The Compass Center (TCC) is continuing its New View Film Series on Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall. This semester the documentary “Three Chaplains” will be screened for free, followed by an audience discussion.
The film follows three Muslim chaplains in the U.S. military as they serve their country while combating negative bias and stigma surrounding Islam. The film promotes interfaith understanding and advocates for religious equality in the military.
Jessica Martin, a junior biology major and former Navy air traffic controller, felt the themes of the film resonated with her lived experience.
“It’s both my worlds: the military side of it and the Muslim side,” Martin said. “There [are] a limited amount of Muslims in the military and it can be difficult to observe holidays such as Ramadan and [have] the facilities to pray.”
Martin also spoke about how the film reinforces the importance of Muslim and minority voices.
“[The chaplains] have to be outspoken to defend their rights and ability to practice [Islam],” Martin said. “I think that can be inspiring to students here that are trying to create space for themselves.”
As a space for students of all religions to find faith-based communities, TCC hopes to encourage students to see and understand each other beyond bias and noise.
This year, TCC and Indiana organization Center for Interfaith Cooperation (CIC) have scaled the series down to one event per semester, as opposed to last year’s four films. The idea was to screen shorter films with more engaging follow-up discussions to involve the audience more directly.
David Love, the business manager for the CIC, discussed the idea of a unified theme between the films screened.
“We like to have some sort of religious tie to the films,” Love said. “With both of them, you have a meeting of someone that is different [from] yourself, and trying to see the world through their view.”
The CIC and TCC share primary goals — promoting understanding across all audiences. The hope is that by seeing diverse perspectives, difficult interfaith conversations will become friendlier and easier.
TCC director Aziel Nuñez spoke about the choice to center the series on making room for unique perspectives in religious discussions.
“It’s a new view, right?” Nuñez said. “Sometimes expansion means pushing us to the edge, something that we’re not comfortable with because it’s a particularly difficult conversation or hot topic, or it just means opening our eyes to something new. Whatever the idea is, can we encourage our community to think outside the box and see something new?”
Next semester, TCC will screen “Dead Sea Guardians,” a film about a Jordanian environmentalist, a Palestinian lifeguard and an Israeli activist who work together to prevent the disappearance of the Dead Sea — swimmers from three countries, all supposed enemies, uniting towards a common cause.
Grace Friedberg, a senior strategic communication major and former TCC intern, is hopeful that the updated program will benefit the Butler community.
“The post-film discussions are really constructive and interesting times,” Friedberg said. “I think that it’s a great look for our school if everybody shows up and shows out for these things, [so] we can show unity and connect with the people of Indianapolis.”
These films both aim to explore the idea that by fighting against stereotypes and working to break down bias, ordinary people can create an informed and welcoming society that sees everyone for who they actually are.
“The first step of doing that is coming together, learning from each other and engaging in conversation,” Nuñez said.
Admission to the New View Film Series is free, and attendance is eligible for a Butler Cultural Requirement (BCR) Credit.