A Rebel: Saul Alinsky

I must admit, before this assignment I had never heard of Saul Alinsky. This documentary, surprisingly, really pulled me in. I will admit that I typically fall on the conservative side of things. Instantly, the way the narrator described Alisnky and they way people viewed him, I thought politics were going to be the main focus of the documentary, which would have turned me off to it. However the message and theme of the documentary was less about politics and much more about community, which I really enjoyed.

Quick Summary

Saul Alinsky was born on the west side of Chicago in 1909. Growing up in the city, Alinsky lived through some of the hardest times of the Great Depression. He graduated with a degree in criminology, however believed that he could make a much greater impact working with communities. This decision was proceeded by somewhat of an undercover operation. In order to learn more about gang activity, Alinsky entrenched himself within the mafia in Chicago. While there he realized that not just gang activity, but crime in general, was all a product of poverty and powerlessness. From here he shifted his focus to strengthening communities. The documentary outlines his early works with The Back of the Yard Neighborhood Council, The Woodlawn Organization, and FIGHT. The last half of the documentary shows the footprint that Alinsky left. Through his thoughts and ideas, as well the teachings that he founded, communities are standing up for what is rightfully theirs.

Philosophy and Technique

Early on in the documentary, they alluded to Alinsky's work with both the Back of the Yard Neighborhood and The Woodlawn Organization. These two organizations were similar in their make up and approach. He devised a plan to add together all types of people people from the community, regardless of there beliefs. The common belief that they had, was that the community deserved the power. From here Alinsky just had to take a back seat. The passion showed by the community members took off, and the organizations thrived. With the FIGHT organization however, I believe Alinsky's ideas shown through a little stronger. It may have just been the heat of the issue, but the idea that conflict is necessary for progress was never clearer with this movement. Alinsky served as an inspirational figure, to a group that he seemingly would have clashed with. By building up massive amounts of power, he could strategically strike at the heart of these issues. If it were a politician or an organization, acting as a road block to community health, he would devise a plan to disassemble their power. Such actions are bound to take criticism, however, like many folks in the film said, without them, nothing would have changed.


Quotes

The assignment asked for quotes, however there was only one that completely resonated with me. In an effort to stress this I decided to list it by itself. Because throughout the entire film, it was the strongest message I received.

"Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict"

Thoughts

I viewed the film as very moving and inspirational. As I mentioned earlier, I was afraid it was going to end up being too political. However the views discussed were heavily focused on the development of the community. I think it is very important for communities to be heard and supported. The other part I took away from this film is that conflict is a necessary evil. My personality is one that typically shys away from confrontation, so this is something I will continue to be aware of. Like Saul stated, "Change means movement, movement means friction."