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| Bay Window : Raising a Ruckus: Press Release |
KQED Makes Waves with New Bay Window Docmentary on Local Activists
Local Filmmakers Take a Closer Look at the Burgeoning Anti-Globalization Movement in Raising a Ruckus
San Francisco, CA—By now, most people are familiar with the images: angry youth dressed all in black—faces obscured by bandanas—throwing bricks through office building windows and using garbage cans as battering rams to break into Starbucks coffee houses in Seattle; police on horseback charging into groups of chanting protesters; and teargas hanging heavy in the air over the city's downtown. As some of the country's biggest protests in recent history were underway in Seattle during World Trade Organization meetings last year, these images were seen by people around the world. But is this the true face of a loosely organized movement whose focus is on the rapid and oftentimes unjust social and economic development of our world?
KQED will present BAY WINDOW Raising a Ruckus: New Activism and the Response to Globalization on Friday, March 2 at 9:30 p.m. This one-hour documentary, produced by three local filmmakers—Sharon Tiller, Josiah Hooper and Katie Galloway—will look at the new face of anti-globalization activism and how the Bay Area, with its strong roots of social protest, has been instrumental to its rise. The program focuses on several local organizations, from Berkeley-based Ruckus Society, which holds activist training camps, to San Francisco's Global Exchange, which was at the center of non-violent protest planning in Seattle, to learn how they have provided leadership on issues of economic disparity and social injustice around the world through non-violent means. Raising a Ruckus looks at who these activists are, what they are fighting for, why the movement is happening now and how it has emerged.
The film follows several passionate Bay Area anti-globalization protest leaders (see subject biographies), as they prepare for protests at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in 2000, and reveals the difficulties faced by the groups who come from a wide background of class, race and access to opportunity, and how these differences affect their ability to build coalitions. The result is an unprecedented view into what motivates these young adults to put themselves on the line as they challenge what they perceive as the unfair and unjust process of globalization which has spawned the strongest renaissance of activism in the United States since the 1960s.
"The media tends to cover young people when they've just been involved in a schoolyard shoot out or when a frightening new club drug is declared the latest epidemic. And too often, the images we see on television are confused and alienated young people sorting out their personal problems on talk shows," stated filmmaker Josiah Hooper. "We wanted to follow these Bay Area activists so that people could see an alternative—the many bright, engaged young people who are focused on trying to build a better society and world."
In addition to hearing from the activists, the filmmakers elicit opinions from a wide range of scholars, veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, and World Bank insiders who, interestingly enough, show appreciation and support for the protesters, indicating that their actions help give them leverage to push for policy changes on the inside of such organizations.
The show's accompanying Web site, kqed.org/baywindow, offers a wide range of information for young people, parents and educators, including personal stories from young activists and their parents, and anecdotes from local community groups on how they have effected positive change in the community. The site also features links to connect visitors with resources and more information on activism and volunteer opportunities both locally and internationally.
Raising a Ruckus is a co-production of KQED and theRake Productions (therake.com). Senior producer is Sharon Tiller; producer/cinematographer is Josiah Hooper; producer is Katie Galloway. BAY WINDOW executive producer is Sue Ellen McCann. Outreach for BAY WINDOW Raising a Ruckus is provided by the Television Race Initiative (TRI), a multiyear effort in which diverse broadcasts create a framework for sustained community dialogue and problem solving focusing on the issues of race relations. KQED Education Network, which inspires learning through innovative understanding, use and creation of media, is providing companion curriculum materials for use in junior and senior high schools about the nature of protest and how the media covers these news events.
BAY WINDOW, currently in its third season, is an award-winning, monthly series exploring issues that affect our lives in the Bay Area and reflect civic life nationwide. Through television, print, the Web and outreach programs, BAY WINDOW engages people in dialogue, convenes critical stakeholders and builds new connections within our communities.
BAY WINDOW Raising a Ruckus is underwritten by The James Irvine Foundation, with additional support from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation.
KQED operates KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station, and Digital Television 30, Northern California's only public television digital signal; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM, the most listened-to public radio station in the nation; the KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources; and kqed.org, which harnesses the power of the Internet to bring KQED to communities across the Web.
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