Occupy Unmasked

Of course partisans for one side or the other will judge this video on ideological grounds, I think I can say objectively it's a pretty good, though slanted, documentary on the ephemeral Occupy movement which appeared and disappeared in a relatively short period of time, full of sound and fury, signifying...what? The movie explores that question. "Occupy Unmasked" is better than just a polemic, it is very effective in showing just how inarticulate, destructive, and frankly, just plain fatuous the Occupy movement was. How the encampments were a breeding ground for filth, crime and disease and how it ended leaving piles of fetid trash and millions of dollars of damage to local businesses, and to public parks and buildings. There is a lot of detailed information here and the graphics are electrifying. It's a fun video to watch.

What it shows is the American left in the 2st century, adrift in a sea of slogans and political and historical ignorance. Gone are the clearly defined goals of the old communists and socialists. Participants in the demonstrations can hardly articulate what it's all about, they appear tongue-tied when trying to answer the simplest question about what they want or what the aims of the movement are. Their main aim seems to be to cause as much violence and disruption as possible and then see themselves on the evening news. They never get beyond, "Hate the rich!" and "Capitalism sucks!" Mostly the demonstrators were privileged white kids who were taking some time off and thought the government should forgive their student loans. Perhaps they believe that if they can cause the collapse of the current system something new and wonderful will emerge from the ashes. Because they're so poorly educated they don't realize how often that's been tried before with disastrous results.

I think this is a very good film on a subject that could have been ruined with too much heavy-handed polemic and paucity of information. It could have been pretty awful and I would have said so despite my personal antipathy toward the infantile and destructive tactics of the demonstrators. I think most people who aren't committed leftists will enjoy it because of the skill and drama with which it's realized.

You just cannot argue with actual video footage of "occupy" members who declare themselves to be socialists as they block streets and leave piles of their trash almost everywhere they have been.

When a video documents the facts (700 arrests for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge) then that video is serving a valuable purpose for those of us who don't pay much attention to the East coast news.

Likewise, when a female interviewer asks a group of protesters why they are there--and the answer is "...for $60 dollars a day." at about the 31:24 mark. Just prior to that another protester at the event doesn't know what her sign says or how it applies.

This documentary could have been done better by just a few interviews with the people in Portland that had to tear down the filthy tents and wash off the human urine and feces from the street- -or even those who had to treat the increased rat problem (at about 41:35).

It's not a perfect video, but a little investigation into this 'movement' and you will have a good overview of their philosophy and purpose.

two groups will watch this:

1. Breitbartians who believe his bizarrely vengeful, unrelenting attacks (FBI snitch Brandon Darby* was heavily involved here, with a personal vendetta against his former comrades who (surprise!) voiced anger upon learning of their misplaced trust in a manipulative informant)on the Occupy movement. 2. Occupiers looking for a laugh and a chance to see their friends who were clueless enough to respond to leading "interviews" and were rewarded by being taken out of context.

For the rest of the world--even those who opposed Occupy--the premise that the movement had vast, sinister implications is too silly to spend time on. Whether it be Tea Party or OWS, intensely partisan interests just can't help stretching their distaste for the politics of the OTHER into unbelievable narratives. Those of us who harbor a healthy distrust for our UNrepresentative government won't be swayed by such overt maneuvers to divide and conquer.

*For more on Brandon Darby, I highly recommend the documentary "Better this World"

are you kidding me? this must be the most one sided doc that i have ever seen.. I am not even close to being part of the occupy movement, but understand their reasons... when the main spokes person in here says "occupy are revolutionists and thats not the American way, amercicans help each other" i turned it off... what an ignorant a55.. there was an entire war called the revolutionary war... which started from riots and being mistreated by gov. our founding fathers would be disappointed with how much we are taxed today and how much power the gov has.. if we cant rise up and have a revolution, then we are in a policed state and we have no real rights except the ones the gov gives us.. i don't agree with everything occupy says, but the fact that this doc is out, i am starting the be more sided with occupy

The bias is so clear and prevalent in this documentary that a message is barely said clearly. The documentary does do a good job showing how unorganized this movement is (which even 'leaders' of anonymous would say that there is no one motive). However, the documentary ends with the narrator screaming at random people to stop raping people. Because two people were raped on the streets being occupied during the long protest he accused all the protesters of rape, screaming "STOP RAPING THE PEOPLE". Are you kidding me? Occupy Wallstreet was not a perfect protest by far but somehow making it seem like some rape driven epidemic is moronic and insensitive. College campuses and prisons have massive issues with rape and its a childish and disrespectful jab to call the occupy protesters rapists.