http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/world+trade+organization/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3912/sleepwalking_through_seattle/ About halfway through Battle in Seattle, writer/director Stuart Townsend's cinematic dramatization of the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle, a group of activists are watching a local TV station's coverage of the explosive events on the streets. Upon hearing the confrontations between the protesters and the police dubbed "The Battle in Seattle," one of the activists derisively scoffs, "Battle in Seattle? Sounds like a monster truck show!" The statement's implicit critique -- of a mainstream media that prefers hyping the salacious rather than examining the substance of complex events, thus reducing them to simplistic, binary clashes -- is on-target. But it's hard to overlook that this scornful line is delivered in a film that is itself titled "Battle… Seattle protests World Trade Organization movies Rachel Jefferson