(The Battle in Seattle is closely related to the Montebello protest, as discussed in other postings.)
Find a solution to transnational corporate takeover. It is destroying what we value, not to mention our means of survival. Millions around the world have come to the same understanding.
Today is a momentous time in history. We need to take advantage of it. Here’s a fun way to do it: get your friends together and go see this great movie!
The next few postings are related. They are invaluable tools for taking back and protecting the Earth.
#1 BATTLE IN SEATTLE, THE MOVIE
I highly recommend it to you. Round up every police and military friend you have; take them along with you for a great show. You are guaranteed to have an interesting discussion after the movie!
An exceptional script (by a young fellow, Stuart Townsend), with great actors – – names you’ll recognize. The true events of the WTO battle in Seattle (1999) are told, in a balanced way, full of drama, with fictional characters.
There are terrific, insightful interviews with the actors at (Link no longer valid: http://battleinseattle.movieset.com/home/)
“I had no idea that this actually happened.”
“Even me, I didn’t know anything about this whole thing at all.”
“A lot of people don’t know it.”
“It’s a meaty good rich tapestry, this story” (Woody Harelson)
” … it is about the first time since the 60’s where you see real coordinated response from the people .. authority that they don’t agree with .. description of these forces INDEPENDENT of each other .. realy successful protest by the people .. really hard in our democracy … ”
“At the end of the day it’s not something to fight but a solution to find.”
“A lot of people know what really happened there.”
“Now I know more and still want to know more.”
“Action is the only thing that ultimately is going to make any difference.
“I hope this movie shows what IS possible when people get together.”
“It’s about people coming together.”
“I hope they (people) look at the real reasons why this movie is being made and why this story is being told.”
” Stuart Townsend … the first-time director has made a feature film of the riots and even snagged a high profile cast for the independant film.
Stuart Townsend:
“…I really loved the story, and I wanted to tell it. This was a war against corporate power. Corporations were ruining our world. You have to have corporations, but the whole point is to try and make them sustainable and responsible…”
“… wanted to use actors that young people really liked. If I made a documentary, no one would have seen it. By this approach, we thought that if we could make it more about the characters and the emotional connections, not just political connections, we could hit somewhat of a mainstream audience…”
From the official website, www.battleinseattlemovie.com you can get the movie shown in your community.
There’s a good INTERVIEW at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5n79ovj31s
http://www.globalissues.org/article/46/wto-protests-in-seattle-1999 :
“Once more, the mainstream media coverage in the US about such a major event was very much lacking. It was pretty much corporate led and therefore concentrating on the sensationalism of the violent aspects of the protests, without really looking at the real issues (such as the corporate domination with lack of accountability). However, a large group of independent media organizations worked together to provide alternative coverage.
Enormous Public Turnout Despite Police Crackdown
Estimates ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 protestors. Protesters came from all over the world, not just the developed countries. They ranged from human rights groups, students, environmental groups, religious leaders, labor rights activists etc wanting fairer trade with less exploitation. Even right-wing protectionist groups were there also arguing against the current corporate-led free trade, (although the protectionists were there for very different reasons).
The fact that 50,000 to 100,000 people turned up in the pouring rain, through all the police crackdowns etc indicates the sheer number of people who are concerned at the current issues, as obviously not everyone could be in Seattle. How many more would have turned up had it not been raining so bad!
While the majority were non-violent protestors, a small group started some violence and looting that led to the Seattle police and National Guard declaring a state of emergency (it was even termed as Martial Law by the Mayor of Seattle at one point). This led to the issuing of curfews, arresting, tear-gassing, pepper spraying and even shooting rubber bullets at innocent, non-violent protestors. This became the mainstream media’s major coverage focus often portraying all the protestors as “loony leftists” or violent groups with no clue as to what they are talking about. (the mainstream media is corporate-owned as well and certain media conglomerates make up some of the largest multinational corporations that directly benefit from the current form of free trade)
The media’s portrayal of protestors interfering in global trading missed the point that as history has shown, progress has also been made thanks to a variety of public protests: women’s rights, civil rights, civil wars and revolutions in Europe, in Latin America and other former colonial countries such as, India, East Timor, and so on.”