On Sunday February 22nd, between 80 and 90 people, many of them new to Indymedia and Undercurrents, turned up to the first of a new series of monthly Oxford Indymedia / Undercurrents screenings. The Fourth World War by Big Noise Productions was very well received, while the Dissent! network in Oxford was sucessfully launched. There was loads of food (thanks for popcorn, soup and loads of cake and chocolates and bread and so on), the bar was good too, and a stall gave people the opportunity to learn about local campaigns and groups, Dissent!, alternative medias like Indymedia and Schnews and the We Are Everywhere project. All that made this social event a complete success.

To start with there were announcements, then John introduced Dissent! and explained that the network is horizontal and to organise direct action, especially against the looming G8 summit. A brief presentation of Oxford Indymedia was also given.

The first screening was a brilliantly edited film about the Oxford folks who managed to close the House of Commons for 10 minutes after the Hutton report came out. It was very empowering.

Then came The Fourth World War. Wow. The film jumped from country to country describing injustice and showing how ordinary people will not put up with it anymore. Footage from Argentina showed thousands chanting "The other is me" and the white hand meaning basta. The footage of Chiapas where the Zapatistas began was moving because it showed how even the poorest campesinos had finally had enough and were so brave they confronted an army post and closed it! The soldiers just refused to use their guns. Lots of other footage of, for instance, Buenos Aires, showed police firing tear gas, but protesters demonstrating against the International Misery Fund grabbed tear gas canisters and lobbed them back at the riot police. Memorably one protester used his hollow drum to cover a gas canister. Palestine - well, what can one say. The horror of seeing footage of Jenin again; the little girl with the wrecked arm; wrecked blessed bodies; wailing families; total injustice. The Zapatista Caravan was shown having reached the Zocalo in 2001 where thousands and thousands protested to no avail (except that they have ignited protest throughout the world!). Iraq was shown too, of course with the Apeman's voice mouthing obscenities like "we must protect the people of Iraq and the oilfields". Quebec, London, New York and Korea were featured and Genoa 2001 too with startling footage of Carlo Guiuliani - the film was dedicated to him and Rachel and Tom among others. Finally back to Buenos Aires where the chant was "Ahora eres nosotros".

Can we win the Fourth World War? Having seen the film, you know, I think we're in with a chance. WE ARE EVERYWHERE!

The next Indymedia / Undercurrents screening will be announced in the Oxford Indymedia calendar. If you want to help organise these screenings, come to the next Oxford Indymedia meeting (see the calendar) or join the imc-oxford discussion list.

Report and Pictures

More links: Dissent! A Network of Resistance Against the G8 | The Fourth World War | We Are Everywhere | Subcomandante Marcos on the fourth world war