POWER TO THE PEOPLE

PROGRAMME 1: A TO E

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

Teachers should be familiar with relevant guidance on how to deal with controversial issues before using the programme (see Links). They should also decide in advance whether to view it in its entirety or in parts. The segment on Direct Action contains scenes that some young people may find distressing.

The activities below support a mix of individual, paired and group work. You may wish to revisit the outcomes of the 'before viewing' activities once learners have seen the programme.

Before viewing

List a) the reasons why people protest and b) the methods that they use. Review your lists and identify the top three items in each. Justify your choices. What would you be prepared to protest about and which methods would you use?

Discuss one or more of the following:

• People protest because they think that they can change the world
• A democracy cannot survive without protests
• Demonstrations take a lot of time and energy but they don't achieve very much
• Voting in elections is a powerful form of protest
• Consumers have the power to change how businesses behave
• A protest will only be as successful as the amount of media coverage that it gets
• Protestors should not break the law
• Protestors should not put lives at risk
• Young people are more likely to take part in protests than older people.

After viewing

To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately, the clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.

The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing descriptions to help identify the intended scene.

Clip one: Anti-war 02:26 – 04:01

• Opens with Germaine Greer saying, 'I can see that people who'd put a lot of energy in, and who'd got their buses organised and so on, would feel pretty bitter about the ease with which they were shouldered out of the way.'
• Closes with Tony Benn saying, 'It takes time but if you don't make the effort it doesn't happen.'

List the advantages and disadvantages of street-level protests such as demonstrations. Do you think that these protests have the power to change what governments do? Could they help to bring about the end of the war in Iraq? Share your knowledge and experiences of anti-war and other protests. Which of the protest methods that you have mentioned are best at achieving their objectives in the short and longer term? Why?

Clip two: Boycott 06:58 – 08:35

• Opens with Ruth Rossels saying, 'We can look at well-known companies like Gap and Nike who were also the target of campaigns in the early 90s because of the way they sourced their products from the Far East.'
• Closes with Liam Halligan saying, 'And they really need to pick their targets.'

Explain why some people choose to boycott the products sold by Gap and Nike. How do their actions affect these companies and the people who make their products? Is it true that boycotting brand name products becomes easier once you have left school or college? How effective are boycotts as a form of protest in comparison with street-level protests such as demonstrations? What, if anything, would you be prepared to boycott and why?

Clip three: Culture jamming 10:37 – 13:51

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'The most infamous example of this was when, in 2004, the group sought to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal chemical disaster with their latest elaborate hoax.'
• Closes with Andy Bichlbaum saying, 'Of course, compared to what they've already been through at Dow's hand, it's not very much.'

Chart the pros and cons of the Yes Men's hoax for a) the Yes Men, b) the BBC, c) Dow Chemicals and d) the people of Bhopal. Review the information on the chart and explain whether you think that culture jamming is an effective form of protest. Research culture jamming using the internet and other resources. Choose a product or company and produce a 'culture jam' based on one of the media communications associated with it. Share, explain and discuss your results.

Clip four: Direct Action 16:06 – 18:39

• Opens with Charlotte saying, 'Rachel was a really extraordinary individual.'
• Closes with Katherine Viner saying, 'She decided to act on that in a very powerful and emotional way.'

Explain why so many young people choose to take part in protests that involve direct action. What are the advantages of this form of protest? What are the risks? Research Rachel Corrie's life, using the internet and other resources. Prepare and present a statement giving your views on Rachel's actions and saying what you think that her sacrifice achieved for the Palestinian families that she was trying to help.

Clip five: Eco-warriors 19:52 – 23:28

• Opens with Steve Weir saying, 'Newbury was a failure in one sense, but a massive success in another because it was a huge learning curve.'
• Closes with Steve Weir saying, 'Once you have that power, people have a tendency to listen to you.'

List the lessons that the eco-warriors learned from the Newbury Bypass campaign and explain how they influenced the Sharphill Woods campaign. Could other protest movements use the eco-warriors' methods? What kind of person becomes an eco-warrior? Are you likely to become an eco-warrior?