Activism (or advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.
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It may not be as easy as one might think to overcome the legal challenges of eco-activists to prevent the destruction of a forest and the construction of a dam. We can see many examples of this in real life, in movies or on the world agenda.
An individual's action, resistance or an effort to protect their values may not make enough noise, but any kind of destructive, burning, daily life-blocking action initiated by organized groups and communities will be absolutely beneficial in achieving the desired result.
The use of illegality in such actions is one of the inevitable options because there are various ways to get someone to notice you when you want to achieve the desired result in order to make your voice heard. Unfortunately, these ways are often based on hitting, breaking, burning and blocking.
Companies/management or power holders do not have the right to resort to illegalities against the struggles of activists. You cannot overflow the law to resist the right to protest in order to preserve the status quo for present or future generations, or for other living beings such as animals and plants.
As long as society and the law are not aware of what you have done, the rules that apply can become invalid. You are innocent in the eyes of society and the law, no matter what crime you have committed, as long as you are not exposed. In other words, the appearance of the perpetrator is proof of the crime.
Infiltrating a policeman (as an activist) into the midst of those who are exercising their right to protest and are carrying out all kinds of struggles to stop the planned massacre of nature, and creating false evidence, invalidates all evidence in the face of the law as soon as it is revealed. I say as soon as it is revealed because unless it is revealed, the evidence will harm the activists and their struggle, and even bring it to a halt.
The movie Athena, which I saw a while ago, is full of similar examples and is about how dangerous it can be when society takes action. But it was not nature that was being protected or the dam that was being blocked. It was a reaction to the attempt to cover up the murder committed by a few law enforcement officers who do not recognize the law and act as mavericks, and to demand that they be punished in the face of the law.
The movie I watched today, A Place to Fight For, made in 2023, is exactly in line with what I said. It is about a company that inserts a policeman as an informant among hundreds of activists who set up camp to prevent the construction of a dam in an area of green and natural beauty, and wants to achieve its goal by producing false evidence, leaving the demonstrators in difficulty and attracting public/media support.
When you watch the movie, you come to the conclusion that you shouldn't always believe what you see. I think this judgment already exists in many areas and the movie triggers it even more. The acting of François Civil as Greg, a police informer who joins the demonstrators as an activist trying to prevent the dam construction, was good. His ability to manage the real and fake persona was flawless up to a point...
...but what I really liked was Lyna Khoudri as Myriam, with her liberated look and her natural look. I was so impressed by her that I think I will watch another movie of hers in a few days (at the first opportunity). I have already googled about it and I have a few movies on my list.
As far as I remember, the fact that Athena and A Place to Fight For were made in France shows that they are more sensitive to the issues of social demonstrations. The social demonstrations that have been going on in France in the past and in the present and their results are proof of this.
A Place to Fight For is not only full of activists preventing the construction of a dam and community-police violence, the movie also focuses on Greg & Myriam's love and the fruit of love. This makes the movie at the same time romantic and thought-provoking in terms of drama. I think you should definitely watch the movie, it is the ideal length in terms of duration and it does not get boring with its flowing feature. I wish everyone a good time, I spent 103 minutes full of fun, I hope you will too.