The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, is a timely spin on a courtroom drama, focusing on the protests against the Vietnam War that gained national prominence in 1965 in the United States. The seven defendants (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines and Lee Weiner) had been indicted for conspiracy and intention to incite violence when riots against the police in Chicago took a bloody turn. On the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, rallies and demonstrations were held in the vicinity of the location organised by the leftist Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Youth International Party (Yippies) who were ideologically opposed to the then President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies on the Vietnam War and his announcement to strengthen the presence of American troops in the region, a number which was approaching 50,000 with more and more killed and injured daily.

"I think the institutions of our democracy are wonderful things that right now are populated by some terrible people. We carried ideas across state lines. Not machine guns or drugs or little girls."

The movie highlighted the growing influence of the liberals and radical left during the “cultural revolution” that sent shockwaves throughout the West, even including an argument championed by Tom Hayden (played by Eddie Redmayne) on how a revolution simply based on ideology would distract from real, political revolution. This was also achieved by displaying a constant tension throughout the movie between himself and Abbie Hoffman, a fellow defendant and co-founder of the Yippies, due to a divergence in their conflicting ideologies. The film, additionally, portrayed many prominent historical figures, including Allen Ginsburg, whose rather short lived role was fused with hilarity. While the movie was highly dramatized and was not completely factually accurate, with the existence of Daphne, the undercover law enforcement officer, being an invention of the playwright, and other such details, for the sake of entertainment, the film could be categorized more as an artistic endeavor that succeeds at highlighting pertinent themes rather than accepting it as a transcript right out of history.

The actors working on this film gave absolutely brilliant performances. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s antagonistic role as a federal prosecutor allowed him greater dimensions in the portrayal of his subtle and growing disgust for the institution he works for, which becomes evident as he puts forward a motion for Bobby Seale’s mistrial, and in the end, reclaims his humanity as he stands in solidarity with the Seven, even when his colleagues leave the courtroom. Abby Hoffman and Jerry Rubin’s hilarious acts of outright contempt against the court helped accurately set the mood for their youth oriented organisation, which was spirited in counter-culture. The crux, the very essence of the movie, rests on its anti-establishment sentiments. Tom Hayden’s haunting flashback of the police officers taking off their badges and name tags from their uniforms before attacking the fleeing protestors could be a symbol of their horrifying intentions and clear abuse of power. In this way, the film carries grave political relevance, even in the current climate, with police brutality being a major theme in the 2020 United States Presidential Elections. The Black Lives Matter protests that took the nation, and the entire world, by thunder this year were stirred by the prevalent and systemic racial inequality in law enforcement, and the outrageous violence brought along with it. Racism was a major overlying theme in the movie itself, as the notorious Judge Hoffman repeatedly denied Bobby Seale, the only black defendant, his right to counsel or to argue his own defence in court. The fact that he had been indicted at all, despite having very little contact with the Seven or a major part in the riots, is a testament to the intensely political nature of the trial. The mistreatment of Bobby Seal, the murder of Fred Hampton, and the prosecution’s unwarranted target on the Black Panther Party are all evidence of how little has changed in this respect in over 50 years.

By extension, further forms of inequality and discrimination have been addressed in this movie as well. This was done by showing the violent target on the back of women supporting this movement due to their perceived vulnerability in scenes such as the one in which Bernadine, a receptionist for the Conspiracy Office receives a sexually threatening phone call. This is further showcased in the scene where a woman standing on someone’s shoulder in a march, carrying a flag over her head, is a picture of power and poise, and is later tackled by frat boys in an attempted rape.

“WE HAVE TO PROTEST NEAR THE HILTON BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE THE CAMERAS ARE”

The protestors chased the cameras, the attention, the need for the world to know what was going on. Today, there is a camera right in every one of our hands, waiting to record moments in history for everyone to see. Cultural revolution can never stop and “the whole world is watching!”