top
US
US
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

A new movie called “Battle in Seattle” is based on the demonstrations that happened in 1999

by Kim
A new movie called “Battle in Seattle” is based on the demonstrations that happened in 1999 in Seattle against the World Tread Organization. Produced independently, the movie *concentrates* on the activity of four people, who according to movie, were instrumental in organizing the WTO demonstrations. The movie also charges the Corporate Media for being uninterested in covering the demonstrators or the violence that was inflicted by the Seattle Police.
Battle in Seattle shows real images that were filmed during the demonstrations in Seattle and gives brief history to the WTO criminal activity around the world. It follows the activity of four individuals in organizing the demonstration, and the responses to that by the state institutions. In other parts of the movie a representative from Doctors without Borders trying to raise awareness to the high cost of HIV drugs is shown to not be taken seriously by representatives of the WTO. In another part representatives from African nations shut down the meeting after their demands and presence are ignored.

A couple of points in the movie deserve special attention and further thought in assessing the movie. At one point, an argument breaks out between the main characters in the movie, and a person who is busy breaking windows of a corporate store. In the argument the organizers yell at the person for creating violence and for giving the media an excuse for portraying the demonstration in a bad light and for the police to attack demonstrators. Thus further supporting the idea that state violence occurs only as respond

The police too, although shown for their brutality, are portrayed as being under a lot of stress and as another victim in this event.

The movie also deals with transformation, and shows how through the demonstrations that took place in Seattle, some of the characters change. A reporter who works for the corporate media, for example, after witnessing the violence inflicted by the police on demonstrators, decides against the order of her supervisors to risk her job by filming herself live on air with other demonstrators with duct tape on their faces blocking their mouths. Another character, a police officer, decides to resign from his job after his wife is beaten by the police. The resignation from his job, however, only happens after he brutalizes a demonstrator who has dares to yell at him for using excessive force. Another character, an undercover police agent changes his violent behavior after he is beaten by members in his unit while spying on activists.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$75.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network