Beyond the Classroom presents "Mic Check: Documentary Shorts from the Occupy Movement" on Monday, March 28th at 7:00 pm!

Monday, March 28, 7:00-9:00 pm

South Campus Commons Building 1, Room 1102

(http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu/locationbtc.htm)


Short documentary films about the most important social movement of the 21st century!

When thousands of people concerned about growing economic inequality gathered in Zuccotti Park in New York City on September 17, 2011, there was little indication that they would fundamentally transform American political debate and ignite a full-scale national and global protest movement. But within a year, the Occupy Wall Street protestors had done just that.

This powerful collection of short films, made by Occupy protestors on the ground, tells the story of the movement in real time. While the films range in length from just one to ten minutes, their combined force is spellbinding. Together they show how a fledgling movement came out of nowhere to challenge Wall Street's rapacious and predatory practices, force economic inequality and corporate greed onto the mainstream political agenda, and capture the imagination of the world. The result is a fascinating and multifaceted portrait of one of the defining political struggles of our time.

• "This is what happens when you put digital technology in the hands of smart young people who have complete mastery over it -- high-level production values with grassroots content. I you want to know what the Occupy movement is all about, and what its 'demands' are, watch these films. They're clear evidence that we are witnessing not only a serious revolt against global inequality, but also a joyous revolution of the mind and imagination." - Naomi Klein | Author of No Logo & The Shock Doctrine.
• "The Occupy movement is spectacular and unprecedented; there's never been anything like it that I can think of. If the bonds and associations that are being established at these remarkable events can be sustained, this could turn out to be a very significant moment in American history." - Noam Chomsky.
• "Confounding claims that U.S. citizens would be resigned to capitalist crisis, then bailouts chiefly for corporate interests, and then austerity to pay for them, Occupy Wall Street proved a powerful partner to the general strikes and leftward shifts transforming Europe's politics. As the crisis deepens unevenly across global capitalism, so too do the rising movements for social change. Mic Check provides a well-crafted window into the first big U.S step in that rising." - Richard D. Wolff, Author of Capitalism Hits the Fan and Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism

For details, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1673086222965493/