Punishment Park

Rolling Stone called it "The best film about dissent in America." In Peter Watkins' 1970 film, as the war in Vietnam is escalating, there is massive public protest in the United States. President Nixon declares a state of national emergency and gives the Federal authorities the power to detain persons judged to be "a risk to national security." In a desert zone in southwest California, a civilian tribunal passes sentence on groups of dissidents and gives them the option, in lieu of hard time in the penitentiary, of participating in law enforcement training exercises in the Bear Mountain National "Punishment Park."

The film is frightening and realistic -- hard, at times, to remember it is (mostly) fiction. It is also strikingly contemporary -- the "game" in Punishment Park is very much like a reality TV show. It is violent, the language is raw.  For it to make sense, the film has to be watched in its entirety (88 minutes.) As part of The Class of Nonviolence,  I would show it as part of lesson 7, on civil disobedience. In addition to the expected conflict between the activists, the judges, and law enforcement, is an equally compelling tension among the activists -- between the pacifists and those who believe in the inevitability and / or efficacy of violence -- that could provoke interesting discussions.

There are useful "extras," including a talk by filmmaker Peter Watkins about how the film came to be made and how it was marginalized. I would show the four screens of text that give the historical background of 1968, when the film was conceived, then show the film, and end with Watkins' on screen essay. I rented the DVD from Blockbuster online; it is also available for purchase on Amazon as a standalone DVD or as part of a boxed set of five Watkins films.

A Biography of America

A Biography of America is a video instructional series on American history for college and high school classrooms and adult learners -- 26 half-hour video programs, coordinated books, and Web site -- Produced by WGBH Boston in cooperation with the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Especially appropriate for The Class of Nonviolence are:

8. The Reform Impulse
The Industrial Revolution has its dark side, and the tumultuous events of the period touch off intense and often thrilling reform movements. Professor Masur presents the ideas and characters behind the Great Awakening, the abolitionist movement, the women's movement, and a powerful wave of religious fervor.

17. Capital and Labor
The making of money pits laborers against the forces of capital as the twentieth century opens. Professor Miller introduces the miner as the quintessential laborer of the period -- working under grinding conditions, organizing into unions, and making a stand against the reigning money man of the day, J. Pierpont Morgan.

19. A Vital Progressivism
Professor Martin offers a fresh perspective on Progressivism, arguing that its spirit can be best seen in the daily struggles of ordinary people. In a discussion with Professors Scharff and Miller, the struggles of Native Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans are placed in the context of the traditional white Progressive movement. 

 The textbooks and instructor guides are for sale; the videos themselves are small (barely adequate for classroom use) but these can be purchased as well.

A Ripple of Hope: RFK and MLK

I rented A Ripple of Hope from Blockbuster online -- and you should do the same. This just-released 54-minute documentary is about Robert Kennedy's April 4, 1968 campaign speech in Indianapolis, the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. It is one of the most profound and important speeches in American history:

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

I wept during the film. I lent it to peaceCENTER director Ann Helmke: she watched it twice and wept too. Martin Sheen reports that he wept.  Rep. John Lewis -- and the other commentators, including many regular citizens who were present at the speech -- were profoundly moving. In a few strokes, the event is put in historical context.

Generally, I recommend a 5-10 minute clip of a film to show in a classroom setting. With this film, show it all, every last minute. One way to approach this would be to show the first half of the film -- before it is clear that the speech is actually going to be delivered -- stop, and assign the students to outline their OWN short speeches. Start the second session by discussing the student's speeches and their rationale. Then, watch the second half of the film, discuss how it broke all the classic rules of speechmaking, and analyze why it worked.

A Ripple of Hope is available for purchase, through the PBS store or on Amazon. It's also available to PBS stations, but it appears that few have aired it.

I would show this during the session on Martin Luther King in the Class of Nonviolence. A good companion film would be Citizen King, also available via the PBS store (there is an excellent 10-minute section in the last part of the two-hour-long Citizen King that covers his anti-war activism, including an excerpt from his speech at Riverside Church and the (mostly) negative reaction of other civl rights leaders to his opposition to the war in Vietnam.)