Nearly 10 years ago in late November 1999, over 50,000 activists from different movements around the world converged on Seattle to confront the World Trade Organization. We had come together to challenge the slickly packaged agenda of “free trade,” and the WTO’s effort to enshrine the power and profits of multinational corporations as the organizing principle of a new global order. The mass non-violent actions which shut down the opening day of the meeting (and the subsequent collapse of the Ministerial talks) marked a major milestone in the ongoing struggles for global justice, democracy, peace and ecological sanity.
Unfortunately the story of these historic actions has largely slipped out of public consciousness. But now there is a huge opportunity to revive the story of Seattle: the new feature length independent docu-drama called Battle in Seattle.
The movie is not perfect but its is clearly anti-WTO, pro-mass action, and with 9 minutes of archival footage interwoven it effectively recreates the street level action of Seattle. It is fast paced, exciting and has a sprinkling of stars (Woody Harrelson as a violent cop, Charlize Theron as his wife, Ray Liotta as Seattle’s mayor, and Andre 3000 as one of the core activists). The movie could not only help reclaim the legacy of Seattle but also spark broader conversation about corporate power, mass protest and the dynamics of how change is made. It needs to be widely seen!
However this movie can’t succeed on it own. The film is a small budget independent film, and it does NOT have big Hollywood money promoting it. The film is opening in 6 cities on September 19th and then opening in 10 more cities the following week. If — and ONLY if — it is commercially successful in those cities will it be released for mass distribution across the country. Essentially, in order for this movie to get widely seen it needs the support of progressive activists like you, and it needs it on those critical opening two weeks. So lets mobilize to get our friends and family out to see this movie and make it a hit! Buy your tickets now and spread the word!
ALSO Share Your Seattle Stories!
The upcoming release of the film has also sparked another very important initiative to create a broader, multi-facted people’s history of the Battle in Seattle. This web based project has put an invitation out to all Seattle WTO veterans to post your stories and analysis of what happened at www.realbattleinseattle.org. The site has lots of great resources and links so check it out and post your story!
We may have lost the Battle of the Story around Seattle’s legacy, but it’s never too late to reclaim our stories! Between helping get the movie widely seen, and participating in projects like the people’s history website, we can hopefully reclaim some of that story and introduce new generations of activists to the joys of taking mass direct action for a better world.
More links for those unfamiliar or curious about the history and significance of the Seattle WTO protests:
Two great books that capture the legacy of Seattle and dispatches from the global movements against corporate power and exploitation are:
- We are Everywhere: the Irresistible Rise of Global Anticapitalism edited by the Notes from Nowhere Collective
- Globalize Liberation: How to Uproots the System and Build a Better World edited by David Solnit (and including several contributions from smartMeme’s Patrick Reinsborough)
