The Art of Activism

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The Art of Activism

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By Ben Elliott

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Does making a documentary about activism count as activism?

Oftentimes documentarians take on the role of activist just by making their film in the first place. Filmmakers can use their platform to spotlight issues facing marginalized communities, like Barabara Kopple’s depiction of the 1973 Brookside Strike in Harlan County, USA or Jennie Livingston’s exploration of late 80s ball culture in Paris is Burning. Or they can throw themselves in front of the camera, acting as an avatar for their audience like Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me or Michael Moore in any of his movies.

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But increasingly the genre is spotlighting the stories of activists themselves. Documentaries like Knock Down the House, The Cove, or the now tragically essential Navalny tell stories of people who are currently working to make change, while movies like John Lewis: Good Trouble celebrate the lives of iconic activists while reminding us of just how radical their actions were.

We’re honored to have Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, one of the best recent examples of this activist-documentary genre, at The Triplex on Saturday. After the screening, we’ll be joined by directors Miri Navasky and Karen O’Connor, and Joan Baez herself as they sit down for an interview with WAMC’s Northeast Public Radio’s Sarah LaDuke.

Outside of being great movies, documentaries like I Am a Noise are also vital resources in fighting against the erosion of our collective memory. Joan was at the forefront of the civil rights movement, working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and performing at the March on Washington, and was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War. History has proven her right on both of these issues, but I Am a Noise reminds us of how much courage it took to speak out at the time.

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In an age where we’re constantly documenting ourselves and sharing our stories online, it can be easy to assume that we know all there is to know about a public figure. That’s why these documentaries are such vital acts of activism themselves. They provide the context around what their subjects were fighting for, and remind us of how much work and sacrifice is required to enact meaningful change. And that if we don’t keep telling these stories, we risk losing the things that people like Joan Baez worked so hard to bring about.

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