I was wondering what was happening with Ms. Arundhati Roy of late, because I adore her storytelling, commend her brave activism and eloquence, celebrate her beauty and truth, and hadn’t heard much about her lately. So, intending to find out, the intertubes delivered much more than I anticipated.
First, Roy is the award-winning author of The God of Small Things, one of the most poetic novels ever written. I had read somewhere that she ruminated on the story and wrote one page a day, never revising it after that page was written. Ever. Crazy, huh? And this prose…I tell you…’tis glorious. I remember, too, reading a Q&A with Ms. Roy which gave the impression that she may never write another book. I am delighted to discover she has recently announced the beginnings of her second novel.
And the news just kept getting better, more mysterious, and intriguing, as Google served up more tidbits relating to Ms. Roy as I searched. Sometime in 2006, the webmaster of resistinc.org, Geoff, received a film with an anonymous note that read:
Feel free to pass this on to others who you know will be interested in its relatively unique content and perspectives (either by copying this DVD, dubbing to VHS, by dissemination through internet download, holding private screenings etc). Using the technology of this information age you have the freedom to be as imaginative as you like in the different ways which you can choose to make this accessible to others.
Geoff said that, “after seeing the film, we felt it was very important, cool, and overall just a fantastic piece of work. So a couple months ago, weroy.org was created to assist the efforts that others put forth in getting this free documentary seen by the citizens of the world.”
The film is described* as “this…unusual kind of underground production. An anonymous sympathiser has edited a video recording of Roy’s speech over 64 minutes, interspersing an impressive array of archival footage to illustrate themes and specific historical events. Contemporary music overlaid throughout the piece shifts the mood and quickens the pace. The result is a visual essay rather than a traditional documentary, perfectly suited to its creator’s intentions, which is to spread the anti-imperialist, social justice politics of Arundhati Roy everywhere.”
It is a free documentary, created by the anonymous filmmaker named “Anon”. He speaks of his inspirations of the film beyond Arundhati Roy’s speeches and his process, among other very human, emotional, and intellectual topics. His statement, “News is now really only a business – and that means big trouble for everyone,” pretty much sums it up, if a complex and engrossing film like ‘We” is only to be summed up. You can view ‘We’ through many different providers. I encourage you to do so. It is outstanding, poignant, and important. Long live truth, passion, activism, and the people’s use of the intertubes.
*on the weroy.org site, no credit was provided of the speaker