After reading and watching the film I would define activism as being part of a movement that you strongly support and strive to make a change and difference. The film I watched was United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, it was a film in which it followed the AIDS activist movement. The film has many members of the ACT UP speaking on what it was like during the movement and the unfair treatment people with aids were receiving. The documentary itself was highly informative, it highlighted the extreme levels that activists would go through to voice out their change. The first activism I seen was the demonstration they had outside the FDA building; they had successfully shut down the FDA for a day. They are demands were for the FDA to provide more drugs quickly and fairly, the FDA was ignoring all the deaths that had to do with the aids epidemic and ACT Up refused to be quiet. The activism that ACT UP demonstrated in St. Patrick’s Cathedral to some was eye-opening because not only were ACT Up there because they disagreed with John Joseph O’Connor the cardinal opinion of against safe sex, but there was also people who even though were not part of the aids movement but was part of the women right movement for the church opinion on abortions fighting the same battle of those who are in power that do not care for those that have no power. Ashamed to say I do not think I have engaged in activism as much as I would like, I have concerns and interest in some movements but do not know where or even how does it work now and days. Some people post on twitter and other places about their opinion because that is how you support a movement now and days, but I am not tech savvy and do not have twitter or somewhere online to join a community. I do in fact engage when gender justice comes up, as of right now I just share my opinion to that closes to me. In the near future I think realistically I can engage in activism around gender justice by educating myself more on where I can show up and meet new people that can introduce me to more people that are interested in the same movement. By doing this I can open myself up to more people and learn from others what I do not know and be open to different opinions. Overall, this week’s activist has encouraged me to investigate movements that I am interested in and learn about them more.
9 thoughts on “Gisselle Campos Discussion 6”
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I am very interested in watching this film now. I have in the past played a role in activism. It is amazing how many people can come together to fight for something they believe in or just justice and you get to learn so many new things from people you don’t even know.
Hello Giselle, I definitely agree with your definition of activism. An activist is part of a movement that tries to create a positive change in a social justice issue. I think the activism in ACT UP it’s admirable, a clear demonstration of how important it is to be creative and act outside the norm to actually be heard and create a change.
Hi Giselle, I enjoyed reading your post and the summary you gave of ACT UP I honestly would like to watch it sounds insightful and inspiring . I do not think I have ever really engaged in activism either I speak up if in the moment of something unjust but never really stood behind a cause for change.I also think your idea for future activism is smart and educating yourself is definitely a start.
Hi Giselle, Thanks for sharing your opinion about how you define activism. Activism is genuinely a way of changing things that we see as incorrect. It molded rights that we can say we have today, and we can continue to be influenced by engaging in change. We sometimes lose hope in different things, but with enough people who express the same kind of concern, you can push forth your opinions with enough people.
Hey Giselle, I totally agree with your definition of activism! I chose a different film to watch for this week, but I’d like to get to the rest. After reading your post I think I’ll watch that film first, you explained things really well!
I watch the same documentary as you did and I find the documentary to be interesting, people fighting for their health and for their rights, especially if it’s their loved ones! It’s a great documentary, thank you for sharing these posts I enjoy reading your posts and your thoughts about the documentary.
I totally forgot a key factor of this film was them not having twitter or really any internet for that matter. They had to do outsmart the opposition there sheer will, ingenuity and the hopes that there message would be seen around the world. Luckily there message caught on like wild fire. This was excellent and took allot of bravery to fight for not only what they believed in but the ones that were not here to fight with them
Hey Giselle, I love your honesty about not being tech savvy, as well as having interest in movements but not knowing where and how it works and your willingness to learn more from others!
Hi Giselle,
Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed reading your response. I was also a bit ashamed thinking of the things I’ve done as an activist. When I reflected I feel as though I haven’t really done enough or even really scratched the surface on fully being an activist and doing activist like things. It drives me to want to use my voice and speak more for others who aren’t heard enough. I definitely think by educating yourself more, getting involved in groups that fight for gender justice, and interacting in marches or protests is a great start to engaging in activism and specifically gender justice.