From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Sat Jan 21 2006 - 08:43:49 EST
Yes, David L, we are entitled to dream. I couldn't help noting, though, that in your "optimism of the imagination" alternative historical narrative, there were revolutions and socialist republics and federations formed in every part of the world _except_: o Europe, outside of Northern Europe; o Africa, outside of Southern Africa; o the Middle East o North America. Why was that? You allow for how revolutions can help to bring about radicalizations and revolutionary upsurges in other parts of the world, and even allow for mass movements in the US (e.g. the Peoples' Communist Party) and the defeat of fascism in Germany by a communist- socialist coalition, but there are no revolutionary transformations in these regions. Have I got too much imagination or have you too little? In solidarity, Jerry PS: a reminder of a revolution in Europe which has inspired revolutionaries since. Shouldn't our optimism of the imagination allow for another workers' revolution in France? I expect to be spending most of today watching the following movie. Perhaps I'll see you there? ================= PROFESSIONAL STAFF CONGRESS LABOR GOES TO THE MOVIES SERIES PRESENTS: LA COMMUNE (PARIS 1871) BY FILMMAKER PETER WATKINS Rare Showing Includes Commentary by Dr. Joan Wallach Scott, Princeton University La Commune (Paris 1871), by filmmaker Peter Watkins is a masterful and revolutionary work of art. The Professional Staff Congress, the CUNY faculty union, is offering an opportunity to watch the film in a labor setting with discussion led by noted historian of France, Joan Wallach Scott. The story of the socialist uprising of the Parisian population against a centralized and militaristic government is recreated in Watkins' blending of documentary, political, historical and post-modern film genres in this exceptionally critical and effective narrative. The film presents 'breaking news' from the 1871 battle lines, as well as distinctive 'you are there' media coverage from both Socialist and Royalist TV stations. La Commune represents a workers' government facing injustice, violence and collective amnesia. A six-hour film, La Commune is rarely screened; this showing includes the added feature of commentary and audience discussion led by Dr. Joan Wallach Scott, the important historian of France and writer of feminist theory. Dr. Scott is the Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study. Her books include: The Glassworkers of Carmaux: French Craftsmen and Political Action in a Nineteenth-Century City (1974), Gender and the Politics of History (1988), Only Paradoxes to Offer: French Feminists and the Rights of Man (1996), and Parité: Sexual Equality and the Crisis of French Universalism (2005). The film has a six-hour running time and will begin at 1:00PM on Saturday, January 21st at the Center for Worker Education (CUNY), 99 Hudson Street, 6th Floor (1/2 to Franklin Street or A/C to Chambers). An intermission is scheduled and refreshments will be served. Dr. Scott's presentation and Q&A will follow the film. PSC's Labor Goes to the Movies Film Series La Commune (Paris 1871) is the first screening of the spring semester of the PSC's film series Labor Goes to the Movies. Based on the Argentinean concept of 'Third Cinema,' Labor Goes to the Movies explores how cultural work can be used as an organizing tool, and how culture itself can be re-thought in a union context. Visit www.psc-cuny.org for more information. Jonathan Buchsbaum, a media studies professor at Queens College, is available for interviews. All proceeds from this screening will go to the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) at NYU. for more information on the Labor Goes to the Movies series, go to http://www.psc-cuny.org/calendar.htm
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