Andrew Nellis is an anarcho-syndicalist activist from Ontario. He is one of the lead organizers for the Ottawa Panhandlers Union. Denis Rancourt was a professor of Physics at the University of Ottawa, known for his radical pedagogy. This is a very good interview for Denis Rancourt's radio show The Five O'clock Train. Listen and enjoy!
Andrew Nellis Interviewed by Denis Rancourt for The Five O'clock Train.
I just wanted to a prevue of Coming attractions to The Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater. I am slowing going to show some old, non-political films mixed in with very political films. Here's what to expect in the next couple of weeks:
Nineteen Eighty-Four : Released in 1984, based upon George Orwell’s novel of the same name, following the life of Winston Smith in Oceania, a country run by a totalitarian government. The film was directed by Micheal Radford, and stars John Hurt, Suzanna Hamilton, and Richard Burton in his last film role.
Freaks: a 1932 horror film about murder at a sideshow. Directed and produced by Tod Browning (who had been a member of a traveling circus in his early years) the film was based on a Tod Robbins’ short story “Spurs”. Director Browning took the exceptional step of casting real people with deformities as the eponymous sideshow "freaks," rather than using costumes and makeup.
Reefer Madness (aka Tell Your Children): 1936 exploitation film revolving around the tragic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marihuana": a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, rape, and descent into madness all ensue. It was originally financed by a church group and made under the title Tell Your Children.
The Grapes of Wrath: 1940 American drama directed by Academy Award Winner John Ford. Based on the Pulitzer Prize novel written by John Steinbeck, the film follows tells the story of the Joads, an Oklahoma family, who, after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s, become migrant workers and end up in California. Stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad.
A Place Called Chiapas: Canadian documentary of first-hand accounts of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN, or the Zapatistas) and the lives of its soldiers and the people for whom they fight. Director Nettie Wild takes the viewer to rebel territory in the south west Mexican state of Chiapas, where the EZLN live and evade the Mexican Army.
Salt of the Earth was produced, written and directed by victims of the Hollywood blacklist. Unable to make films in Hollywood, they looked for worthy social issues to put on the screen independently. This film never would have been made in Hollywood at the time, so it is ironic that it was the anti-communist backlash that brought about the conditions for it to be made. In many ways it was a film ahead of its time. Mainstream culture did not pick up on its civil rights and feminist themes for at least a decade. This film entered the public domain in 1982 and was selected for the National Film Registry in 1992.
This 1979 award-winning film airs a provocative look at the forgotten American history of this most radical of unions, screening the unforgettable and still-fiery voices of Wobbly members--lumberjacks, migratory workers, and silk weavers--in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Eerily echoing current times, THE WOBBLIES boldly investigates a nation torn by naked corporate greed and the red-hot rift between the industrial masters and the rabble-rousing workers in the field and factory. Replete with gorgeous archival footage, the film pays tribute to American workers who took the ideals of equality and free speech seriously enough to die for them. Directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, THE WOBBLIES is a rare and challenging invitation to rethink both past and present through the eyes of an organization largely omitted from memory.
I remember this as a kid. It was one of my favorite songs, along with The Cat Came Back by Fred Penner and The black fly song. The common line between these songs are they where all made into short, animated films by the National Film Board of Canada.
So, for your viewing pleasure, a little slice of my childhood and a classic piece of Canadiana, The Log Drivers Waltz.
According to the Wikipedia entry, "This song chronicles the Easter Uprising of 1916, and encourages Irishmen to fight for the cause of Ireland, rather than for the British, as so many young men were doing in World War I." The wiki entry also very helpfully links many of this historical and geographical references in the song, so check it out.
Sinéad O'Connor is best known in North America for the hit Nothing Compares 2 U. After she tore up a picture of the pope on SNL, she fell off the North American map. Few people here would know that she went on to have a very successful reggae career, as well as continuing anti-catholic activism.
