They called themselves the Citizens’ Committee to Investigate the FBI and in a planned raid on 8 March 1971 the group of five broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole every document and correspondence they could find. The hack was the first of its kind and made international news at the time. What followed in a series of events were leaked documents to the media – TV and newspapers – that exposed illegal activity by the FBI, including domestic surveillance, harassment and intimidation of civilians and details of America’s involvement in Vietnam. 1971 is a film about this group of ordinary citizens who in an uncanny twist never actually got caught or publicly revealed themselves until 43 years later – this is their story.
They called themselves the Citizens’ Committee to Investigate the FBI and in a planned raid on 8 March 1971 the group of five broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole every document and correspondence they could find. The hack was the first of its kind and made international news at the time. What followed in a series of events were leaked documents to the media – TV and newspapers – that exposed illegal activity by the FBI, including domestic surveillance, harassment and intimidation of civilians and details of America’s involvement in Vietnam. 1971 is a film about this group of ordinary citizens who in an uncanny twist never actually got caught or publicly revealed themselves until 43 years later – this is their story.
In 1960 the people of America were hopeful of the dawn of a new golden age. In ‘61 the very liberal and charismatic John F. Kennedy became president of the United States, he promised to eradicate injustice and inequality through a new set of laws and reforms. Then, new president Lyndon B. Johnson in ‘64 declared an end to poverty and racial intolerance. The decade looked promising - it saw feminist groups celebrate the 1963 Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act pass through congress and ‘Stonewall Rebellion’ marked the beginning of the gay rights movement. However, optimism for a new era slowly dwindled and the golden age failed to come into being after the assassination of Kennedy and then Martin Luther. King. 1968 brought the Tet offensive and the My Lai massacre and by the end of the decade the Vietnam War had reached full-scale, which would eventually divide America and its people.
John and Bonnie Raines – members of the Citizens’ committee talk in the film about the late ‘60s in America. They made the move from New York to Philadelphia, a city known at the time for its politically active folk and growing resistance movement. America was rapidly unwinding and new ways of exposing and opposing the war was what a generation was after, says Bonnie. John was a former Freedom Rider in the South and Bonnie, university educated and active in the civil rights movement – both were drawn to what was called the Catholic Left, a concept of resistance used to disrupt the military draft. This was a time of change for America that saw anti-war movements and protest gain momentum.
One critic talks about 1971 as one of the first instances of struggle between the people and government - ‘one that has waged since war overseas has dared society to question their very own neighbours’ and I would have to agree. What the 1971 raid exposed was a false history of the US, it was the opposite to what everybody had been told and in a sense for the first time the citizens of America lost faith in their government and the constitution. It also set the tone for more to come. Soon after, the Pentagon Papers blew the whistle on the Johnson administration, the discovered papers found the US had secretly upped the ante of the Vietnam War by bombing Cambodia and Laos, along with raids and attacks on Vietnam – none of which were reported in mainstream media.
1971 is a lightweight sort that tags along with the more heavy crime documentaries screening this month on Rialto. It’s an entertaining watch that has a touch of cat and mouse suspense to it. The burglary and events leading up to it is in the form of reenactment with the Muhammad Ali fight against Joe Frazer serving as a dramatic backdrop to that fateful night – this takes up a big chunk of the film. Interestingly, filmmaker, Joanna Hamilton questions where we are at today and the integrity of government at this point in time to which one of the talent comments about a culture of fear that still exists today. The film provides an insightful look back to a poignant historical moment and also gives direct context to more recent events such as the leaked NSA files by Edward Snowden. Snowden’s leaked documents in 2013 revealed numerous global surveillance programs, fuelling debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, national security and information privacy.
Screening Times:
19/03/20150 8:30pm
20/03/20150 3:45am
20/03/20150 9:05am
22/03/20150 5:05pm
07/04/20150 1:00pm
25/04/20150 4:20pm
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