A+Version+of+Truth

The film’s version of truth is noticeably limited. The narrator himself lists several factions participating in the protests, but the interviews in the film appear to include only anti-austerity perspectives. The narrator lists five distinct groups participating in the 48-hour national protest:

Included/Acknowledged Perspectives
1. Desperadoes—The narrator describes them as normal people protesting for the first time or “noobs.”

2. Students—With the exception of a statistic stating youth unemployment is at 50%, the film provides little background information on the students. I think it's understood from this statistic that they are facing the brunt of the harm from austerity measures.

3. Anarchists—It would have been helpful if the narrator had provided some background information on the anarchists and their goals because a violent misconception exists around the idea of anarchy and anarchists.

4. Communists—The narrator describes the communists as a group of indistinguishable subgroups that include PAME. By saying the subgroups are indistinguishable, it appears as if the narrator is discarding certain beliefs and perspectives. We gain no insight into why certain the communist subgroups are indistinguishable.

5. Union Workers—The narrator states only that union workers and anarchists hate each other.

Perspectives Absent From The Film
1. Non-protesting Greeks who disagree with parliament’s austerity measures but still choose to refrain from protesting and rioting.
 * This perspective would have provided an insightful view into the Greek mindset because as the film stands, we only see anti-austerity Greeks who believe in protesting or rioting. The anarchists propose violence towards the government as the only weapon for injustice. This may or may not be true, but since the filmmakers do not include any dissenting opinions, the passive viewer is left with this perspective as the only available truth for social and economic change in Greece.

2. Non-protesting Greeks who agree with austerity measures.
 * The film presents universal agreement with Greek revolt against the austerity measures. Assuming they actually exists (a question the film does not answer), do any Greeks actually support the austerity measures? The assumption is that Greek parliament supports them, so why?

3. The Police
 * The film demonizes Greek police as Europe’s most brutal, but we never see or hear from their perspective. At one point, an anarchist says joining the police force is the only choice many people have when it comes to attaining a stable salary—so how do the police really feel about the riots and their violent role in them? Are they sympathetic and just doing their job, or do they hate the protesters?

4. Greek Parliament
 * We never hear from Greek parliament and since they are the ones signing off on the austerity bill, it is easy to associate them with greed and/or other malign intents. Do they see no other way beyond austerity or are their actions politically motivated?

5. International Perspectives
 * While international perspectives are not expected because the film is documenting Greek protests and riots in the window of 48 hours, international perspectives, especially those on bailout committees, would add insight into exactly what is happening to Greece. The Greek perspective is undoubtedly biased since it is the one experiencing a debt crisis.

Violence
Beyond the included and excluded perspectives, the edited moments of violence may obscure the truth about the protests and riots. The narrator is careful to note that he was disoriented and scared for the duration of the weekend—adding both human credibility and latitude for potential misrepresentations—but the violence is edited together in a relentless style, suggesting that the violence was brutal and endless. The viewer is only given an altered version of truth about the violence. Personally, I was surprised in the final part of the film when the narrator says only one person died from the riots. Because of the editing, I assumed many people died, and I think my impression in combination with the fact that one person died indicates a misrepresentation of truth about the weekend's violence. Despite any film's intent, filmmakers often need to sensationalize for the sake of building interest, and this film succumbs to those needs.

Even during a moment of included footage that shows police officers throwing rocks, the narrator’s voice is added to the soundtrack and the viewer’s perception of what's happening is altered: “Militarized police threw rocks at our heads.” Yes, in all likelihood police were throwing rocks at protesters, but how do we know police were throwing rocks—specifically—at the narrator's head? How do we know the police were not engaged first and defending themselves? I’m not sure the comments are meant to be taken literally, but they add to a version of truth sympathetic to the protesters and rioters, while taking away or obscuring a version of truth for the policemen.

Likewise, the narrator declares at one point that PAME had suddenly sided with the police, charging him and the rest of the crowd with mallets. We see chaos on screen at this point, but it is unclear who is attacking whom and for what. PAME's perspective would likely be different, as I'm sure they would not agree their objective was to "spread terror" among the Greeks and journalists. Sandwiched between this moment and an anarchist condemning PAME for helping police in 1995, the filmmakers include this statement from Adam: "In different times you could say this is an act of treason, or definitely an act that would mean civil war." We have no context for this statement and are unsure if it is even directed at PAME for helping the police. However, since the statement is sandwiched between condemnatory statements about PAME, the negative association is there and the audience is lead to believe that PAME helping the police, or "charing with mallets and spreading terror," is on par with treason. This is a very limited and altered version of truth that would benefit from the perspective of the police or PAME themselves.