Film screenings are reel motivators

Rather than flier on Bruin Walk or welcome guest speakers to their weekly meetings, many political-action clubs on campus have found a new way to spread the word about their cause.

Numerous student groups, such as Students Promoting Awareness in North Korea (SPANK), Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and Bruins for Animals (BFA), are using film to reach a broader audience and spread their message throughout the UCLA community.

Films are more effective than the typical presentation or lecturer because they remove students from their usual element, explained SPANK founder and director Christine Bae.

“Through film we are using something other than the typical classroom setting and lecture,” she said. “We are using something to capture (students’) attention and really get them plugged in.”

Tami Lin, cochair of RAN, echoed Bae, saying that using films to promote a cause can be more effective.

“You go to class everyday and listen to lectures for hours on end,” Lin said. “When you have a screening, you can market it as entertainment.”

While SPANK, a group new to campus this year, only screens films, other groups like BFA hold weekly meetings and participate in an array of other activities throughout the school year. At meetings, BFA members discuss issues related to the animal movement in an open forum and watch video clips.

Lisette Molina, president of BFA, said screenings attract broader audiences because watching a film is less of a commitment than attending formal meetings.

“Screening a documentary is not intimidating; (students) can passively get the information,” she said. Molina also explained that students who attend a screening are not obligated to stay until the end, and they feel comfortable leaving if they are not enjoying the film.

Screenings not only draw a larger turnout than weekly meetings, but also cause students to become emotionally and personally attached to the topic being discussed.

Bae explained that showing a student a film about North Korea is much more powerful than describing the situation.

“In the film we showed on campus there is a clip of a two-year-old girl and her mother. They are trying to make it through a gate to the Chinese embassy and the soldiers are physically dragging the child back,” she said. “Describing (this scene) doesn’t have the same effect as actually watching it.”

Molina said watching the injustices that are done to specific animals helps students become fully aware of the situation.

“Our issue is the pain and suffering of another being, and by seeing it you make an emotional connection. You are not just hearing about it.” Molina explained that “Earthlings,” the film that BFA shows about once a school year, is particularly powerful. “People are bawling in the middle of it, some people walk out and most people are really impacted.”

BFA has experienced an increase in student involvement as a result of screening “Earthlings,” a documentary about the use of animals in the entertainment industry. Molina explained that people want to get involved after watching the documentary because it changed the way they see animals.

This involvement is exactly what SPANK, RAN and other student groups said they hope to experience as a result of their film screenings.

“This year we are going to focus on using visual things to get huge numbers of people. If people don’t know what (the cause) is about, they are not going to get involved,” Bae said. She hopes to educate the student population this year through film so that next year the group will be prepared to organize protests, send letters to congressmen and support politicians and lobbyists. “Our goal is to raise awareness in a big way,” she said.

While these clubs generally consider film screenings to be a way to successfully achieve their overall goals, club leaders expressed a frustration in the actual process of selecting which films to screen. For example, Bae explained that because of the numerous censorship laws enforced by the North Korean government, there are only a few documentaries that discuss human rights issues. SPANK ends up screening the same select films numerous times throughout the year.

While other groups do not face the difficulties associated with censorship laws, they struggle in choosing films that appeal to a broad audience. Club leaders explained it is easy to find documentaries that interest members, but when holding screenings intended for larger audiences they try to select more entertaining or captivating films.

RAN has screened both “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and CNN’s documentary, “Planet in Peril.” She explained that the screening of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” had a larger turnout partly because more people had heard of it, but also because “Planet in Peril” is a CNN documentary, which she said may have immediately disinterested students.

While film screenings in general generate better attendance than mundane lectures, choosing entertaining films is key to maintaining a student following.

“Entertainment can be educational,” Lin said.

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