During the infamous World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in November 1999, TV viewers around the world were treated to explosive footage of small bands of would-be anarchists smashing Starbucks windows and engaging in confrontations with the police. Trade Off, Shaya Mercer's documentary about the protests, gives audiences an alternate and well-balanced view of what happened. Most importantly, Mercer chooses to focus on the months of planning that proceeded the protests, shedding light on the diversity and intelligence of the organizers behind the event. College students, Teamster boss Jim Hoffa, representatives of French farmers' unions, and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore are all given screen time, as are the Seattle citizens who question the protests, and the police who nervously prepare to come face to face with rioters. As a kind of epilogue to the action, the smaller but no less passionate WTO protests that occurred the following April are shown, leaving viewers with the sense that Mercer is intent on giving us the message that this is an issue that will not simply evaporate.
by Rebecca Flint Marx
synopsis
