COCKFIGHTERS
THE INTERVIEWS
A MUST SEE !

By Sammie "The Little Girl Cocker" and my Dad Kenny Troiano

The talk of a new film concerning the sport of cockfighting has spread throughout the cocking world like a wild fire out of control.  When I heard some of the talk going around about this project, I knew it was something I had to check out.  Once I saw the twelve minute version highlighted on www.cockfightsonline.com, I knew right away this was going to make a great article.  So I  sent the word out through the grapevine that I was interested in doing a review, and before I knew it Stephanie Castillo who produced, directed and filmed this fine collection of interviews gave me a call.  After a good long talk with her about the project, I was even more excited about doing the article.  She thought that it was a great idea, so she gave me the green light.  This film is called "COCKFIGHTERS -The Interviews" 

After viewing the complete set of DVD’s I could see now why this film has created so much dialog.  I was convinced at that point that not having a film such as this for everyone to see, would make it very difficult for people on the outside of the cocking world to be knowledgeable enough to understand the representation, information, and entertainment that this film contained.  This film explains to these people in particular what the sport of cockfighting means to us. 
The film is a collaboration of many interviews combined into a multi-sequenced documentary type setting.  The beginning starts you off with a shorter version, which was apparently used as a promotional catch all.  This version draws you in, as highlights of her collection are slammed into twelve minutes of spectacular coverage, almost like a prolonged theatrical trailer.  Then the viewer just kind of slides right into Part 1, which is the first two hours of the eight hour DVD/VHS collection.

Stephanie interviews men such as Johnnie Jumper, Carol NeSmith, Joe "Z" Zannino, Martin Edmonds, and many other cockers from all over the United States.  These were men who were willing to share their love for the gamecock and of the sport of cockfighting with the world.  The interview questions are more geared towards  the discussion of politics, historical references, and the care of their fowl, as well as the fighting and conditioning part of the business.  Not to mention, how they [the cockers] were first introduced to this great sport of cockfighting and why they appreciate and value all its traditions.

Reminiscing about his introduction to the sport, Johnnie Jumper spoke about his family sitting by the candle light, when he was a very young boy, before they even had electricity, listening to his mother as she read the Grit and Steel to his older brother.  He talks about how he actually got started in the sport as well as the "big name" cockers who helped him along the way, such as Cecil Davis and Ray Price.  Randy Jumper, (Johnnie’s partner and son), gives a little tour of their incredible ninety acre farm of 1400 cocks.

Sharing his thoughts on why his name has spread throughout the cocking world, Johnnie Jumper said,  "The main thing is to be honest with everybody.  You don’t have to have the best birds there are, or get them in the best shape, but if you’re honest to the people, then they’re always honest to you and have good respect for you.  And that’s what I want…we are all trying to go to the same place when we leave this world, and to me, that’s real important." 
Johnnie even mentioned a list of cockers he would like to put in a "Cocker’s Hall of Fame."  However, he could only list a few he said "…the list would be very long and there is a lot of new people that would qualify for that."

Martin Edmonds from Molokai, Hawaii, gave great insight on the political and historical side of the sport.  Showing the general public the sport of cockfighting, but also what the process of raising game fowl really means to him.   We found his words to be quite inspirational.  He puts in essence a sport that is a time honored tradition that does not make the cocker an ugly hearted man, but just another shepherd to his sheep.

Martin expresses his opinion on the sport.  "I seldom even use that word [cocker] any longer because that word doesn’t really denote who I am.  I feel I am a complete rooster man, which includes cockfighting.  The actual act of cockfighting is a really small part of the whole rooster business.  It’s a minuscule part of the rooster, an essential part and it’s definitely a combination of all the efforts too.  But when you consider two or three years of raising an animal or being with him two or three times a day over thousands exchanges and that his death can be ten or twenty seconds, then you realize that the fighting part is a minor part of the whole ritual and tradition…" 

Jim Demourelle from Ville Platte, Louisiana, shared his response to the outsider’s stereotyping of a cocker, "A cocker will spend 365 days out of the year taking care of his birds.  He cannot be a drunk, a drunk can’t do that.  He cannot be a druggy, a drug attic can’t do that.  And he has to be disciplined. He has to be able to create finance and have a job and be responsible because you can’t feed chickens without money..."
A good portion of the interviews are based on the care of your fowl and the bloodlines they raise.  By discussing the bloodlines they have and where they came from, many questions are automatically answered for the newer cockers.  Such as why their fowl look like they do, and where they originally came from as well as the different ways of pedigreeing.
The interviewees talk about the greatest cockers history has ever known, both living and past-on, such as Billy Ruble, Curtis Blackwell, Col Madigin, Harold Brown, the Goodes, Walter Kelso, Sandy Hatch, Cecil Davis, Duke Hulsey, Sweater McGinniss, Murphy and Johnny Moore.  The interviews definitely take you back in time, meeting the cockers of generations long ago, and cockers who created the bloodlines we now have today. 
You will be shown first hand two of the most popular attended pits we have today, "Sunset" and "Texoma."   Except for a few shots of sparring, there is not much cockfighting done in this video.  The pits have prevented Stephanie from videoing them.  Their concerned was that the media, animal rights, or anyone else would twist it, and try to make a point against the sport.  
Why did EMMY Award-winning filmmaker, Stephanie Castillo, a non-cocker, decide to document cockfighting?  Inspired by her Filipino-American grandfather who was a cocker himself, made a living from fighting roosters in Hawaii. Stephanie decide to document cockfighting in honor and tribute to her grandfather and his passion for the sport and its traditions.  She knew the criminal stereotypes that were unfairly held against cockfighters, so she focused mainly on them.   Her grandfather had trained and fought cocks for fifty years and there was no way, in her eyes, that he was a cruel and inhumane criminal!  Stephanie was bound and determined to uncover the truth about the sport that her grandfather loved so much.  The challenge was not knowing if she could get anybody to talk about themselves and their farms on video.  As she expected, many cockers had turned her down, nevertheless, Stephanie understood the reasons for their discretion. 

Stephanie discussed her journey to make the documentary, Cockfighters-The Interviews.  "I found some people who were willing to talk because they've been in front of the Legislature asking that it be legalized, but in general it was very difficult. People were very closed, suspicious,"

Interviewing twenty-six different cockers within ten states, Stephanie was introduced to the subculture of cockfighting.  She never imagined it would have such an enormous influence in today’s world.  Stephanie replied, "It was totally a surprise to me. I only knew the dark stereotypes and the point of view of the animal rights people and the Humane Society. Going out there, I didn't know what I would find, and what you find and what you see on there is exactly what I got. It's not my point of view. I went to the people who were willing to talk with me, and I had two questions on my mind: What really is cockfighting? And, what is it about it that engages you in this sport? I had no agenda except to ask those questions, no point of view that I was looking for to justify or prove. No judgments, just questions."

Stephanie added that she had not intended to use this film as a promotional concept to save the sport of cockfighting.  However, the interviewed cockers made many statements that successfully support the American cockfighting culture.  " ... Maybe that's all I did was leave a document -- What are you guys about? Why do you do this? -- and that's what I'm showing. The short film is a little more complicated because I wanted to capture their feelings ... so it may look like I'm promoting (cockfighting) or endorsing it or whatever. I was truly just trying to capture the emotions that I felt from them about their sport and how they viewed it."

Although, "Cockfighters: The Interviews" will still most likely not please the animal rights to their lowest standard, Stephanie states that it’s just a difference of two different cultures.  As most Americans turn a blind eye to the conditions of the meat on their plates, they unravel their blindfold to ban cockfighting that purely is without any influence on their cultural lifestyle.  As Stephanie once said, "Animal rights people have one mindset, and (cockfighters) have another. I grew up with slaughtering chickens; that's how my grandmother fixed dinner. ... I grew up seeing that, so I guess in a sense it's desensitizing, but that's the way people lived on farms and in rural places. Seeing two birds fight wasn't any more upsetting than seeing grandmother kill a chicken for dinner."

Stereotypes lurked in Stephanie‘s mind as she prepared to take on cockers for interviews.  "(Cockfighters) aren't demons," Castillo says. "I thought I would meet all these seedy, greedy, weird (people) ... and one of the biggest surprises was how nice these people are. Maybe there are some demons out there, but I sure didn't meet them. We have tens of thousands of people here in Hawaii that do this sport or watch it. They're not demons, but we've made them out to be demons. Are they really?"
Stephanie has high hopes that her DVD edition will fly amongst the interests of cockers, college and university: libraries, social science and American studies departments, and that the general public will generate enough sales to allow her to pay off her production costs of  $150,000 and not to mention three years of her life.

Stephanie says, "A supporter of the arts gave me some money (to make a film), and after he gave me the money he asked what I was going to make it about. I could make it about anything I wanted to, and it was in that moment that I thought about my grandfather's livelihood of being a cockfighter and wanting to explore it." 
She also said, "It opened this window to my own cultural background and family history, and by meeting these people and talking to them, I understand the minutiae of what must have involved my grandfather for 50 years. I would never have guessed it was all that complicated. It looks really simple ... but what was revealed to me in the study was just how complicated (it is). It is not black and white."

Stephanie realizes that many people like to view the cultural tradition of the sport in "black and white" terms, so there is a great possibility that many will attack her project, for their conflicting point of view.

Stephanie said "Attacks will only question why people would not want more information out there for the public. I think the public will say that this woman is trying to give us some information so perhaps our laws will be much more informed and less reactionary ... and I think there will be people that will be happy to get this information. They may not support cockfighting or like it, but at least their opinions will be more informed, their decisions will be more informed, and I think we'll be able to respect them more than those who come at it from a very hysterical demonizing (perspective).  What I've found (about cockfighting) is that it is very hard to judge. It's not about wanting to see two birds kill each other. It's about wanting to see your bird survive."
We recommend this collection of interviews to anyone who wants to learn and understand the sport a little better.  It’s a must see!  Gather your family and friends and show them what we’ve known all along!  Sammie said, "My mom even watched it with us as a family, during our "dinner and a movie" night, and was so interested that she watched it on her own while my baby sister was sleeping." 

Although the interviews are lengthy, they are very informative.  As a critic’s note, the eight hour version could have been edited down a little more.  I guess I was looking for a longer replica of the twelve minute version I saw in the beginning.  She could have combined all the interviews into one sequence instead of spreading them out into their own chapters. Nevertheless, the interviews themselves are well done and very informative.  A little rambling here and there is somewhat overtaken by an inspiring word of wisdom locked up in a cockers head. 
Some of the comments that the cockers made, became a little redundant at times.  However, what they did was reconfirm the thoughts and ideas other cockers had mentioned in earlier interviews.    It showed that we all think the same way about the sport.
Great tips are passed on, from how to get your cocks ready for battle, and to recognizing when you birds are sick.  They discuss the definition of gameness and share their opinions of the different variety of weapons.  In all aspects, this film shows the world the way we see ourselves.  It shows men and women doing what they absolutely believe in, and what they absolutely love to do, and that’s cockfighting.

There is so much more to this sport than fighting, which few people know enough  to fully understand and appreciate.  Stephanie has done an extraordinary job of capturing the truth about cockfighting.  In this video you are going to see many cocker’s and their farms, as well as hear a great deal of advice, opinions and experiences from those in the game fowl industry.  This is a video that you can sit back, relax and view at your leisure. 
It has enough footage for those of you who don’t have the time or funds to visit these extraordinary farms.  You are now able to get an inside look at them, as you will see many of the best breeders, conditioners as well as their prized derby winning cocks.  The interviews are funny and entertaining at times, while other times it is strictly informative and educational.  To someone who is illiterate about cockfighting and had already established an opinion by false prejudgment, this DVD/VHS collection will turn their heads completely the other way.  This sets all records straight! 

Well, there you have it!   We enjoyed our copy and I know you’ll enjoy yours!  So make some popcorn or scoop yourself some ice cream.  Whatever you decide to do, you will enjoy the show!

 

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