Showings Around the Country: People Were Inspired and Provoked to Think About What They Had Never Imagined Possible

October 1, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

A week ago, the weekend of September 22-23, more than 250 people across the country attended special preview screenings of the groundbreaking film of a speech by Bob Avakian (BA), Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution.

These preview screenings were held outdoors at a park in Los Angeles, at Revolution Books in New York and Berkeley, and at the Revolution Club Organizing Center in Chicago. More preview screenings were planned this past weekend—stay tuned to revcom.us to hear about them. These preview screenings are part of generating momentum, buzz, and organization for the online premiere on October 19.

As we wrote earlier this week, “People were rapt... taking in and wrestling with the stark case that Bob Avakian (BA) makes in Part 1 of this film for why we face only two choices: either we live with the horrors that this system brings down on the people, or, we make revolution. Then, in Part 2, he breaks down a question that has bedeviled people for decades and more: How we could really make revolution in a country like this and what we have to do now to make that real. People were inspired and provoked to think about what they had never imagined possible.”

A member of the Revolution Club, New York City, captured the mood and sentiment at these previews, saying, “You could feel when people really connected with something in the film and you could feel when assumptions and comfort zones were being challenged. Some in the audience took careful notes and others did not take their eyes off the screen.... BA’s speech opened up interrogation of how the system of capitalism-imperialism operates as well as the possibility for things to be different.... The film led some of the people we spoke with to begin questioning things they had never questioned before. A high school student really captured it when she said she felt she’s been lied to all her life about many of the things spoken to in the film. Some of the people we spoke to also said they were challenged by a lot of what’s in the second half of the film. Overall hearing someone put forward and get into the complexity and dynamics of real revolution was challenging for some people and very attractive for others.”

This broadly characterized and captured the sentiment and mood across the country.

Those who attended came from a variety of perspectives. For example, according to a report on the New York City showing, “People came from all over the city and beyond and it was a very diverse audience. There were musicians and artists, students and young people, veterans of the ’60s, an attorney and other professionals, and residents from Harlem.... There were a number of new people who came who had never been to Revolution Books before.... People had a lot on their minds and many had come to engage, to learn, and to look for answers.”

Similarly, according to a report on the preview in Chicago, those who attended were a “diverse mix, some visiting our center for the first time, [they] included a couple who drove three hours from out of state, three people from a suburb north of Chicago, a foreign-born professor, a young man whose father had to leave El Salvador in the 1980s because of threats from the U.S.-backed death squads, as well as people from the neighborhood of the center and other parts of the South Side. The film was punctuated from the audience by outbursts of laughter, applause, thoughtful comments, and shouts of ‘All Played Out.’”

In Los Angeles, several people commented that Part 1 presented an “airtight, irrefutable” argument for why this system can’t be reformed—but that Part 2 was going to be “uphill.” However, they were thinking about real revolution in the U.S. in ways they had never considered before. A Latino organizer and activist responded, “WOW! This is just on a whole other level. Avakian went to a whole other place. Wow.”

The responses to the film from those attending the previews reveal the potential difference this film could make if seen by thousands and tens of thousands soon. A sample of brief excerpted video responses and testimonials can be viewed and spread on social media. Written and verbal responses also reflect this (see box).

One person met at a protest against global warming said she loved the way BA showed how the system works in Part 1. She said the second part left her with a lot of questions, and she wants to think about it more. She said it’s “a heartbreak” to learn that there is nothing good about this system. She’s trying to wrap her head around that. She understands and seems to appreciate that she can contribute now, as she is learning.

In conversation with a correspondent, one person said that he was very impressed with BA’s ability to present such deep analysis in ways that he could understand and then, commenting on the second half of the film, said that he had never thought about revolutionary strategy like this... that it was all very new to him and a lot of information to absorb, some of which went past him but which he wants to understand better. A criminal defense lawyer who had shared the film trailer on Facebook, and considers BA “brilliant,” really emphasized the importance of more people seeing BA. She was frustrated with people when they dismiss things like communism, and says she is attracted to the basic morality and principles of communism. A young Latino guy just getting involved in the Revolution Club, who was very engaged and taking notes during the film, said he felt like Bob Avakian was speaking to him and that he wishes he had heard about this years ago. He said that he wishes all the “warriors” who are “lost” right now could watch this film.

There were a lot of follow-up conversations, questions, and wanting to learn and discuss more, most discussions going well past the scheduled ending times, particularly with members of the Revolution Club. People discussed what will replace this society and the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America as a framework for a radically different and far better society. People also got into how the 5 Stops cannot be resolved under capitalism-imperialism. There were deep interrogation and questions on whether and how we can actually win when the time is ripe to go for an actual seizure of power. Many were feeling really challenged by this dimension and wrangling with what to do NOW to prepare for that situation.

One of the key objectives of these preview screenings was building up the organizing capacity towards the online premiere and beyond—especially with fundraising, sparking a social movement of showings going into the premieres, and spreading word of the film through social media and wherever people gather through posters, palm cards, and other publicity materials. Ideas were solicited from people on how to spread the word and impact society with this film—because what is needed are people, their ideas and thinking. As the report from Chicago said, “There was some beginning brainstorming about fundraising which included organizing a benefit in an area of artist galleries and holding a back-alley, nighttime party at our center. People were encouraged to donate on the spot, and some did, including at the new GoFundMe site. People signed up for and talked about the plan to have 500 people post the video on their social media platforms when it premieres, and promoting it on their platforms between now and then.”

There was also organizing people into the movement for revolution, through getting involved in the Revolution Clubs, Revolution Books, The BA Institute, and into the struggle led by Refuse Fascism to drive out the fascist Trump/Pence regime. Experiences in organizing people were uneven across the country, and there is a lot to learn.

Stay tuned to revcom.us as we learn more, and share lessons learned.

This is an exciting beginning, but only a beginning!