The Peace Patriots

A primer on dissent in a time of war.
by
Year Released
2005
Film Length(s)
78 mins
Closed captioning available
Remote video URL

Introduction

The Peace Patriots follows a diverse group of individuals, ranging in age from 14 to 75, including teenagers, college students, war veterans, teachers, clergy, and community activists, as they take part in vigils, marches, theater performances, and civil disobedience sit-ins to protest the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Synopsis

When the United States invaded Iraq twenty years ago in 2003, there was a huge protest against this war across the country and around the world, which was largely ignored by the American mainstream media. In an unprecedented day of global protest—one month before the invasion began—over 15 million people around the world demonstrated against this impending war. In the United States, grassroots citizen opposition during the first 18 months of the Iraq war grew at a larger and faster rate than during the Vietnam anti-war movement of the 1960s. Americans protested against this war in hundreds of cities and towns across the country.

Narrated by actress Janeane Garofalo, this feature-length documentary film follows a diverse group of individuals living in western Massachusetts, ranging in age from 14 to 75, including middle and high school students, college students, teachers, clergy, and war veterans from Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, as they take part in vigils, marches, teach-ins, theater performances, and civil disobedience sit-ins to protest the start of the U.S. war in Iraq. The Peace Patriots is a primer about the various ways people express dissent as engaged citizens in a time of war. Digitally Remastered HD Version.

Director Commentary

I am re-releasing this digitally remastered high definition version of The Peace Patriots through New Day Films on the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

I teach advanced documentary filmmaking at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I have had an opportunity to screen this film several times to students in this anniversary year.

The Peace Patriots stimulated an engaging hour-long discussion about the Iraq War, militarism, media coverage and the role that social media plays today in covering conflicts throughout the world.

In discussions, students expressed that they had no awareness that there had been a large and significant antiwar movement that protested the U.S. war in Iraq, even before the invasion began.

This should come as no surprise as the mainstream media ignored this significant grassroots movement at the time.

What was most interesting about the discussions with the students was how they shared that they receive most of their information from social media today, which does not present an in-depth view of what's happening in the world.

The students affirmed that documentaries, such as The Peace Patriots, fill a major void with information and perspectives about vital issues such as war and peace and how this impacts us as U.S. citizens.

The Peace Patriots is a primer on the various ways that citizens can express themselves in a democratic society.

Please check out my other social issue documentaries that chronicle grassroots activism in the New Day Collection, An Act Of Conscience and Power Struggle, as well as additional films at my website www.TurningTide.com.

Features and Languages

Film Features

  • Closed Captioning
  • Subtitles

Film/Audio Languages

  • English

Subtitle/Caption Languages

  • English
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