Identity In The Weather Underground

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The Weather Underground The Weather Underground is a documentary from 2002, directed by Sam Green and Bill Siegel, that gives an insight to the homonym social movement started and developed at the end of the 1960s. The Weather Underground has been for many years one of the most active organization in the American scenario. Born as a division of the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) in 1969, the Weather Underground or Weathermen as they called themselves inspired by a Bob Dylan’s song, quickly obtained a large consent and support among the left-winged youths. They were protesting the injustice and violence of the Vietnam War. Since the very beginning, the movement has embraced an active and at times violent line of action; emblematic are the so-called “Days of Range,” the first militant act brought out by the Weathermen. Their deeds were often in support of other organizations, such as the Black Panthers …show more content…

Even if in the case of the Weather Underground the characteristics listed above are all present, this analysis cannot be considered completely accurate. In fact, not always conflict is needed for a movement to form and not all movements are characterized by a hierarchy. However, this model captures the essence of the social movement, which is the collective identity among the members. Furthermore, another crucial characteristic of social movements is continuity. In fact, it is only through continuative actions that a movement builds a distinctive identity. For instance, the modus operandi of the Weather Underground, which operated on American soil from 1969 till 1977, was to place bombs in symbolic locations and revendicate the attack shortly before the detonation to be sure there was time to evacuate the area and avoid possible casualties