Radical media, politics and culture.

"Sixty Cameras Against the War" -- Feb 15 doc

Feb 15 2003 saw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in NYC, and Julie Talen's "Sixty Cameras Against the War" presents a unique document of that day. Talen collected footage from sixty different videographers present at the march, and edited it together in multiple screens. This multichannel narrative at times juxtaposes the experiences of activists across Manhattan, and at other times provides different angles on a single arrest or happening. The film presents the NYPD's use of pepper spray, horse charges and barricades to cleave the march in two. Feb 15 turned out many people, in NYC and all over the world, but I think if more Americans saw how New Yorkers said "no" in the leadup to war some opinions about Iraq would change. Also, those who see demonstrators as an inhuman mob should see regular people facing extreme cold and claustrophobic conditions to make a moral stand. The film toured swing states before the election, and has screened in exhibits in NYC and Los Angeles. Anyone can download the film for free, under a Creative Commons license. Take a look at a film that is both visually interesting and painfully relevant.