Occupy America

OccupyAmerica // Have the Occupy Wall Street protests that sprung up across the country this fall already passed? Shot in NYC, Oakland, and Cincinnati, this short explores the state of the #OWS protests now that local governments have removed permanent encampments, and asks what the future will be for this still-young nationwide movement.

Occupy Wall St - The Revolution Is Love

Rev. Billy at Liberty Square, December 21, 2011

Take Back the Commons - D17



December 17, 2011: Occupy Wall Street teams up with artists, musicians and faith leaders to demand a space for public expression and to seek sanctuary in an unused lot owned by Trinity Church, an institution that has shown support for the movement despite its strong ties to Wall Street. Episcopal Bishop George Packard is the first to scale the fence, and is arrested along with fellow occupiers. Reverend Lawson, a leader of the Civil Rights movement, urges the protesters to keep "treading water" because the country needs them. Music from Dean and Britta, live from WBAI studios.

www.occupytvny.org

occupy america: extended trailer

occupy america: extended trailer from Mark Aloysious Strandquist on Vimeo.

by Mark Aloysious Strandquist

nomovement.com

Beyond slogans and stereotypes

The most difficult obstacle facing the occupation movements throughout the United States is not the billy club or mace, nor mass arrests (those have proven to be lightning rods), but rather an inability or at least, an extreme difficulty, in articulating their message(s) to the everyday American.

The intention of the film is to create a space where those messages, ideas, critiques, and alternatives can be articulated and experienced in a way that is both clear and digestible.

In a distinct, intentional departure from new and mainstream media, the film incorporates long, static portraits of various occupiers while non-sync audio plays underneath. This method is used to convey the movement's anonymity as well as the collective, ego-less voice of the 99%. No one's voice will be connected to their own image. Each portrait, containing an occupier staring into the camera, will give human faces to slogans and catchwords, while maintaining the confrontational aspects of their growing movement.

Still in production.