This Is What Democracy Looks Like

The revolution will be videotaped. That's one of the lessons I took away from This Is What Democracy Looks Like, a documentary about the World Trade Organization protest in Seattle a year and a half ago. Co-directors Jill Freidberg and Rick Rowley have mixed and matched the footage provided by over 100 videographers who attended the "Battle in Seattle," added some talking heads and set it all to the pounding beat of Rage Against the Machine. And the result is a passionately partisan document that offers us a look (many looks, I should say) at the protest that's quite different from the one provided by the mainstream media. If you weren't able to make it to Seattle, you'll appreciate the breadth and depth of the coverage; it seems as if every other protester was armed with a camcorder. If you did make it to Seattle, you'll appreciate this walk down memory lane, complete with tear gas and pepper spray. And if you happen to think the WTO is the answer to all our problems...well, see the film anyway, you might learn something. Part historical record, part recruitment poster ' and as radically decentralized as the protest itself ' This Is What Democracy Looks Like will screen on Wednesday, April 18, at the Bartell Theater (7 and 9 p.m.).