Our showing of "Bowling for Columbine" a success!

[deutsey]

I am part of a local grassroots peace group (appropriately called PEACE--Peace Education and Community Effort) and I helped to organize a free showing of Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" in our town (on Maryland's Eastern Shore) last night. We obtained a copy from Moore's distributor, and had to pay a lot for it too. We could not charge to show it either, only ask for donations, so we were just hoping to recover our expenses for the film. The local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (of which I'm a member) paid for the theater rental.

We were hoping that maybe a hundred people would show up (and with the rain last night, I wasn't even sure we'd get that many). The actual count? 210! The balcony and all the seats below in the small theater we rented out were packed. We raised well over $600 too.

The main reason we sponsored this event, however, was to help generate a discussion in our community about the sources of violence in America. People were invited to stay afterward and talk about the movie. Again, I expected maybe 10 or 15 people to hang out when the movie was over; we actually had well over 40 and I facilitated a discussion among them for over an hour.

I left the event last night convinced that Michael Moore is correct when he says Americans are hungry for this kind experience. They're fed up with what the mainstream keeps pushing on them as "news" and they're eager to come together and talk about what's happening, rather than remain locked in their homes cowering before the television.

Another insight I had is that we need to keep getting out in our communities and provide people with opportunities to come together and hear viewpoints that challenge the official version of reality.

Don't give up. No matter how bleak it appears, we still have the power to do that.

:thumbsup:

[Spazito]

1. Congratulations!

This is the way to get the message out given the lack of real coverage by the mainstream media. Gatherings in all communities talking about what is really going on. Good for you and your group for doing that!

[KG]

2. good on ya, bro!

and good on the UU people

and good on MM for his efforts toward making this country a better place to live.

see ya sat.! :hi:

(think there will be more than 40,00 in DC saturday?)

[Octafish]

3. Great Going, D!

You put the talk into ACTION! Moore understands the power of ideas. People who see that film are changed from before. Can anyone who's seen BFC ever look at Dick Clark the same again?

Same goes for Dwayne. He turned an idea into action. Keep adding the ripples and he will have changed reality.

[LeahMira]

4. Here, too...

We were hoping that maybe a hundred people would show up (and with the rain last night, I wasn't even sure we'd get that many). The actual count? 210! The balcony and all the seats below in the small theater we rented out were packed.

We had the same experience here on campus... the film was showing at 7:30 and sold out by 6:45. One of the student groups brought it back just this week for those who couldn't get in the last time. Not a few instructors and adults from the community joined the students for both shows.

[deutsey]

5. Thanks!

I have to say I'd been feeling a bit down because of a number of things lately...a pretty bad car accident I had recently that totaled my car (not my fault, at least), my less than fulfilling job situation, the news in general.

There really is a curative power in coming together in community the way we did last night. Them ancient Greeks were on to something after all!

To all of you going to DC this Saturday: I'm looking forward to seeing ya'll and being part of the DU community offline!

[Armstead]

6. Great idea

Make your own media (or distibution system) to get ideas into the country that the media tries to hold back.

[IrateCitizen]

7. That's great news, deutsey! And I believe your assumption is correct.

People are not only hungry, they are STARVING for this kind of stuff. ANYTHING that gives them hope that their daily routine of more work, longer commutes and buying more "stuff" is not a dead-end, that there IS another choice out there.

Just one question, though -- how did you publicize this, that you were able to get such a large turnout?

[deutsey]

8. Publicity

I wrote an article about the movie and the reason we're showing it and it was published in the local paper.

We also have a pretty good email network that we built during the anti-war protests over the last year and a half.

A lot of people in our group are members of churches (Church of the Brethren, Quakers, and the UUs, though we don't see ourselves as a "church"), and made announcements to congregations. At least two church study groups (from the Brethren and the UUs) were there last night.

Lastly, we put flyers up all over town and the theater put it up on their marquee.