The Weather Underground

[pmw]

Saw this documentary on the 60's/70's far left group, The Weatherman, last night on PBS. Born in the 70's, I had never really heard of the group and was surprised to learn what they had done, and to what extent they were able to do it. Principally, after their specific faction broke from the Students for a Democratic Society, the group was involved in a large number of bombings around the US in response to what they characterized as an oppressive, globalizing American government. Their intent was to "bring the war home" as it were, and they bombed American sites of import on a routine basis for quite a number of years. While somewhat sporadically opposed to a variety of issues their primary aim was to further "The Revolution" that they felt was imminent.

The documentary talks with former members, only one of whom remains in prison (the others are teachers, a bartender, a lawyer, an activist...). It's a really interesting American story, and I highly recommend it. Where do I stand?: I think their aims were admirable and their means dedicated. Still, it's hard for me to advocate bombings, but the reason for their "bringing the war home" is an interesting one. I mean, save for 9-11, there hasn't been an incident on our own soil in my life which makes it clear that people dying as a result of wars isn't just an act of television ficiton. It happens, and it happens via our country's own hands on a routine basis. We see very little of it, except for a few pictures from time to time, and even those are rigidly suppressed.

I recomend the film as an interesting look at a piece of history, and from a time period that seems very similar to one we are in right now. As several members of the Weathermen suggest, "the revolution" (an accute awareness of American misguidance) has been happening and is happening and will be happening for a long time to come. It doesn't come and go.

P

[Howard Schumann]

Thanks for bringing this film to the board's attention and for your terrific review. Here is my review:

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND

Directed by Sam Green and Bill Siegel (2002)

By the late 1960s, the undeclared war in Vietnam had dragged on for four years, despite assurances from our political leaders that we had turned the corner. While massive protest marches brought the issue to the attention of millions, they did little to stop the war. By the early 70s, Richard Nixon was President, the war had escalated to Laos and Cambodia, protesting students were shot dead at Kent State, over 30,000 Americans and countless more Vietnamese were dead, and there was no end in sight. Impatient with non-violence and radicalized by the continually escalating casualty count and the deafness shown by political leaders, more militant groups such as The Weathermen and Black Panthers began to emerge.

The Weathermen (later The Weather Underground), a radical faction of the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), waged a small-scale war against the US government during the 1970s that included bombings of the Pentagon and the Capitol buildings, breaking Timothy Leary out of prison, and evading a nationwide FBI manhunt. Nominated for an Academy Award, directors Sam Green and Bill Siegel's compelling documentary, The Weather Underground, candidly explores the rise and fall of the protest group over a six year period, as former members speak about what that drove them to "bring the war home" and landed them on the FBIs ten most wanted list. Though tough questions were not asked, it is nonetheless a balanced and engrossing documentary that puts the last serious student movement in this country into historical perspective without either romanticizing or trivializing it.

Using FBI photographs, news accounts, archival war footage and interviews with Weathermen, SDS leaders, and FBI agents, the documentary explores the limits of protest in a free society and the odds faced by those confronting state and corporate power. Included are scenes of napalm bombing in Vietnam, the murder of black leaders Fred Hampton and George Jackson, and excerpts of talks by President Nixon. The documentary contains interviews with seven of the original Weathermen, all white, middle class, and well educated: Mark Rudd, Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Brian Flanagan, Naomi Jaffe, Laura Whitehorn and David Gilbert. These were not weekend hippies or armchair activists, but people so committed they cut themselves off from family and friends for nearly a decade.

While the movement began by targeting all (white) Americans, after the explosion of a homemade bomb in Greenwich Village in 1970 killed three of their members, the group decided that no one should die as a result of their direct action, and no one did. In spite of their belief that civil disobedience was the only alternative, the radicalism of the group alienated many of the people they were trying to convert and forced them to go underground, with everyone eventually surrendering to the FBI. Today most are still active in professional capacities in support of these ideals, and still convinced of the evils of the capitalist system and the need for genuine democracy.

While their acts can be understood on the basis that it was a time of worldwide revolution, and by the failure of marches on Washington to stop the escalation of the war, questions as to whether or not their tactics were effective are still being debated. If nothing else, they exposed the FBI's sinister CointelPro program, an attempt to infiltrate and destroy left wing organizations. Though today the goal of a truly just and humane society seems farther away than ever, as director Siegel pointed out referring to The Weather Underground, "It's clear they didn't have the entire answer, but their impulse that the world can be a more progressive, humane place is worth considering. They made huge mistakes but also had an impulse that things needed to change." The impetus for that change is still alive.

GRADE: A-

[HorseradishTree]

I happened to catch it on PBS too. Really great stuff. I learn more and more about this era and wish I were there.

[Howard Schumann]

Originally posted by HorseradishTree
I happened to catch it on PBS too. Really great stuff. I learn more and more about this era and wish I were there. It was a difficult and dangerous time that only looks exciting in retrospect. At the time, there was a great deal of frustration at a war that had dragged on for years and was basically unwinnable.

[pmw]

I imagine the frustration must have been unbearable. The Iraq situation has a lot of people upset, and we've been there for just a year or so... This is the first election in my 29 years that I've been more than a little nervous about. If Bush wins, I can't imagine what the next 4 years will be like (and I don't necessarily say that about Republicans at large; just Bush). He casts such a large and dark shadow over the idea of a progressive society. Hopefully we're not on a path to fully repeat our mistakes in Vietnam...

P

[HorseradishTree]

Didn't mean to offend you or anything, but I wish I lived in a time when activism was a lot easier to execute. I think people need to speak out a lot more today.

[Howard Schumann]

Originally posted by HorseradishTree
Didn't mean to offend you or anything, but I wish I lived in a time when activism was a lot easier to execute. I think people need to speak out a lot more today. Well you certainly didn't offend me (I don't get offended very easily anyway). Activism is more difficult today because of the entrenched control of big corporations and the media but if people speak loudly enough, their voice will be heard.