For this months’ post, I highlight a short film made
by the assistant editor of the Sitges
Quarterly magazine, Gloria Gannaway. Although uploaded on YouTube roughly
two months ago, it is a very interesting proposition in light of the political situations
in Spain, Britain, the European Union and in the United States.
Of course, any government of a “western” country
uses a system of governance (democracy, communism etc.), and employs an economic
system based on the main ones taught in school being, capitalism or socialism
just to name a few. One such ideology missing from my education was Anarchism.
Anarchism is the belief in the abolition of all government and the organization
of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or
compulsion.
It wasn’t until I saw “The Anarchist in Me”,
when I realized what a philosophy or movement it was. The film presents many
personal perspectives and ideas people have and incorporate into their way of
living.
According to Gannaway—“The Anarchist in Me” is
a thirty-minute documentary about the Bound
Together Anarchist Collective Bookstore and annual San Francisco Anarchist Book Fair in San Francisco, California. It
takes a look at anarchism today in the U.S. through interviews with people of
diverse age and background who are involved in the bookstore or the book fair.
They talk about the importance of the bookstore and the book fair, what
anarchism means to them, and why they call themselves anarchists.
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| The Bound Together Bookstore |
Given the misleading stereotypes of anarchists
disseminated by the media and the general lack of knowledge about or interest
in anarchism in the U.S., this short film can serve as an introduction for
people by listening to a variety of anarchists speak briefly and simply about
their own ideas and personal objectives.
A common response among
those who have seen the film is that it has made them interested in anarchism
and made them want to learn more. It was surprising to some in that the ideas
of anarchism are so familiar to them, and not so far removed from what they
themselves think.
Bound Together: The Anarchist in Me
Where
we are today, politically…
In Sitges last May (2015), Miquel Forns was
re-elected to serve another term running until 2019. He has formed a new
coalition municipal government for the legislative period 2015-2019, overseeing
social policies, economic development, culture and sovereignty consisting of
five regidores (councilors) from his party, Convergència i Unió; Sitges en
Positiu, Capgirem Sitges and ERC have three regidores each, Nou Horitzó has two
regidores, while Sitges Grup Independent and the PP each have one.
