HeilmannCraigAnnotation2

Craig Heilmann, Film Annotations

1. Title, director, and release year? // The Forest of the Trees //, Bernadine Mellis (2004) 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film? This film is focused on a woman named Judi Bari, who was a leader of the Earth First environmental organization. Judi and a friend of hers, who was also an Earth First member, were going to a convention when a bomb exploded in her car, injuring both passengers. They were rushed to the hospital, but because the organization that they were apart of had a reputation for being radical and sometimes violent in the ways they protested, the two were then handcuffed and arrested only three hours later. This is a film based on Judi vs. the FBI and the discrimination she faced to clear her name. 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out? The sustainability problem drawn out in this film stems from a political standpoint. It speaks of the injustice one had to face without probable cause. It brought to the center stage the corruption and loopholes which are often laced within the government and higher ranking positions. 4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why? The most compelling piece of this film was the segment when we saw the video interview with Judi Bari herself. It was very moving and allowed us to get real insight to her not just as a member of Earth First, but also as a person, a compassionate one at that. The interviews with people like the loggers who were supposed to be her enemies (the enemies of Earth First) was amazing to see and hear because they had nothing but great things to say about this strong and courageous woman. 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? I definitely was not compelled by the FBI’s argument for why Judi was guilty. It seemed pretty obvious that she was set up so they could try to kill the whole organization with her. What they didn’t think about is that her death would probably have only made it a stronger and probably angrier organization. 6. What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.? From seeing this film I would definitely like to learn more about Earth First and the types of demonstration they do that would warrant such a thing to happen to an individual. I already know a bit, doing a small project on the organization last semester, but it seems to be a very interesting group, much different from a lot of environmentalist organizations. 7. What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems? I would say this is one of the few environmentalist films I have seen that I feel is probably meant for people who already know about Earth First and maybe even a bit about the Judi Bari trial. It wasn’t really told in a way that was meant to teach, but to reflect. There were certain interviews that taught you about Judi and what she was all about, but for the most part it was a film about what was happening during the trial. That is partly what made it so interesting, being a part of the process. 8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film? There are no points of intervention meant for the viewer, but the film really just exposed the corruption that certain government officials and agencies can be capable of. 9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value? I wonder if this sort of thing happened to Judi, whom else has something like this happened to? And did the corrupt party get away with it? It also would have been nice to know who the ACTUAL bomber was.