We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists

Saw this on Twitter:

AnonyOps_ Anonymous
youtube.com/user/WeAreLegi… We are legion, Documentary on #Anonymous #anonyops
1 minute ago

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists - Trailer

Uploaded by WeAreLegionDoc on Nov 4, 2011

We Are Legion is a documentary about Anonymous and the history of hacktivism. We are currently in the process of shooting and editing and hope to be finished in early 2012. Expect updates!

http://www.luminantmedia.com/

interesting vid

expect us.

Gawker story: http://gawker.com/5856812/

Interesting video in OP. Worth watching. Some familiar faces in there.

Quoting from that article:

"Slated for a 2012 release, the movie's being produced by the Los Angeles outfit Luminant Media and is directed by documentarian Brian Knappenberger."

fwiw
vid transcription in progress

Would be nice to attach a few more names of known individuals (unfortunately not known by me.)

^ interesting. No mention of Anonymous' numerous mistakes and failures, tho.

That is all lol

Dang. I'll get right on that for you.

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists (SXSW 2012) takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film traces the collective's evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach. In the last year, Anonymous has been associated with attacks or “raids” on hundred’s of targets ranging from financial institutions, cyber-security firms to foreign dictators. They played a vital role in the “Occupy” movement and recently launched the largest DDoS attacks in history against Hollywood for their support of SOPA.

Armed with colleagues from the filmmaking and digital communities, writer/director Brian Knappenberger weighs in on the challenges of making the film, the roots of Anonymous, and their current battles with Hollywood.

Presenters

MODERATOR
Brian Knappenberger
Dir WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists

Peter Fein
Telecomix
I'm a human. I wear pants.

Gregg Housh
Gregg Housh is an Internet Activist involved with the online non-group Anonymous. His work has included coordinating global demonstrations against human rights abuses in the Church of Scientology and assisting Iranian members of the Green Movement in reaching the global media. He has built a strong sense of trust among several disparate subgroups of Anonymous and uses this to help act as a media interpreter for major online initiatives. When the sh*t hits the fan, the press usually call Gregg.

Tuesday, March 13

11:00AM -12:00PM

Austin Convention Center
Room 18ABCD
500 E Cesar Chavez St

Type
Panel

Level
Intermediate

http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_FP990322

I m not sure we need any story, nor any adds. I would say the spirit of Anons is only to stay as we are all: free. My conception of the Anons is only to fight against the right to get access to the knowledge via the Internet. We are supposed to be united as one, and divided by zero. We are supposed to act whenever liberty is in trouble. We are supposed to be as wise as possible. We are supposed to be a wind, the wind of justice.
For all of this, I am not favorable to this kind of media event. It is my opinion that we should currently promote "Black March" Ops in our own country, to our family, to our best friends, to our colleagues if they can be sufficiently opened-minded.

I am Anonymous, I ll stay Anonymous, and I am happy to hear from you, Citizens of the World

TYPO IN PREVIOUS MESSAGE - OBVIOUS

"to fight anythings that counter the right to get access to the knowledge via the Internet"

A word to complete my opinion.
Generally speaking, I think we need to promote our movement to people who are not especially using the Internet, but who are aware that the digital era is the future, and the way children will now learn and meet with the knowledge.
Peaceful actions as Black March are key for us, as they demonstrate that we are not only what the authorities are showing via some corrupted media.
We are the 99%, and I am convinced our intention is to maintain -or get- the freedom to learn, the possibility to grant access to the information, to the truth.

Remember what is the Trinity

Which is what, again? I forget...

Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

@OP: do you have a teaser or a vid? It'd be moar meaningful.

I'm glad Gregg will be there to tell them about our fight against the cult of scientology...

See the trailer here: https://whyweprotest.net/community/threads/we-are-legion-the-story-of-the-hacktivists.95867/

@Anonymous

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons (Greek: ὑποστάσεις):[1] the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial (Greek: ὁμοούσιοι). Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being (Greek: οὐσία).[2] The Trinity is considered to be a mystery of Christian faith.

This is wiki.

Now, if I had to give my own conception of it -I do not believe in any cult-, I would say our differences, and our multiple capabilities, make us as one "god" of the Internet if we can work together, to listen to each other. That's only what I meant.
And yes, I like lulz and others more funny subjects !

@ Paroxetine Samurai

Thanks for this, I m particularly dumb sometimes

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought it was the fodder, the sock and the mickey most.

Hopefully I am there for you, then. Glad to navigate with you next Ops.

Cole Stryker is doing a book signing at SXSW: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_OE01695

Tuesday, March 13, 5:15PM - 5:30PM in the Ballroom G Foyer at the Austin Convention Center.

I hate to be dick, but you seriously have not seen anything yet. Anything to said now will pale in comparison. To all those saying not defining anonymous concretely is best I agree. The history of anonymous that has taken place is great but the possibilities of digital and information 'warfare' and activism has yet to reach its peak. And when you got the developers of the latest technology being members of anonymous its really limitless. Intelligent minds broken away from corporate, government and cult influences, only bound together by the deep desire for liberation and respect of human rights will make the skies burn with revolution and suffocate all oppressors breathless.

Oh, you.

Bump.
Movie premieres in SXSW
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/312...hackers-hacks-hacktivist-sxsw-documentary.htm

http://www.kutnews.org/post/rick-rolling-revolution-story-anonymous

Death and Taxes: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/180...e-story-of-the-hacktivists-premieres-at-sxsw/

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/13/tech/web/anonymous-sxsw/

Wiseman.

http://www.kutnews.org/post/rick-rolling-revolution-story-anonymous

http://techpresident.com/news/21922/split-southwest-my-sxsw-2012-diary

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/135909-south-by-southwest-gets-a-dose-of-occupation/

Even before Occupy protesters rallied on Sixth Street last Friday — bandanas wrapped around their grills, middle fingers raised — you could easily argue that social justice was the centerpiece of South by Southwest 2012. Music is only half the story at the weeklong fest; there's also a film festival, and a parallel, nerdier conference on interactive media. And this year activism was a common thread running through them all. The film fest's hottest flick was the Anonymous documentary, We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists.

[...]

Of all the Occupiers on the scene, Boston's own Gregg Housh was the most visible. The Dewey Square do-it-all is also known for his work with Anonymous, and he came to Austin with director Brian Knappenberger, whose unreleased film, We Are Legion, features several interviews with Housh. On Tuesday, the two joined a couple of Guy-Fawkes-masked Anons for a panel discussion on the festival's runaway hit, and to address how, as an Anon panelist from Occupy Austin put it, so much "nerd rage" evolved into the most widespread force against oppression in recent history.

We Are Legion is a threat to anyone who would wish to suppress political or artistic expression. Dramatic and inspiring, it's sure to invigorate many more "nameless, faceless mercenaries of free speech," as McGill University media professor Gabriella Coleman defines Anons in the film. But at its core, the doc is a comprehensive portrayal of Anonymous, its outlandish battles, and how the collective sprung from MIT hacker ingenuity to later incubate itself in the esoteric, oftentimes crude bowels of the Internet.

Knappenberger began filming in late 2010. By that time, the leaderless Anonymous had already transformed from being solely out for lulz, to also being interested in defending free speech and human rights. The group's 2008 war on Scientology incorporated both of those ideals, and Knappenberger does a terrific job of explaining the culture from which that campaign spawned, as well as its real world resonance — all told in a way that even Web pedestrians can comprehend. Through interviews with Housh and others, and with footage from demonstrations worldwide, We Are Legion argues that the anti-Scientology protest was the fastest-spreading demonstration in history at the time, as well as a movement that had significant influence on subsequent Arab Spring and Occupy actions.

Despite the warm reception, Knappenberger isn't sure yet if he's done with We Are Legion. Developments continue to unfold; in January, during the same week that he unveiled his project the Sundance Film Festival, Anonymous led a monumental distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against agencies and entities that supported the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). More recently, less than a week before SXSW, the FBI revealed that Anon instigator Hector Xavier Monsegur, known as Sabu, was working as an informant. But while closure is elusive, Legion's immediate relevance is a good problem to have.

"The fact that it was the most well-attended film of SXSW this year just speaks to the fact that people are ready for the kind of action shown in the film," says Housh. "I came away with a real sense that the film connected with the audience, and a hope that the connection leads to real action."

[...]

Days before, Knappenberger said he has to eventually stop adding onto We Are Legion, but that it seems "like every time [there's] a major screening, something big happens." At this point, it looks like he might just have to make a sequel.

You can watch the panel online here: http://blip.tv/zgraphix/we-are-legion-digital-r-evolution-sxsw-2012-6030961

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/04/samantha-murphy-contributorit-is-the.html

http://thetfs.ca/2012/04/25/review-we-are-legion-the-story-of-the-hacktivists-hot-docs-2012/

Anonymous’ attacks on the Church of Scientology are what put them on the map publicly, and much of the second act of the film is focused on this turning point in their history. The reason behind the protest was due to the Church’s attempt to censor content taken from their website and posted on 4chan. In the process of them attempting to threaten users with legal action, they gave Anonymous a cause. To this day, if you walk past the Scientology center in Toronto, you can often still see flyers and protesters from Anonymous outside. (Writer’s note: To any members of Anonymous who may be reading this, despite my last name I have no ties to the church of Scientology. Now that I’ve seen how you work I thought I should clarify because you guys scare me.)

Though the documentary may ultimately serve to strike fear into the hearts of the less initiated, warning them about the powers of these hacktivists and that it’s possible for anyone to have their privacy compromised, there is an underlying positive message. Many people are quick to dismiss this generation of the internet age as apathetic, and incapable of connecting to others on the same level as generations before. This documentary shows that this is not the case, but that this generation’s political expression will just take place in a different form. We no longer have to band together in the streets with signs, we can now use the Internet as a venue for not only obtaining and sharing information, but also using it as a forum for political change.

http://www.nowtoronto.com/guides/hotdocs/2012/story.cfm?content=186433

Brian Knappenberger’s film about tech-savvy activist organizations like Anonymous, WikiLeaks, and LulzSec is a nimble, multi-faceted look at the formation of leaderless global protest movements in the last decade or so.

Enabled by the web’s connectivity and protected, mostly, by its anonymity, the hacktivists are a fluid and effective force – though, as Knappenberger points out, their inevitably self-righteous world view means they keep splintering apart as some members seize upon a new cause in which others aren’t interested.

Knappenberger sees hacktivism as positive – restoring the net to a convulsing Egypt during the Arab Spring, for example – but doesn’t shy away from the personal cost of armchair action, as when a Nebraska man finds himself facing federal prison time for helping take down the Church of Scientology’s website over a weekend in 2008.

Speaking of Scientology, this film will also be a great help to anyone wondering why all those people in Guy Fawkes masks keep lining up in front of the organization’s offices on Yonge Street.