Professor captures political unrest in NYC
Kalen Ponche
Issue date: 10/21/04 Section: TruLife
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Instead of standing in front of his music history class Aug. 30, Rice was standing amid people protesting the Republican National Convention in New York City, holding a camcorder.
In New York, Rice attended many marches, rallies and benefit concerts and interviewed those present about their reasons for protesting. Rice then took his 10 hours of footage and created a documentary, "Three Days in New York City," which will be shown tonight at 8 p.m. in Violette Hall 1000.
"It shows the events I attended," Rice said. "The interviews, marches, meetings and a benefit concert. There's an incredibly wide range of things, some are very serious, [some are] humorous. There's music and a comedy routine."
Rice said one reason he filmed the protest was so he could share the experience with students.
"I think my main hope is that students will see the importance of activism," Rice said. "I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about the election. That's a secondary hope. My idea is not so much that I care who people vote for but that they make an informed choice."
Rice said he thinks activism is on the rise because of improved communication and technology. He compared the convention to the heavily protested 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"I think what inspired me [to attend the National Republican Convention] was as a historian admiring the 1960s and realizing this moment is our 1968," he said.
Rice also had personal reasons for attending the convention.
"I think because my mother is a nurse and I was educated by nuns, I like to consider myself a very compassionate person," Rice said. "And, as such, I disagree with everything Bush has done since he's been in office."
Rice said he thinks grassroots activism will continue no matter who is elected president.
"I don't think we've seen the worst yet," he said.
The documentary shows the protest events in the order that Rice attended them in three days. It addresses issues surrounding this year's presidential election and shows the wide variety of backgrounds of the protesters.
The documentary starts slow, following one of the first events Rice attended, a Mothers (and Others) Against Bush march across the Brooklyn Bridge. Rice interviewed one mother about her reasons for marching and for opposing Bush, which provided an interesting introduction to the film.
What follows is about five minutes of silence as the camera pans the crowd of women from many different backgrounds and then shows the group walking across the bridge. After a minute of squinting to read the signs people carry as they peacefully cross the bridge, however, it got boring.
Rice said the crowd of mothers was full of hope, and even the line of police officers on motorcycles at the end of the march couldn't dim their joy. At some of the other marches Rice attended, people were fearful of the police presence, he said.
"On the one hand, there was apprehension," he said. "[The protesters] were all worried about what the police would do, and whether they'd be able to protest in peace."
After the Mothers (and Others) Against Bush scene the documentary gets more interesting. Rice's interviews with protesters give an inside look at some of the issues surrounding this year's presidential election and also show the different people involved with the protest.
One of the best parts of the documentary was the benefit concert Rice attended. Although the musicians weren't amazing, some of their lyrics were funny and provided a good chuckle.
Although some interviewers get longwinded, it is interesting to see the various reasons people oppose Bush, ranging from the rights of women, gays and immigrant workers to healthcare and the war in Iraq. Overall, the film provides some insight into the reasons people are opposed to Bush and shows the peaceful side of the protests, which aren't shown as often on television.
Rice said he hoped the documentary would provide an alternative to Fox News.
"It applies another view that would not be shown as well," he said.
It was impressive that Rice condensed 10 hours worth of footage into a 67-minute documentary. As an ethnomusicologist, Rice frequently edits video of musicians he interviews. This is the first political documentary he has made. Rice said the Teaching Learning Technology Center helped him to put the documentary into DVD format.
The DVD itself was pretty snazzy, with a moving menu page as well as scene selections. One aspect that may have improved the documentary would be including some voice-overs rather than relying on text across the bottom of the screen to set up each new scene.
Overall, the documentary is an interesting look into grassroots political activism. It might not change a vote, but it does provide some new insights into a heated presidential race.