Journal of the mental environment
The whole world is watching
In November 1999, tens of thousands activists helped shut down the World Trade Organization in Seattle. The story of the Seattle protests has now been turned into a feature film.
- Thu, 18 Sep 2008 2:13 pm — Posted by Lauren
- | 10 comments
Global justice activists, environmentalists, union members, farmers, students, anti-capitalist activists and countless others helped shut down the World Trade Organization in Seattle in November of 1999. It was a defining moment for the movement against corporate globalization. The historical Seattle protests have now been turned into an independent fictionalized film. Democracy Now! spoke to the film’s writer and director, Stuart Townsend, as well as David Solnit, one of the key organizers of the WTO protests and co-founder of the Seattle WTO People’s History project:
[via DemocracyNow.org]
STUART TOWNSEND: One thing that’s happened is, since Seattle, because of Seattle’s success, you know, it’s very hard now to actually protest, have real dissent, because there’s two-mile exclusion zones. The Navy is out there in Cancun stopping protesters. And every event, every G8 event, any World Trade Organization meeting, now has massive security. And at the RNC and the DNC, where I was there, as well, I mean, it was very hard to really have any form of real dissent. So I think that’s a problem that, you know, you guys have to deal with as activists.
AMY GOODMAN: What are your hopes for this film?
STUART TOWNSEND: My hope is to inspire people, particularly a young and new audience, who—you know, most people don’t remember this event. And I was shocked when I sort of found it—you know, like found it. I was like, this is an incredible, important event about so many important issues. You know, even look at the financial crisis of two days ago, that’s the same system that people were fighting against in ’99. And, you know, we’re now reaping those—you know, the whirlwind of that.”
Stuart Townsend and David Solnit on Democracy Now
Interview with Battle in Seattle’s writer and director, Stuart Townsend, as well as David Solnit, one of the key organizers of the WTO protests and co-founder of the Seattle WTO People’s History Project on DemocracyNow.org
Get involved: battleinseattlemovie.com
Creating Change
Can the independent media create real change? There’s certainly no shortage of willing journalists and activists who want to create a powerful alternative to the corporate media’s myopic view.
- Fri, 06 Jun 2008 4:27 pm — Posted by Sean
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It’s the million dollar question: can the independent media create real change? There’s certainly no shortage of willing journalists and activists who want to create a powerful alternative to the corporate media’s myopic view, but with limited resources and so much competition, can small, independent media outlets actually have any impact?
It’s the question that was put to a panel at the National Conference of Media Reform today that included Robert Greenwald, president of Brave New Films; Jane Hamsher, founder of FireDogLake.com; Jefferson Morley, national editorial director for the Center for Independent Media; and Daisy Hernandez, managing editor of ColorLines magazine.
While the task may seem daunting, each member of the panel was able to give specific examples of how they were involved in a story or campaign that had an immediate impact in shaping the news and changing the debate in the mainstream media.
Perhaps the biggest example was Brave New Film and Mother Jones’ campaign to expose the controversial relationship of Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Reverend Rod Parsley. When campaigning in Ohio last February, McCain called Parsley “one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide.” But after posting a video on YouTube of some of Parsley’s sermons, in which he says Islam is “an anti-Christ religion that intends, through violence, to conquer the world,” McCain quickly had to reject Parsley’s endorsement.
While the video didn’t have the same impact as the Wright-Obama controversy, it showed how McCain has been shamelessly courting the fundamentalist Christian vote in order to become the next president and forced McCain to make a clear stand against the Islamic racism that is rampant in many parts of America.
Jane Hamsher talked about how one solitary blogger can also influence the national debate. As the founder of FireDogLake.com, a liberal blog site that became famous for its coverage of the Scotter Libby trail, Hamsher did a video report about John McCain’s shady campaign finance structure, which was then picked up by CNN. The story helped dispel the myth that has been circulating in the media that McCain is some kind of maverick for campaign reform.
But you don’t have to be an activist to create change. Jefferson Morley gave an example of how good old-fashioned journalism can still expose lies and corruption. A former staff member with the Washington Post, Morley changed sides and is now the national editorial director of the Center for Independent Media – which runs a number of independent news web sites across the country. His reporters have stuck to the basics of reporting and helped expose a private contractor who had worked in Iraq as nothing more than a fraud.
The one thing the panel didn’t necessarily show is whether independent media is having a deeper impact on the way people think about the issues and the power they are giving up. However, the examples from this group of panellists do show that the independent media is laying down the groundwork for a new type of media and is beginning to make some major dents in the amour of the corporate press.
You can follow the updates from the conference at twitter.com/adbuster
