| SARAH PALIN CIRCUS |
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| INIGO GILMORE/TERESA SMITH CO-PRODUCTION |
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| vision | words |
| Inigo practises moose calls [actuality] A moose turns his head |
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Images [slow mo] of Palin at rally
Beethoven Vol 1 XCL 001 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra track used: symphony no6 Op 68 - 'The Pastoral' Symphony
| V/O MAN’S VOICE Part of it is just the disbelief that our own Sarah Palin has been chosen to be the vice President, you know? She’s been compared to Lady Di or to Reagan.
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| V/O WOMAN’S VOICE She’s always been very aggressive and ambitious person who plays a tough game |
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| V/O WOMAN2’S VOICE We are happy to share Sarah with the rest of the US – with the rest of the world! Because she is such a marvellous, marvellous lady! She’s just incredible |
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| COMMENTARY Just who is this Sarah Palin?
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| Newspaper headlines of Anchorage Daily News | Actuality ex radio station ‘Hi Governor Palin! ‘Good morning guys! How are you? I’m fine how are you? |
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| Sarah Palin is currently being investigated over a scandal known as ‘Troopergate’. It’s alleged she abused her power as Governor; that she tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired as a state trooper [ or policeman]. He stands accused of – among other things – illegally killing a moose. And in Alaska, that’s a big deal. I’d come to Alaska to find out more about its moose-hunting governor – perhaps, eve to get a glimpse of her. |
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| Actuality: ‘Everything you’ve heard about Alaska is true! |
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| And where better to start than with a local shock-jock? Bob Lester just happens to be a very close friend of Sarah Palin |
| Aston: Bob Lester, Shock Jock Radio KWIHL. Anchorage
| Actuality Bob Lester to Inigo: ‘Something that you need to know about me more than anything is that I am very protective of Sarah Palin- she’s a friend of mine and I like her as a person – politics aside, she’s a very good friend of mine. |
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| Actuality at Radio Station: Bob: ‘Now, what do you want to hit? Do you want to go bear, do you want to go moose, do you wanna go caribou? Inigo: I mean it seems like moose is the big thing, right? Mark: Moose season is in full swing right now Inigo: it’s in full swing? Bob and mark: Yes!! Inigo: And I believe the Governor herself has partaken of that sport? Bob: Absolutely, but she does it with her bare hands, bro! [brother] <Laughter> |
| Moose wiggles Moose yawns
Inigo enters Gun shop | So, maybe the key to understanding Governor Palin, was to understand the joy of the moose hunt. September is Moose hunting season in Alaska, and - by coincidence – Governor Palin also happened to be back home. But to get a moose of course, you need a gun. As I was about to discover, in Alaska, the locals don’t need permits to buy firearms. |
| Gun shop Aston Ken Feinman Owner, Wildwest Guns
| Actuality: Inigo: ‘Bob sent us down here to see you… what is this? Ken : a semi automatic Browning 50 caliber Inigo: you shoot moose with this? Ken: there Is a guy that has shot moose with that cartridge; they’re rather large. That’s a semi automatic version of what they use in Iraq, on the top of the Humvees Inigo: ok, Someone shot a moose with that? Didn’t that just destroy the moose? Ken: in fact the owner shot a bear with that , too. Inigo: Wow Ken: You don’t get up after they shoot you with that, that’s for sure!
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Moose turns to camera with a hurt expression in its eyes… |
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| Inigo PTC:
I’ve got an M1A and a Czech AK47. I’m ready to go moose hunting.
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No! not really! But one of Bob’s listeners had offered to take me hunting and to do the killing on my behalf.
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| Actuality on the moose hunt Inigo: ‘That smells pretty bad…’
The foul smelling potion disguises the human scent. Now it was time to learn how to call the moose – the critical first step in a hunt.
Ryan – an airforce man - had called the radio station, offering to be my Teacher Actual;ity : moose calls |
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It was a steep learning curve
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| The landscape here is breathtaking. I was beginning to understand just why so many Alaskans enjoy the hunt. |
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| Actuality Moose hunt: Inigo: Gov Palin seems very popular in Alaska – and she likes a bit of moose hunting – Is that quite common among Alaskan women? They go out and hunt a lot? Ryan: I have seen so many different women fishing and hunting Inigo: is it sexy for Alaskan men that the Governor goes hunting? Ryan: yes [laughter]
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| Actuality: inigo’s moose calls PTC: It’s nearly 9pm; it’s almost dark and still no moose - despite my special moose calls… Ryan! Do you want me to do some more moose calls?...ok [Ryan looks desperately to camera…]
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| I was soon to discover that it’s not easy to kill a moose – or to track down Sarah Palin |
| Radio Studio | Actuality at Radio station the next day Inigo does moose calls Bob [O/C] pretty good! Inigo: something like that - and they had me doing that for quite a while and no moose appeared. Bob Lester: not one moose?
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| Dejected by my failure to find a moose, I hit a bar in downtown Wasilla. Sarah Palin’s home town. Wasilla’s a small, friendly place, where everyone seems to know each other. It’s been overwhelmed by journalists in the past few weeks and the locals have been hurt by some of the media coverage of their town, But despite the sneering comments, they’re taking it with good humour. |
| Aston Matthew Brass [Wasilla resident] | Inigo: is she gonna win this thing? Man: I hope so! I mean Wasilla been getting all sorts of mad rep [reputation] coming from this. We are ‘Valley Trash’ but, you know, we’ll be ‘Presidential Valley Trash’ <laughter>
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Wasilla is where Sarah Palin began her political career. She was Mayor of this town for six years. It’s paked with churches of every denomination under the sun. and there’s a coffee shop on every corner; this is her local. It’s not uncommon to see moose stopping the traffic round here. I’d heard on the grapevine that Sarah Palin was due to makean appearance at a RepublicanParty gathering here. I wondered if I might be able to get close to the Vice Presidential nominee. |
| Aston Jacqueline Shively. [Palin supporter, Wasilla ] | Sync She lives next door , you know? Inigo: is she gonna turn up here? Woman: yes – we’re hoping- I won’t stake my first born on it – but she’ll be here! |
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| One woman had brought along her own Sarah Palin lookalike doll. |
| Aston Kathy Furbush Palin supporter | Inigo: where d’id you get the hair from? Woman: I bought it at the store – it’s real human hair Inigo: real hair? Woman: real hair Inigo: so…why? What motivated you to do that? Woman: because she’s always been so nice to me..Sarah has… Inigo: do you know her personally? Woman: yes I do. I used to talk to her every day. She used to work out at the fitness centre… Inigo: is everyone very excited about sarah here? Woman: oh, definitely! If not, they’re just jealous!
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| We waited and waited, But Gov Palin never appeared. One of the speakers had this message for the assembled journalists: |
| Acttuality from rally | Sync Actuality: ‘so if there’s news people in the room…I encourage you: dig deep! Because you’re not gonna find any dirt! |
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| But he wasn’t entirely right: in the days to come, I was to see another side to sarah palin.
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| Politics is a bit of a blood sport around here as I was quickly discovering. As I made my enquiries around Wasilla, I learnt that Gov Palin may have many loyal supporters, but there are critics, too. And a lot of it centres on what did or did not happen in this place during the late 1990s, when Gov Palin was Mayor. Did Sarah Palin really try to ban books at Wasilla public library?
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| Anne Kilkenny Wasilla Resident | Sync Anne Kilkenny I witnessed her asking the librarian about removing books from the library, yes sir. |
| Bob Lester DJ | Sync Bob Lester
It’s all a bunch of crap. This Kilkenny lady doesn’t like Sarah Palin..andshe mentioned that reason why sarah Palin has a problem with her is because she’s…her own words are that sarah palin hates her..what has that got to do with anything? Inigo: so do you feel that this issue has got caught up in partisan politics? Bob: absolutely! I guarantee you yhis woman is a huge Barack Obama supporter |
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| Inigo [off camera question]: You were at the meeting when she raised the issue of the banning of certain books. How did you feel about that? |
| Aston: Anne Kilkenny | Sync Kilkenny I was astonished. I was so shocked I could hardly believe what I was hearing. If she mentioned any books [sc: by title] I completely forgot because I was in just such a state of shock. I couldn’t imagine that I was hearing this! I mean this is a basic American right: the right to access information; freedom of speech. The freedom of the press. And to think that one individual was proposing that they should impose theor tastes and their preferences and their perspective on the information and literature that would be available to the community was so appalling to me; I mean, I was stunned. And my recollection was that the librarian was also stunned.
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| According to Kilkenny, Palin’s enquiry was motivated by her conservative evangelical faith. |
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| Actuality: [inigo reads anne’s emails ot loud] ‘you are being vindictive and looking to make a buckfrom your 10 minutes of fame - it’s amazing what jealousy does to people… you need to grow up… |
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| Speaking out has not made Kilkenny popular in Wasilla. She’ received more than 14,000 emails as a result – some of them threatening. |
| @ Radio Station
Aston: Mark Colavecchio DJ Radio KWIHL | Actuality at radio station: Inigo: do you really think there’s nothing in that story at all? Bob Lester: well I have a lteer from the library that says no there isn’t. they went through the minutes of all the meetings when she was mayor and there were never any books banned, ever. Not one. Mark Colavecchio: she asked the librarian if se;d be amenable to removing certain books. That was the question she asked the librarian; and the librarian said ‘no’. Inigo: so she did try to start that process? Mark: she wanted to understand the process of doing that but she didn’t ask her to remove anything. Inigo: so from your understanding, she asked about the process of removing, but never asked for certain books to be removed? Mark: correct
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| Sync Anne Kilkenny: Did I think her question was rhetorical? No, did I take it seriously? Absolutely. |
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| It seems that during her taime as Wasilla’s Mayor, Sarah Palin was at the vanguard as the relious right took a grip on local politics. Certainly that’s the perception of Howard Bess, a liberal Baptist minister, who’s clashed with Sarah Palin. He wrote a book about Christianity and homosexuality called ‘Pastor, I am Gay’ which had a troubled time at the Wasilla public library. |
| Aston Howard Bess Author, ‘Pastor, I am Gay’ | Sync Howard Bess She tried – she put pressure on the librarian to remove ‘Pastor, I am Gay’ from the library. And the banning of that book out of a public library, is simply beyond conscience! I think I ended up giving them half a dozen books and I don’t know whether there’s any there now or not. |
| Inigo approaches Wasilla public library |
I decided to find out if Howard Bess’s book is currently available at Wasilla Public library
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| Actuality at library: Inigo: we’re wondering whether you have a book called ‘Pastor, I am Gay’ by Howard Bess? |
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| As I waited, I must confess, I felt a little self-conscious. |
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Actuality in library cont.d:
Librarian: ‘Trapper Creek has it – that’s about a mile [1.26] up the Park sideway Inigo: ok Librarian: And Willow has it; that’s about a mile sixty up the park sideway. Inigo: but not here: you don’t have one here? Librarian [nods] right Inigo: thank-you |
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The reason why the book wasn’t there but can be found at other libraries in the area, depends on who you speak to in Wasilla.
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Fade to black | Sync: Howard Bess Her mental framework is no different than a Muslim fundamentalist |
| Music Beethoven Vol 1 XCL 001 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra track used: symphony no6 Op 68 - 'The Pastoral' Symphony Hunt sequence two:
A dead bird |
Ryan had finally killed something…but it wasn’t a moose |
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| PTC He just killed a duck; it’s all they’ve got for the table for tonight; we’re still hoping to get a moose. Apparently, becauseit’s sio still tonight, we have to be really really quiet. |
| Cyclists cycle past Ryan and Inigo | But once again, disaster was to strike…. The cyclists were heading straight to where our moose was waiting. There was no way he would come out now. |
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| Actuality on the hunt
Inigo: what are those cyclists doing there? Ryan: I don’t know. I think they’re going over there, Inigo: aren’t they going to disturb the moose? Ryan: probably
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| Cyclists disappear into shrubbery |
I couldn’t believe it
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| Sarah Palin lookalike |
If our moose was elusive, then so was Sarah Palin. I thought I’d found her here; she even granted me an interview. But it turned out she was just a looalike from Wasilla.
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| Beauty queen ‘Junior Miss Alaska sync | We all just love her to death |
| Women’s demonstration track past the protesters as they cry ‘Obama!’ | But not all Alaskan women adore Sarah Palin; this was one of the biggest demonstrations Alaska has ever seen. These women have turned agaist their moose-hunting governor. |
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| Actuality: Obama! Obama! Obama! |
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| Sync Mother with Downs Syndrome baby: I’m against Palin and I don’t feel it’s right for her to use her Down’s baby for publicity. And she’s a;so against abortion, but women should have the choice. I don’t believe she should be able to choose for us. |
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| Sync father with boy with cerebral palsy This is the most Democrats I’ve seen gathered together in one place in Alaska in the twelve years I’ve lived here. Quite a party! Woohoo! |
| Taxidermist’s studio |
Having given up on the moosehunt, I was intrigued to see what sort of trophy I could have won. Russell Knight is one of the leading taxidermists in Alaska. He knows Sarah Palin’s father, and has visited the family on several occasions. He explained to me that for many Alaskan families, killing a moose is all about getting meat on the table, and your trophy on your wall.
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| Aston Russell Knight, Taxidermist | Actuality in taxidermist’s studio – showing Inigo some moose antlers: Russell: this is a big Yukon Alaskan moose! The moose can weigh 1000 to 1400 pounds. This is a 68 inch moose. Inigo: this is huge right? Russell: it’s a huge moose |
| Images of stuffed animals Mix through to live moose waving their antlers | But what of the vice-presidential candidate herself? What lies within? Has she just been specially prepared and groomed for the job? Many are asking, ‘where’s the content? Where’s the beef?’ I was hoping to find out at a rally the nexy day. |
| Sarah Palin Rally in Anchorage | And finally, there she was. Sarah Palin in the flesh. The first thing I noticed were her killer heels. There’s more than a touch of a young Margaret Thatcher about the Governor. |
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| Palin Actuality: The great state of Alaska will always be home! [cheers] we’re small enough to be family! [more cheers] |
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| There so many things I wanted to ask her. Was she really the kind of woman who bans books? What about her world view? And what about Troopergate, and her husband Todd’s involvement? [pause]
And what was it like to kill a moose? I never did find out. As she soaked up the applause, I tried to get up close and personal, but I failed to get any answers. The minders quickly moved her along. And Todd, too
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| Actuality at rally: Inigo [off camera] Governor Palin! We’re from England. Any reaction? Gov Sarah Palin: Wow wonderful! Inigo [to Todd Palin] Are you worried about all the investigations? Todd! Todd?!! [Todd moves away] Gov Sarah Palin: thank-you thank-you.great to see you. |
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| End. |