On Sunday, August 27, in downtown Berkeley, I witnessed thousands of protesters raising their voices against a planned white supremacist “Patriot Prayer” rally. In my decades as a documentary filmmaker of activism and now an academic studying movements and media, it was one of the most positive, diverse and unifying gatherings I ever observed. While […]
Tag Archives | protest
The false media focus on violence: If it bleeds it still leads
From French Resistance to hashtag activism: How our obsession with the extraordinary masks the power of the ordinary
I’ve become obsessed with “Un village français.” No, it’s not an idyllic town in Provence. It’s a French television series set during World War II. The show follows the residents of one French town as they navigate the German occupation. I tell myself that I am already into the 6th season (thank you, Netflix) because […]
Good Cop, Bad Cop at the DNC Protest
I was initially surprised at the demeanor of the police in Charlotte during the Wall Street South March on the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Having lived in North Carolina for 14 years, I always relish the cordiality when I return. But friendliness by cops at a protest? Last fall I had witnessed aggressive Oakland police in full […]
I’m on the Wall for being at the Mall
The Governments’ Digital Pictures of Protesters is not a Pretty Picture for Democracy I should be in court this week in Raleigh, North Carolina. Well, I am in a way, even though I’m writing this from Oakland, California. No, this isn’t science fiction or schizophrenia. It’s all about a sociogram. What’s that, you say? Let […]