul Gonzalez>> However, at the triathlon, the joys of competition replace concerns about cost and coverage. Participants here say that, as technology improves, the divide between abled and disabled will inevitably narrow. Captain David Rozelle>> I'd say to the able athletes out there, you know, that are worried about us having some mechanical advantage, well, sure, watch out. You know, we're coming after you. Saul Gonzalez>> Some experts in artificial limbs foresee the day when amputee athletes will be able to beat their fully able competitors. >> "This is her first time running, you guys." Saul Gonzalez>> For Life and Times, I'm Saul Gonzalez. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> After months of delays and debates, Congress finally passed a border enforcement bill. A seven hundred mile fence will now be built along the United States-Mexico border. But Congress left a lot of other stickier immigration issues unresolved. Immigration, it seems, is digging a deep divide within the conservative party and some people say it's a serious rift. For some political insight, we brought three people together for one of our "Kitchen Conversations": political analyst, Arnold Steinberg; radio talk show host from KRLA, Lores Rizkalla; and our moderator, Joe Hicks, of CommUnity Advocates, Inc. Joe Hicks>> Well, guys, we got a real divisive debate going on in the country about immigration. This time, not Republicans and Democrats, but it's inside the Republican party. There seems to be two camps that are just duking it out over this issue. What's this all about? Lores Rizkalla>> Well, you've got on one side the enforcement camp and it looks like the House of Representatives is leading the cause for simply securing the border, dealing with securing the border, first and foremost, and then figuring out at another time a pathway to citizenship for those who are here. But as simple as that might sound, it's a very complex issue. Joe Hicks>> As all things are. But help me out here. Arnold Steinberg>> It's like the old Abbott and Costello "Who's on First". I think you have to go back years, if not decades. You have one stand in the Republican party that's essentially libertarian, very laissez-faire, very pro immigration even to the extent of seeing illegal immigrants as part of the equation. They're willing to overlook the illegality. They're looking at economics and saying we need more people here, we need more workers here, it will all work out. The philosophical laissez-faire libertarians are big business, self-interested entrepreneurs who want to keep labor cheap. Then on the other side, you have a sort of traditionalist Republican law and order, criminal justice types who say these are the rules, you've got to go by the rules and enforce them. That's what you have within the Republican party and you probably could have had a compromise a while back, but the Bush administration simply said, look, we're going to go for securing the borders and then we're going to go and have this reform. But they've been seen as putting the cart before the horse. Lores Rizkalla>> And on top of that, you've got the grassroots versus -- the grassroots, very pro enforcement, can't figure out how it could be that, since post-9/11, we have not secured the border. Why is it that our party is not being true to its own core values? Arnold Steinberg>> Yes, indeed. That's two very different political issues. The sort of grassroots pro enforcement side says if only you were hardcore on immigration, you'd get some of these conservative moderate Democrats over and you'd get a high Republican turnout. Then you have the other side thinking, you know, we're going to be tagged as anti-immigrant, anti-Latino, anti-Mexican and eventually anti-Polish, anti-Rumanian and others (laughter). Lores Rizkalla>> And you've got them, on the one hand, concerned about the Latino vote. On the other hand, they're also concerned about corporations who are backing them to get them back in office. So you've got the political interests that are very real in the mix. Joe Hicks>> We all know this is a very complex question. I think anybody with an ounce of sense would figure this out by now. You've got these wings articulated by you, but a guy like Mike Pence, a very conservative Republican Congressman from Indiana. Pence says let me look at all the angles here and try to bridge the gap here. He offers a plan that offers a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It really does sort of fit in the middle and the guy gets savaged. I mean, they beat this guy to a pulp. Again, if this guy has impeccable conservative credentials here, but gets really beaten up with this process, what is that all about? Lores Rizkalla>> Well, right now, this is a key issue. In this season, it is a defining issue in the Republican party, I think. So you've got somebody like a Tom Tancredo, Congressman from Colorado, who is very much, some might say, a bit nativist and this is his one issue. He is not willing to compromise at all and you've got those in his camp who believe there is just one way to solve this problem. Arnold Steinberg>> I know, but I think the immigration issue has become kind of a catch-all for certain Republican members of Congress who are unhappy about the lack of presence on spending bills and all kinds of other things. So this is sort of like they're putting their feet in the sand here. Lores Rizkalla>> The one thing everyone can agree on in the party is enforcement. The debate is over even the term "the path to citizenship" because there are those who say there should be no path to citizenship. Their path should be back home. Then there are those who say what does the path look like? Joe Hicks>> Let's deal with the border first. We'll talk about the path later on. Arnold Steinberg>> Even the Republicans for this type of thing are saying let's enforce sanctions against employers. Seriously, the situation is, well, somebody's here, they get a job, then why should we punish employers? Joe Hicks>> But is immigration just the tip of a larger debate taking place? Spending on the part of the president? All kinds of those things? Is this just the beginning? Lores Rizkalla>> Absolutely. Arnold Steinberg>> They're taking it out on the present administration. They're frustrated. Lores Rizkalla>> Yes, the grassroots is incredibly frustrated with the Republican party. The question is, how conservative are we really? Because they look a lot like Democrats in a lot of ways. Joe Hicks>> But that's happening right in California where the Republican grassroots is angry with Arnold Schwarzenegger because the question is, he's weak on immigration. Arnold Steinberg>> What's happened is, after hiring a bunch of bumbling incompetents and screwing up the election -- Joe Hicks>> -- how do you really feel about it, right (laughter)? Arnold Steinberg>> The fact is, the Bush people here have gone overboard, so he'll get elected and Republicans are sufficiently demonized by Angelides that they'll vote for him and he definitely sees no particular problem with turning out the Republican base. Lores Rizkalla>> And the reality? Arnold was never a really a conservative Republican from the beginning and we knew that when we elected him. Joe Hicks>> So we shouldn't be surprised then. Lores Rizkalla>> So we shouldn't be surprised. Joe Hicks>> So why is the grassroots so upset with a guy that they knew -- Lores Rizkalla>> -- because we're so angry. Because even though they knew what they were getting in him, when the reality of him signing some of these bills, you know, 1441 made people mad. 1441, the classified gender and perceived gender and homosexual orientation as a special protected class in the same way minorities' relative education. That angered them because all it does is remind them how liberal he really is. Joe Hicks>> How does this factor in to presidential politics in the Republican party? You've got McCain who's viewed as being in the guest worker camp. Arnold Steinberg>> Well, I think you're going to have a position involved that's going to be just like some centrists. The centrist position is going to be enforcement and being a humanitarian. All the polling shows that, when you knock out the buzz word, you can say, "Are you for amnesty?", everybody's against amnesty. But if you give them a program that amounts to amnesty, they'll say yes. I mean, if somebody who can prove he or she has been here five years or ten years and has learned English and has not committed any crime and is going to pay a fine and has some kids here, you know, the "Father Knows Best" perfect couple, then let's let them stay. Lores Rizkalla>> Right. Joe Hicks>> Do you think that kind of consensus will emerge at the party? Lores Rizkalla>> I do believe that there are certain buzz words that we need to stay away from like amnesty, but I do believe that in reality you have a minimum of twelve million people who are here illegally, so we've got to have a realistic solution. Arnold Steinberg>> We're going to have to see some real movement on immigration, on learning the language, and people getting into our society. Joe Hicks>> That's got to be the last word. I think we've just about run out of time here and I think I'm out of coffee. Thanks a lot, guys, for coming in. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Larry Mantle>> Welcome to FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC. Our first film this week is directed by Martin Scorsese. "The Departed" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com and Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat. Well, Martin Scorsese is back. What did you think of "The Departed"? Andy Klein>> This is the third major production he's done in a row with Leonardo DiCaprio starring and the others have been sort of iffy propositions. "Gangs of New York" and -- Larry Mantle>> --"The Aviator". Andy Klein>> Thank you, yeah. Third time is the charm. This is an urban crime drama, but instead of being with the Italian mob in New York, it's the Irish mob in Boston. The hook is that Matt Damon is a guy working for the gangsters. He's in the police force, but he's really undercover at the behest of Jack Nicholson who's the big gangster. Leonardo DiCaprio is the exact opposite. He's a cop who's gone deep cover to be part of Nicholson's gang. It's a very clever hook. This comes from an old Hong Kong movie that was a big hit. This film is terrific in very different ways from the Hong Kong film, but they're both wonderful, and this is the best Scorsese film in at least five or ten years. Larry Mantle>> Wow. Do you agree, Henry? Henry Sheehan>> No, not at all. I'm really a hundred eighty degrees from Andy on this. You know, whenever you think of Scorsese as a director, you know, a very talented filmmaker, but what you tend to remember are scenes or particularly a vivid performance. You don't really think of stories because, in fact, he's a fairly bad storyteller and there are very few contemporary filmmakers who rely as much on voice-over narration to get through exposition as Martin Scorsese does. This has a fairly complicated plot. You know, Leonardo DiCaprio has kind of traded the mob for the cops and Matt Damon has penetrated the cops for the mob. Scorsese seems to feel that he has to stop every five or ten minutes and remind either us or himself of exactly what's going on. I thought that DiCaprio was okay, but the rest of the cast was very mediocre. Larry Mantle>> Our second film is from British director, Stephen Frears, and it stars Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen in the film, "The Queen". [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Henry Sheehan, what did you think of "The Queen"? Henry Sheehan>> Well, this is a very interesting film. It's one of these on the one hand, on the other hand films. It has a great performance by Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. The movie begins the day before Princess Di dies in that car crash and follows the ensuing week when the royal family came under attack in the press and by the public for being so cold and unmoved. It's about how Tony Blair, played by Michael Sheen in just as good a performance as Mirren, works on Elizabeth to make her more modern, to make her react in a way that people want, to make her more of a celebrity. You know, as good as the performances are, I don't know what the ultimate point of the movie is. I don't know whether they're trying to tell us, you know, oh, the poor little rich girl, but it too often comes down to should we feel sorry for Elizabeth. She was raised to be aloof and cool. I think, actually, the more interesting character is Blair because he'd just been elected as the Labor Prime Minister, but was showing to be an innate conservative in respect for the royal house. A little shift of perspective, I think, would have made it a better movie. Larry Mantle>> What did you think, Andy? Andy Klein>> I actually liked it even a little more than that. Indeed, Helen Mirren is terrific here, the idea that Helen Mirren is convincing as Queen Elizabeth. All the makeup in the world, but that's not what pulls it off. It is the performance. She gets the walk, she has everything. Playing Blair, Sheen looks extraordinarily like him. It's bizarre. I have to mention James Cromwell as Prince Philip is perfect casting. It's, in some ways, very droll. There does seem maybe to be some hindsight in the portrayal of Blair because it is really about this conservative streak that runs underneath him. But I found it just terrifically enjoyable. I mean, I'm not that interested in that subject matter, and it was lovely from beginning to end. So I recommend it highly. Larry Mantle>> And finally this week, the documentary "49 Up". It's part of a series that began with seven year old British kids who were followed by director, Michael Apted. Every seven years since, he's told the story of where they're at in their lives. Now they're forty-nine years of age and Apted has turned his camera on them again. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Andy Klein, what did you think of the latest installment in this every seven year saga? Andy Klein>> Well, you know, this has become like a family reunion or something. I mean, I tend to forget the details of the characters in between episodes and then, every seven years, Michael Apted shows up with another one of these. Now that they're getting middle-aged, I will say that the changes that they've gone through are not all that different from "42 Up". I mean, there are no big surprises here as there was, in fact, in "42 Up" with the character who's kind of the star of the series, the guy who's really the most messed up, which is why he's the most interesting. Nonetheless, Apted is a good enough editor that he puts together this stuff with the old episodes, as he's always done with these clips, and keeps it interesting. I think that that's a sign of the fact that it was more of a challenge this time because I think he didn't have quite as much interesting material to work with. Very early on, one of the people kind of assaults him verbally and almost draws him into the film as a character because she's ticked off about what they've done to her life. Larry Mantle>> Henry? Henry Sheehan>> Not to disagree with Andy, but perhaps to add another point. When they show the original footage from "7 Up", the narrator says, "Here is the future of Britain. Look at the future of Britain." During the course of "49 Up", two or three of the subjects from different social strata complain that they don't know what the movie is supposed to be about anymore. One of them says it just seems to have been a progenitor of big brother and those shows. Two or three of them say that Apted seems more interested in their romantic or personal lives than anything else. I realize that's important, but in only one case does he really connect a character with social change in Britain, I thought. I do think, you know, some of these disgruntled subjects had a good point. Larry Mantle>> That's it for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC for critics Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com. We invite you to join us next week at this same time for the next FilmWeek on Life and Times. Val Zavala>> For the hour version of FilmWeek, you can check out KPCC public radio Friday mornings at eleven. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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