December 2022 – Nonviolence movies

Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement

Photo by: Koshu Kinii (Unsplashed)

The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ struggle.

I find this movie fascinating because it shows various strategies and tactics employed in nonviolent actions. The documentary is about Cesar Chavez (an American activist) who inspired a struggle to create a multiracial movement which eventually resulted in the formation of United Farm Workers (UFW) in 1965 after several years of struggle to form a permanent union for farm workers. The migrant workers from Mexico, the Philippines, China, and Japan provided skills and power as factory and field workers during the agricultural boom in California in the 1960s. However, despite their impact on agricultural development, each time they attempted to form unions to agitate for a wage increase, better conditions of service, or to acquire their farm, they were met with beatings, shootings, and deportations. This happened between 1965 to 1970.

Chavez and his team realized the importance of organizing for nonviolent action. They employed several strategies to achieve their goals. The main strategy is the boycott of buying and selling of grapes. The strategies were effective, according to my analysis. One crucial strategy employed was sourcing for funding. Chaves acquired a loan from the bank to start a credit union using his house as collateral. This shows the importance of financing in nonviolent actions. Equally interesting is the strategy of bringing together people from other races (who have been segregated before) and works of life, creating a beloved community preached by Dr. Martin Luther King. The show of love, solidarity, and creation of beloved community are impressive, and I think they contribute to the success of the struggle.

Another strategy portrayed was working with other group who was agitating for related cause. The other group include five thousand Filipino workers who were engaging in a strike in Delano, California. The increase in campaign size would positively impact the success of the nonviolent struggle.

Gandhi and King’s spiritual principles inspired Chavez and his movement to employ spiritualism in the nonviolent struggle. This shows that religion can positively influence social movement organizing. People organized music concerts, shows, and art exhibitions throughout the struggle to bring people together and create fun times during organizing.

Another strategy employed by Chavez and his movement was able to woo a pillar of support. Senator Robert Kennedy supported them. He asked an official why they arrested the organizers when they did not violate the law. The support from Robert Kennedy earned him two hundred thousand votes from California residents and helped him to win the presidential election.

Chavez continued the struggle despite his daughter going for major surgery. The struggle involved the mobilization of people to boycott California grapes. The boycott was effective because it led to the contract’s signing and the union’s establishment. It also led to the rise of another movement organized by the lettuce growers. Overall, the video is very useful in learning nonviolent actions.

Written by:

Felix Akinboyewa

Review: Pride (2014)

*Pride* (2014) movie poster with reviews

Pride, starring some big names like Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and Andrew Scott, follows lesbian and gay activists who, after realizing the police are no longer harassing them and are now targeting miners, decide to start raising money to help families affected by the British miners’ strike of 1984. Overall, the film depicts a number of nonviolent tactics throughout, from all sides, both effective and ineffective.

The main goal of the activist group, known as Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), is to raise money to help during the strike, and throughout the film, this goal shifts into general support and solidarity with the miners. LGSM sets up a headquarters in the infamous London bookshop, Gay’s the Word. First, the main activist, Mark Ashton, puts together a bucket collection to raise money on the streets and in gay bars, much to everyone’s dismay. They receive pushback from the public because of their sexuality, and other members of the LGBTQ+ community are not receptive of the idea due to the miners’ past treatment of them, which leads to in-fighting. After attempting another tactic—cold calling local businesses for help—and failing, LGSM decides to take donations directly to a mining village in Wales.

The Women’s Support Group in the village ultimately decides to allow LGSM into their town hall to thank them, but after a speech by Mark, a dissenter in the women’s group, Maureen, leads a walk-out to express disapproval. The events at the town hall highlight more fractures between groups, this time the village and LGSM. Despite the unsettling meeting, members of LGSM are permitted to stay in one of the main miner’s home, which later leads to a network of overnight hosting by other members of the village. After the meeting, it is revealed that the police have taken a group of miners, and with the helpful knowledge of a member of LGSM, another villager, Sian, demands the release of the illegally detained men, furthering the solidarity between groups.

Unfortunately, that solidarity is disrupted again by Maureen, who sells a demonizing story about LGSM and the supporting villagers to the tabloids. The group, however, decides to use it to their advantage and hosts a large concert, “Pits and Perverts,” which succeeds in raising thousands of pounds for the miners. They make t-shirts, posters, and other items to hand out and spread the word, which is obviously a very effective strategy. Unfortunately, Maureen uses the event to justify moving the time of a town hall meeting where folks were supposed to vote to sustain or stop LGSM’s support, and ultimately, gets the vote she wanted. By the end of the film, LGSM has become split from the main LGBTQ+ movement, which is highlighted during the big pride parade, as in-fighting within the community has heightened because of the miners. Another group, Lesbians Against Pit Closures, also formed to separate lesbians from the more mainstream, male LGSM movement. Both groups are told they must march at the back of the parade. Eventually, busloads of miners from towns show up at the march with their own banners, and together, the groups are permitted to march at the front of the parade.

While the film is not explicitly about nonviolent tactics and strategies, many are portrayed throughout. The cold calling is clearly not a useful tactic in this sense, but the various ways of receiving donations—money, clothes, and others—are very effective, especially the very public concert that was advertised as being open to gay and straight folks. Using t-shirts and posters to draw attention to the event seemed to work as a strategy. I believe the best tactic happened at the end, with the ultimate display of solidarity during the pride parade. There were also clearly fringe groups throughout the film, including the miners and families who did not support LGSM—who later decided to show support due to being outnumbered—and the LGBTQ+ groups that were separated from the mainstream movement. Interestingly, the tactics utilized by Maureen and other dissenters, including using the newspaper to leak a story, the walkout, and moving the town hall meeting, never truly work. There were simply not enough supporters on her side for these tactics to be effective.

Pride never overtly uses the nonviolence jargon we know and love, but it is obvious that these historical groups knew what they were doing when it came to strategizing. This is a good film to show in a course about nonviolence, as long as the instructor points out some of the less obvious uses of tactics and strategies. There is much to learn from LGSM and the other groups in this heartwarming film, as it displays an effective coalition between very different groups trying to gain human rights, something of which scholars of nonviolence and nonviolent tactics would be proud.

WarPeace Movie Review

The documentary WarPeace attempts to cover the history of the radical group Weather Underground and connect it with movements today. Anchoring the film is the question: “how can we make a change if peaceful demonstration is not effective and violence only brings more violence?” The film scratches the surface on the history of one of the most controversial sects of the US anti-war movement. I wish that the creators had increased the documentary’s length from 60 minutes to discuss The Weather Underground more thoroughly and to strengthen their connection to their framing question and to movements today.

Photo of Weather Underground members wanted by the FBI. 7 people are shown with their names, birthdates, height, weight, hair and eye colors.

The strongest part of this documentary is the interviews with Weather Underground members Bernardine Dorhn, Cathy Wilkerson, and Bill Ayers. All three lived underground for many years, and Cathy was in the famous townhouse in New York City during the bomb blast and later served time in prison. They all spoke about the despair at the apparent lack of impact of nonviolent protest in ending the war in Vietnam that led them to more seek other means to fight imperialism. They also discussed their solidarity with the Black Panther Party, and how the assassination of Fred Hampton was a moment of radicalization. The general takeaway I gathered from these three radicals is that they do regret that people got hurt—especially that they were unable to protect their comrades—but that they do not regret taking a stand against US Imperialism abroad and injustice at home and doing so in a radical way.

The documentary discusses the townhouse explosion, where three members were killed due to early detonation of a bomb meant for a military dance event and what the group may be most known for. According to those interviewed, it was a violent outlier event for the group, in that the bombs were planned for human targets. For the Weathermen who went underground after the townhouse explosion, it was a catalyst to reaffirm commitment to the value of human life and choosing actions that would not put people at risk. They still used bombs but did so when buildings would be empty. Therefore, the historic framing as violent revolutionaries does not capture the nuance of this group. While this documentary briefly speaks to the general commitment to not cause physical harm, it does not actively dispute the media narrative of Weather Underground being one of the greatest domestic terrorist groups in US history.

WarPeace Documentary Promotional Poster showing the Statue of Liberty, lines that look both like rifle crosshairs and a round peace sign centered on her torch, with a cloud in the sky and the title of the documentary. — WarPeace Documentary Promotional Poster

If the filmmakers wanted to tie the history of Weather Underground more effectively to the tensions and challenges of today’s movements, they could have asked activists how they are currently grappling with the question raised at the beginning of the documentary: “how can we make a change if peaceful demonstration is not effective and violence only brings more violence?”. Overall, I think this film will increase audience interest in this maligned movement. It provides many jumping off points for discussions for courses about social movements and in groups of activists. But, if looking for an exhaustive look at Weather Underground, look elsewhere.