Hunt_The+Forest

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

This film won numerous awards and was screened at the Brooklyn Film Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, and in Europe. It also received much acclaim from the animal right movement. This film tells the story of Judi Bari, a leader in the Earth First movement. Judi was an outspoken, charismatic, intelligent leader of the controversial environmental activist group. In a nutshell, the film traces the initial roots of the Earth First group, to the attempted assassination of Judi Bari, to the court case of Judi Bari vs. the FBI. In 1990, Judi and her passenger were on their way to an Earth First Convention when their car exploded due to a bomb under Judi’s seat. The FBI accused Judi of planting the bomb herself and being a “terrorist.” The story follows lead attorney Dennis Cunningham, the producer’s father, and his team through the trial. Judi passed away from cancer before the trail was over; however, 12 years after it was filed, Bari finally won the case.
 * 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

This film only vaguely and tangentially discusses exact sustainability problems. We are introduced to the Earth Firsters as a group that fights loggers to protect forests, but we leave the film with a larger scale understanding of the legal road blocks for sustainability: corrupt government and judicial departments.
 * 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?**
 * Logging: In particular, logging had been a big issue in parts of the US because of the ecological effects but also the economic effects. Clear-cutting adversely affects the ecosystems of the forest while economically, logging companies remove whole areas of forest, not paying workers well, and then moving on to a new location. According to the film, Earth Firsters participated in “Redwood Summer” a non-violent attempt to slow redwood logging in California during the summer of 1990.
 * Corrupt Government and Judicial Departments: Not only was the FBI corrupt and unjust in its claim that Judi was a terrorist – as they attempted to flip the whole appearance of her as a victim to her as a perpetrator – but the FBI conducted unfair and unconstitutional processes in its handling of the case and evidence. Furthermore, the FBI used the opportunity to “do a deep investigation of Earth First.” This is more than a sustainability problem, this was a problem for any movement that actively fights for any cause.

I found the passion and leadership of Judi Bari to be by far the most convincing part of the film. People like Judi are the people that make the world a better place. I particularly appreciate here non-violent tactics including her official denouncing of tree spiking that was pervasive in her own group. It was a month before the bombing that Judi publicly denounced tree spiking. Along these same lines, I found Judi’s compassion towards the loggers themselves very compelling. She seem to magnanimously acknowledge their situation as just doing a job to support their families. It truly is not the loggers fault, it is the system and the companies that must be challenged and Judi understood this. Any of the actual loggers would just be replaced and they were simply doing what they could as an economic opportunity.
 * 4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

Part of the problem with the Earth Movement was their use of violence. No social movement in the 20th Century that I know of was particularly successful through the use of violence. Peaceful, strong-hearted non-violent campaigns were what created progressive change. Unfortunately, Earth First was often a radical group that used violence and “spiking” as a way to move their agenda. I was not compelled or convince by these actions and find them to be detrimental to the environmental movement in general. Too often the ENTIRE environmental movement gets labeled as quacks, mystics, or radicals and Earth First oftentimes only perpetuated this.
 * 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?**

Civil rights issues. Dennis Cunningham said, near the end of the film, as they won the court case, “We are talking about civil rights here, we are talking about the essence of the rights this country was found on.” I also am more compelled to research the life and times (I found her website, see citation below) of Judi Bari as one of the most compelling social leaders of the late 20th century.
 * 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.?**

Although most people know the civil right issues many have faced (Women’s suffrage, Civil Rights of Blacks, more recent Immigration rights etc…) rarely are the civil rights of environmentalists discussed. I think seeing someone fight the system and win as Judi and her compatriots did, is a overwhelming inspiration to viewers that pushes them to fight in their own right. Whether it be logging or otherwise, Judi’s fight can be extrapolated to many other past and current battles in the world. Anyone who has ever fought the system or fought any righteous fight, can appreciate the message in this film.
 * 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?**

This film was similar to //Darwin’s Nightmare// in that it did not directly suggest many points of intervention or give viewers too many ways to help. Whereas //Darwin’s Nightmare// was more alarming, //The Forest for the Trees// was more of an inspiration. The compelling nature of Judi Bari’s seeming martyrdom fighting the corrupt system was more than inspirational in its driving the viewer to care for the cause. Again, every documentary is a bit different, and this one suggests and emphasizes the role of activism in protecting our country and its resources.
 * 8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?**

I honestly thought that the film carried out most of its intended purpose. Although more ways to fight might have been useful, it was not really this film’s job. I feel as though anything too detailed would have diluted the inspirational message of the film. Maybe a final word by the Director or Dennis Cunningham to “fight the good fight” in Judi’s name could have helped…
 * 9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?**

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