Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

dinner and debate - anarchy, freedom, democracy

rampart | 22.08.2004 20:42 | Analysis | Culture | Free Spaces | London

Below are details of future events at the rampart squatted social centre in the next few days/weeks (get involved. Weekly meetings, Monday 6pm)

summary..

* Monday 23rd - Camcorder activism gathering/workshop
* Tuesday 24th – Dinner and Debate : ‘Anarchy, Freedom and Democracy’
* Wednesday 25th - Free Community Cinema : ‘They Live / Reclaim the Media’
* September 4th – Benefit Gig with Gertrude

Rampart events (get involved. Weekly meetings, Monday 6pm)

summary..

* Monday 23rd - Camcorder activism gathering/workshop
* Tuesday 24th – Dinner and Debate : ‘Anarchy, Freedom and Democracy’
* Wednesday 25th - Free Community Cinema : ‘They Live / Reclaim the Media’
* September 4th – Benefit Gig with Gertrude

details..

** Monday 23rd - Camcorder activism gathering/workshop

An evening for people interested in or involved with the use of video as a tool for social change - Exchange completed films or useful footage; Build a database / archive of films available for screening; Show your work and get constructive criticism; Find or hear about good films for screening; Get inspiration from what other people have been doing; Seek help with your unfinished projects; Share information, skills and experiences; Get help, advice or training; Link video producers with screening and distribution projects; Meet or form collectives if you are fed up with working alone..…

Starts 7pm. Food available.
See  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/08/296587.html for full details.

** Tuesday 24th – Dinner and Debate : ‘Anarchy, Freedom and Democracy’

Enjoy a delicious dinner and then sit down to bash out some pointless theoretical issues while your meal digests. Just what you’ve all been waiting for, a chance to explore the big issues without having to hang out in pubs with a load of drunks. The evening’s topic is anarchy, freedom and democracy. Isn’t anarchy actually impossible and against human nature? Would we know what to do with freedom if we ever got it? And what the hell is democracy anyway? Can we even agree on what these words mean? Assuming thing don’t end with violence, the evening will then fizzle out with some music or perhaps a film depending on how the mood take us.

** Wednesday 25th - Free Community Cinema : ‘They Live / Reclaim the Media’

An evening of films about reclaiming the media, featuring ‘They Live’ (also known as Creepers), the 1988 classic by John Carpenter (see review below).

plus…

Globalisation and the Media (Undercurrents)
Breaking News (Undercurrents)
Countdown (Guerrilla News Network)
Sir Ray Tindel Ate My Hamster (Real2Reel)

and many more shorts.


‘They Live’ is subversive social commentary packaged in what appears to be a mindless action movie with a sense of humour that allows audiences to take the film's critiques of consumerism as gentle satire rather than as self-important diatribes.

'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, at the time a popular wrestler; plays a transient everyman figure who, in a city plagued by unemployment, finds a commune of sorts which serves as a refuge. On a television a bearded man, momentarily interrupts the signal to tout his discovery that the people are asleep and that there is some signal responsible for collective somnambulism. Our homeless hero later obtains a pair of sunglasses that, when worn, unmask hidden messages on billboards and magazine. Messages such as "Marry and Reproduce," or simply, "Obey". The words "This is your God" can be seen on a dollar bill. Furthermore, the sunglasses reveal that many of the middle and ruling classes are infact aliens with creepy luminous eyes and blotchy purple skin.

The people are asleep. The print media is propaganda containing subliminal orders. They Live is a distinct social commentary, and it is all the more apt for its reality. Corporate dominance, as in the film, thrives on marketability; there are promises of wealth to those who conform. Moreover, the aliens’ messages, though simplified, are apparent in most every example of media; we are bombarded by orders to consume, to get a “better” deodorant or to switch to a “better” long-distance service.

In many ways, They Live is a parody of 1950's science-fiction films (especially Invasion of the Body Snatchers) in which aliens were often used as subversive symbols of communism. Here, however, the aliens represent the image of consumerism. In an interview about the film, Carpenter was asked, "You suggested that materialism and greed were running rampant at the expense of our humanity?" "That's obvious, isn't it?" Carpenter responded.
“Unrestrained capitalism will destroy us - absolutely.... Just look outside. I've never seen so many homeless in my entire life - and not drug addicts and alcoholics - I mean, respectable, lower-middle-class people.... But maybe that's why no one was interested in the film. Who wants to hear that your civilization is in decline.”

The film was indeed a complete box office failure. Initially people were interested in seeing the film but audiences soon dropped off as more and more reviews slagged it off. Lovers or action films may have been miffed. Normally they could cheer as the heroes battered the villains but this time they themselves were the film's villains, and the heroes were the 'crazy' homeless people who rant about the things that of course aren't really there.

** September 4th – Benefit Gig

On the 4th September, the rampART hosts it's first gig with three acts booked so far. The line up included the funky sounds of our resident 'God Like Animals', the hard hitting political rap of 'The Rub' and the punky all grrl 'Gertrude' (post punk with cello, clarinet and melodica) to rock you into the night. Also expect some mind jarring visuals and videos.
The event will be a benefit to help kit out the rampART center will stuff like rehearsal room/recording studio/audio/video editing suite together so we’ll be looking for door donations of £5.

The venue for all these events is 15-17 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA
 http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&db=pc〈=&addr1=&client=public&addr2=&advanced=&addr3=&pc=E12LA&quicksearch=E1+2LA&cidr_client=none
Nearest tubes: Whitechapel, Shadwell, Aldgate East
07050 618 445
 rampart@mutualaid.org
www.rampart.co.nr

rampart

Comments

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech