You may know that not that long ago, Greenpeace celebrated its 40th birthday. You may not know just how much Greenpeace has changed in that time. From a small group of North American hippies chartering an old fishing boat to try to stop nuclear testing, there are now Greenpeace offices all over the world, hundreds of local groups and several ships including the recently launched Rainbow Warrior III. You can look up our history online, but to really get a feel for it, 'The Greenpeace Story', a documentary following events from 1971 to the present day is a great way to do so, plus the second feature at our Southampton film-showing, the more edgy and visceral 'Mind Bomb'.
Though very different in style, both are engaging and inspiring pieces of film-making with interviews from long-term Greenpeace volunteers, some from the very first days of the organisation, and footage of some of our best-known campaigns and actions - getting inflatables in between harpooners and whales, hanging huge banners from the Christ the Redeemer staue above Rio, trying to stop the dumping of barrels of nuclear waste into the sea - the list goes on. However, there's more to it than this. Every action relies on huge amounts of background work and research, the essential efforts of our valued volunteers, and of course donations - as we don't take money from governments, companies or political parties, we need the generosity of individuals to keep on campaigning.
Back to the films - I'd seen them before, but no-one else in the audience had. So, it was really good to know that our film are effective. How do I know that? Well, the 'wows', 'cools', and 'sharp intakes of breath around the room were a pretty good indicator. The discussions about the issues in the films soon started - the 'Story' showed the dumping of huge barrels of nuclear waste into the sea which led to the inevitable questions, "What happens to them?" "Do they leak?" "Are they still down there?" 'Mind Bomb' helped to answer these questions with footage showing a few that had been retrieved and yes they do leak, and our actions helped stop this practice. So, why not bring a film along to your local group by laptop (there are much shorter videos you could use), or organise a showing near you? Events like this are social and entertaining, but more than that they inspire and inform.
Thanks go to Aalex for organising the event, Trevor for providing the projector and The Hobbit for the free loan of their downstairs bar! For more, have a look at the video on this page - Greenpeace's 'Year in Pictures 2011', and if you're not already a volunteer, get active!
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