MEDIA ROOTS — The 1980s anti-communist film Red Dawn is a favorite among the liberty movement and any paleo-convervatives whom support big government. The cult film portrays a youthful resistence movement that formed in response to a full-scale military invasion of the United States by a communist nation.
Thirty years later, the upcoming independent film Gray State has recently released a concept trailer which puts a fresh spin on the martial law scenario featured in Red Dawn. In this scenario, militas form in order to fend off the U.S. military and other federal agents from taking advantage of declared martial law. As the trailer progresses, the savior against Big Brother becomes a rag-tag group of thirty-something, gruff-looking, alpha-male milita fighters organized to take on American “peacekeepers.”
The movie intends to shed light on the impending power of the federal government and many facets of an increased domestic police state, but it seems to fall into the fantasy pipe dream that with the citizenery armed, it can defend itself against the most technologically-advanced military force in the world.
Most three-act films end on some kind of cathartic or happy ending, one where the protagonist prevails and the viewer leaves the theatre fufilled–so I understand why the filmmakers didn’t end the film with a more realistic outcome. However, if the scenario portrayed in Gray State were to actually occur, there would be little room left for happiness. The most realistic ending would leave one possibly very helpless for guns alone will not save American society.
Regardless, the trailer has a lot of high quality visuals and special effects. We hope the filmmakers complete the project with a strong script and in the end don’t force in a happy ending. Check it out below as well as a mini documentary featuring interviews with activists and journalists explaining the concept behind the film.
Robbie Martin for Media Roots.
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The film Gray State recently released its first concept trailer and is scheduled for release later this year.
Abby Martin, along with other independent journalists, discuss the scope and importance of the film Gray State.
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Photo by Flickr user Alexhophotography
By the way I like your website and your intentions. I like any person who has the courage to speak out, document, and help expose the corruption and tyranny in government. I wouldn’t have been on your website to begin with if I didn’t. That’s why it shocked me when I (misunderstood) thought that it appeared that you were against gun rights. It’s good to know that I was wrong.
Don’t forget, I commenting on your article about the documentary.
Events that are described in the documentary are highly unlikely to happen and the point that I was trying to make is that if they were to happen, and the Government was to perhaps end up declaring martial law with citizens, They would loose!
Your defense was based on the current conditions in America, you pointed out the extent of American ignorance and sheep.
You are very correct. Right now, American’s are completely incapable of resisting Tyranny. However in the Documentary we are talking about martial law and civil war like conditions.
When it comes right down to it and people are actually experiencing those conditions, they will wake up real quick and fight back. When they start loosing family members that disappear and are probably taken by federal agents or when they wake up to find that there life savings account has been wiped clean – they will fight!
If conditions where now as they were portrayed in the documentary, I can assure you that there would be a lot less sheep in this Country. People would wake up real quick and they get off their TV Reality shows crap and back into real reality. People respond and react a lot different in the heat of the action.
You are certainly right about the current America and that they would not resist Tyranny. But guns, as Thomas said are LAST resort against tyranny.
I would sure hope that no one would be stupid enough to go and start using their guns as a defense against tyranny right now. They will however, when the time comes.
You’re correct Robbie, firearms are just a tool that can be used for self-defense (or offense)…not some magical ingredient that will enable those of us that have them to resist tyranny. Indeed, if we wait until the time when we have no other choice but to rise in armed rebellion against an oppressive government…it will already be too late. The time to resist is now, non-violently, within the system (if not within the law) and what you and Abby are doing is just one way to do so. Indeed, what you are doing here requires infinitely more courage, dedication and hard work than hoarding guns & ammo in anticipation of some Red Dawn wet dream. Keep up the good work buddy, let’s stop tyranny before it happens…or at least before it progresses further than it already has.
Tim, to address your first comment. Where did you get the baseless idea that our site is ‘against’ gun rights? Completely not the case, I am personally very much in favor of gun rights and i wrote the article.
You are entitled to your ‘highly doubtful’ opinion about American citizens being unable to fight back against martial law in an effective way, but your statistical citations don’t do anything to prove your case.
The amount of guns owned by American non military citizens has no bearing on these same American non military citizens to band together in a cohesive manner and fend off armed soldiers.
I suppose this is where our faith in normal armed Americans ability to organize effectively against tyranny differs.
When you say America is the most armed population in the world, but then followup by saying it is also the most capable of resisting tyranny, you are making a huge logic leap.
America is also the highest consumer of television and electronic gadgets in the entire world. Our level of being self absorbed and inside our suburban home cocoons surpasses most other countries.
During the American revolution Americans didn’t live in suburbs inundating their lives with reality television and football. American’s weren’t instructed by their television sets to hate/love liberals or conservatives. We are living in a drastically different era now, where yes maybe some passionate individuals out there are willing to die for their freedoms, but to imply that every armed citizen is, and they could effectively fend off full scale military is a pipe dream. We have lost our sense of community as a population, people first and foremost will try to maintain and protect their own families. Thomas Jefferson’s quote was from a frontier era of personal responsibility, self sustainability and self righteousness. If most of America is ‘ok’ with the encroaching police state so far, what makes you think once troops are in our cities that people will all of the sudden get sick of things? We’re a nearly boiled frog, and we already had a chance to jump out of the water but we chose not to.
You’re also forgetting about the citizens who have guns who have a ‘shoot anything that moves’ mentality.
If everything goes to shit there will be many gun owners who will hold themselves up in their homes in a paranoid panic of shooting any fellow american who walks onto their property. This is just the reality. I’m not implying gun owners are bad people, I am one of them. I’m just trying to point out that holding onto these kind of fantasies just makes our ability to fight tyranny more difficult. Fighting tyranny itself is overwhelmingly difficult with guns or not.
It actually surprised me to be hearing this coming from an alternative media site. I think your site is one of the only I know of that are against gun rights. I highly doubt what you said about armed citizens not realistically being able to defend against their tyrannical government. Here’s why:
Assuming that every single U.S. military member would fight along side of the tyrannical government against U.S. citizens which I highly doubt, these are the ratios:
USA active military approximately 1,390,000
USA reserve military approximately 1,460,000 (as of 2009)
total military: 2, 850, 000
vs.
Since there is no way to get a good statistic on the number of armed citizens (We do know that for every 100 people there are 90 guns), we will look at actual true statistics of the number of Concealed Carry permits. Now don’t forget that there many, many times more people without permits that have guns. Probably like for every permit holder there are 10 non permit holder who legally own firearms.
The total number concealed carry permits in just the states of Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania are greater then the number of U.S. Military.
Fl: 944,582
PN: 786,000
GA: 600,000
TX: 420,711
total: 2, 854, 000
That is only accounting for concealed carry permit holders in only four states, and the military is already out numbered. Keep in mind that most concealed permit holders also have experience with their weapons.
America is the most armed population in the world and the also most capable of resisting a tyrannical government. Any true supporter of Liberty knows and supports the following:
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. ” –Thomas Jefferson
Tim from restrictednews