Radicalized: A Revolutionary Documentary Film

Op-Ed by PM Beers at theantimedia.org

 On October 1, 2011 I showed up for the revolution. That summer, I had been watching the Young Turks on Youtube and had come to the conclusion that Obama was not the great savior that was sold to us. It was clear to me— with Congress completely sold out to corporate interests and the Supreme Court’s-then recent, shady ruling regarding corporate personhood—that if Obama was not for the people, then revolution—peaceful if possible—was the only way to make things right.

Looking back, I see myself as having a naive, reformist perspective. In college, I got an “A+” in Political Science without any effort. I had no idea how much education on politics, specifically on the subject of anarchy, that I was about to get from the Occupy experience and the events that happened after.

It turned out that Occupy was not the great revolution I had hoped it to be, but for me, the real revolution had happened in my thinking.

A group of amazing, talented people collaborated to make a documentary about some of the people who met at Occupy Los Angeles. The film follows them after the protest movement ended.

The film’s website describes Radicalized:

“A REVOLUTIONARY DOCUMENTARY FILM…

Ideology meets reality and collides with the powers that be as articulated through the inner voices and external lives of a millennial anarchist collective near downtown L.A.

This film opens an intimate window into this emerging consciousness in the gritty incubator of the collective’s apartment, where 10 people deconstruct the present to create a better future. All have given up a lot to participate in the movement; personal space, jobs, education, family and “old-world” friends.

Targeted by law enforcement, repeatedly arrested, intimidated and sometimes beaten, only to be further radicalized, this film contains graphic scenes of police violence.

Captured during this period as they organize and engage in a seemingly endless series of political actions, street protests and marches ranging from direct political actions against big banks to the more recent protests against police violence.

Fueled by Occupy Wall Street, the tent encampment at City Hall in October 2011 was the point of departure for the creation of a network of alliances that inspired this new season of resistance in a city with a rich history of political defiance.

This feature documentary traces the trajectories of the larger arcs of it’s characters as well as the movement as a whole, by capturing interpersonal and collective experiences and utilizing direct political actions as tent poles to guide the audience through the story.

Radicalized is a very personal, untold story of the post Occupy millennial resistance.”

The world premiere of Radicalized will be on July 22 in Los Angeles.

For more dates and locations check out radicalizedmovie.com

Here are some deleted scenes from Radicalized:

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