BarnardSarah_TheForestfortheTrees


 * Sarah Barnard | Film Annotation 2 | //The Forest for the Trees// **

//The Forest for the Trees// | Bernadine Millis | 2005
 * 1. Title, director and release year**

//The Forest for the Trees// is the story of Judi Bari vs. the FBI. Judi Bari was an Earth First!er who was injured in a car bomb accident in 1990. Judi and her passenger were on their way to an Earth First Convention when their car exploded, and only 3 hours later, they were arrested by the FBI as terrorists. //The Forest for the Trees// follows lead attorney Dennis Cunnigham, the producer’s father, and his team through the trial, 12 years after it was filed and after Judi had passed away from terminal breast cancer. The film tracks the injustices in the system, and is a heart-breaking story of Judi’s charisma and Dennis Cunningham’s strength and determination.
 * 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

Unlike many sustainability documentaries, //The Forest for the Trees// does not place a main focus on ecological issues. While environmental problems such as fighting to save the remaining three percent of the redwood forests were Judi’s main concern, the film addresses much deeper sustainability issues, such as political, legal, and media/informational problems. //The Forest for the Trees// is much more than a story about an environmental activist, it is a narrative of the injustices that exist within many of our country’s systems. Many of the problems brought up in //The Forest for the Trees// are entangled in a complex matrix, merging political and legal problems and creating additional concerns through the media. It is easiest to look at these problems as a matrix, as they do not carry the same weight on an individual level. Legally, the situation was a mess; while it was implied that Judi and Daryll were part of a terrorist organization who planted the bomb in their own car, no one would ever claim responsibility for making those accusations. Even after the charges were dropped, Judi was still viewed as a terrorist, and no one was ever formally charged for the bombing. (Even during the trial to come, the defense attorneys maintained all along that it was Judi who planted the bomb). The media only made the situation worse, with people seeing Earth First as a terrorist organization and sending Judi death threats. The question became about how we tolerate dissent in this country, with Judi Bari at the forefront of the debate. When Judi decided to file a lawsuit against the FBI, it took twelve years before the trial would finally go to court. The political and legal ramifications of this are astounding; the courts kept finding ways to delay the trial in order to protect their own government agency, the FBI. They even barred Howard Zinn, an FBI historian, as being a witness for the cause, claiming that his judgment would be irrelevant; so much red tape stood in the way of justice for an activist trying to voice her opinion on environmental issues. While many of Earth First’s practices were quite radical at the time, Judi was trying to negotiate between environmentalists and loggers to help the two sides communicate. It is a problem of dealing with those whose opinions differ so drastically from the general norm, and the way the government chose to deal with it in Judi’s case is simply astounding. Twelve years later, after Judi had passed away from breast cancer and after three and a half weeks of deliberation, Judi’s side won a 4.4 million dollar settlement. Unfortunately, she was not around to see it, and perhaps more fortunately she was not there to witness the stubbornness of the defense, claiming even at the end that it was Judi all along. The film really provokes an understanding of the multitude of problems that face sustainability, even when someone is trying to focus on a particular sustainability cause, and all of the challenges that can arise from it.
 * 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?**

//The Forest for the Trees// is certainly a human-interest story, and it is very compelling and emotional. There are no mind-numbing figures or facts, simply a true story about two heartfelt characters, both Judi and lead attorney Dennis Cunningham. I found Cunningham’s story incredibly compelling, with his willingness to see Judi’s trial through to the end. The scenes in the car with Cunningham were incredibly persuasive, showing how tired he had become yet was able to continue fighting. His story was proof that there are people out there who are willing to go the distance to combat these problems, as well as constantly prove the necessity for people like him. Additionally, Judi’s story itself is a great eye-opener to seeing multiple sides of a picture, from the folks who few Earth First as a bunch of “tree-hugging hippies” to Judi’s attempts to create communications between the loggers and environmentalists. The film did an excellent job of pulling out the matrix of sustainability problems that might not be evident to the unaided eye.
 * 4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

Overall, I was relatively please with //The Forest for the Trees//. One thing I was not as convinced by was the repetition of items such as Dennis Cunnigham’s work with the Blank Panthers and the pictures of the car after it had exploded. Both were extremely important for context, but I felt it was something that did not need to be returned to as often as it was. Additionally, I felt the section on the FBI officials involved could have been more compelling, providing a little more background for why they felt Judi was a terrorist.
 * 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?**

Seeing Judi Bari’s story made me wonder how many other cases similar to this exist, where people trying to stand up for environmental issues are ruined by government officials and media coverage. In this world where we are constantly trying to convince people climate change is real and that we have a serious problem, it is interesting and terrible to see the lengths people will go to in order to prove you wrong. I would like to find out if Judi Bari’s case became a precedent for any other similar events, and determine the government’s role in dissuading the minds of often radical activist groups.
 * 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.?**

I think that the film best addresses a wide variety of audiences because it brings the problems down to a personal scale. It doesn’t speak about Earth First activism as a whole or try to convince you otherwise, but rather it focuses on two specific individuals standing up for what they believe in. I think this might make viewers realize that there are always multiple sides to the story, and although they may not change their minds on any environmental issues, it could at least raise some questions.
 * 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?**

The main action of //The Forest for the Trees// is determination. Judi’s story is proof for fighting until the end, and she and Dennis Cunningham did just that. The film doesn’t focus on typical sustainability solutions, but it does point out that the government cannot always be assumed to be correct on its standing as leadership, and that we must question its right and authority to treat issues and individuals in a specific way. The actions of recognizing these problems and working to solve them is an important step.
 * 8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?**

The film could have focused a little more on some of the positive aspects of the Earth First movement, and some of the environmental objectives they have been able to accomplish. The film does an excellent job of telling Judi’s story, but it doesn’t necessarily do a great job of showing you what she was fighting for. Perhaps a more direct tie to sustainability efforts could enhance the educational value to a wider variety of audiences.
 * 9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?**