Documentary Relfection

May 25, 2022 By: Charlotte Knudsen

The first piece I found was written for Global News which is a mainstream media source. It was about a four day protest put on by climate activists in Vancouver. The piece was short and discusses a climate walk that could cause some traffic delays. The purpose is to protest and urge the government to increase measures of protecting the environment. I think that it is a good way to gain some attention and potentially make the government think about what they are doing. However, the media piece was short and did not give many details. My position is to agree with the cause, but I do not think that the media piece urged anyone else to support this cause or take any further action. 

 

The second piece was from an alternative media source called Vancouver is awesome. This piece was about how activists are going to increase their efforts by protesting and blocking streets against old-growth logging. This piece had more information and gave greater details about the goals of the group and what would be happening. The spokesperson for the group has been arrested before for protesting and said that the goal of the event is to escalate it to where the cost is too much for the police to deal with it and for them to tell the government that it is a political issue. The article goes into way more detail than the mainstream article about policing budgets, rising temperatures, why they are protesting, and how they will protest. I can side with this cause more, because the writing has given more reasons as to why this issue is important and who is behind it. I think that it is great to see university students taking matters into their own hands and organizing real action that could change politics. I also think it is interesting to learn about the policing rules surrounding protests and what is and is not legal. 

 

The documentary “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” from the course unit related best to this issue in my opinion. This documentary told the story of environmental activism gone too far to the point it was considered terrorism. Since it was a high profile case, it definitely brought attention to environmental issues, but I think that it also instilled fear in people and gave some activists a bad reputation. If the media can paint activism as a negative thing, they can sway people to not participate. Without it, things would not change, so it makes sense to try to deter people from participating because it makes things easier for politicians. 

 

A final source about the earth day march in Vancouver was written by Vancouver is awesome. This is a peaceful march with a goal of no violence. Police block roads to keep people safe, because some drivers get angry with the inconvenience these events cause. While being peaceful is a nice approach, I am not sure that it gets anything done politically. Civil disobedience can cause enough disruptions to make governments reconsider their actions, but it is difficult to know what level is appropriate. If it is too peaceful, nothing will change. On the other hand, if it goes too far like in the documentary mentioned from the course, it can give the cause a negative reputation. I think that a medium needs to be found where causes are rallied for and voices are heard, but not get out of hand. 

 

References:

Azpiri, J. (2021, April 16). Climate activists embark on a four-day protest in B.C., say more actions on the way   – BC. Global News. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://globalnews.ca/news/7764677/extinction-rebellion-vancouver-protest-april/ 

 

Climate change activists to escalate disruption in Vancouver over old-growth logging. Vancouver Is Awesome. (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/climate-change-activists-traffic-disruption-vancouver-old-growth-logging-vpd-5341096 

 

Curry, Marshall. Director, writer, producer, and Sam Cullman, Co-Director, Producer. “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.” 2011. Marshall curry Productions, 1:25:40.

 

Earth day march and Rally on Vancouver Streets. Vancouver Is Awesome. (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/photos-earth-day-march-and-rally-on-vancouver-streets-5293283