"The Battle in Seattle" Analysis

(1) What do the authors see as most significant about the events of the "Battle in Seattle"?

• They are arguing that in order for your protest to be successful you need to have media coverage. In order to have coverage from the media, it seems to be that you need violence; however, you need a certain kind of violence. Violence by the police (like the protest in Washington DC) will not be covered at all or as extensively in comparison to symbolic anarchist violence, which is what was observed in Seattle

(2) What data are being used to make their argument? List the different types of reasons/evidence and summarize what they say

• Statistics on coverage of the Seattle Protests (pg. 194)
• Symbolic anarchist violent gains significant coverage
• Statistics on coverage of the protests in Washington DC (pg. 195)
• Violence with characterics not symbolic of anarchist violence gains very little coverage

(3) Are the data/reasons/evidence from #2 being used in a way that your group thinks is effective/legitimate/persuasive

• Although the essay begins with a biased approach, utilizing vocabulary designed to evoke emotional imagery (ex. "goose stepping"), the use of statistics is less arguable in its logical approach. This data supports their claims and is much more persuasive (especially to an audience that may be disinclined to agree with their arguments) than appeals to pathos

(4) What are the section's main points/takeaways?

• "The point of this essay  has been to explore the constraints and opportunities of the public screen..." (pg. 199)

(5) Do you agree with these claims/conclusions?

• The data does support the claims made, as they pertain to this particular protest. The use of a case study can highlight themes that may commonly occur within a certain field of study; however, it is unlikely that there are no exceptions or alternate theories/themes concerning  protests and media coverage. Or, the extent to which their claims can be applied (the timeline of a protest, type of protest, how extensive the protest is, etc.) should be more clearly stated or further studied