"But for the most part, it has to be said that while the numbers have grown with each game, people have behaved themselves relatively well," says a reporter covering Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver. The crowds were in the thousands that day — completely expected of course, we're talking about the biggest hockey game of the season in a major Canadian city. What wasn't expected though, was the absolute mayhem that followed the game-ending horns.
As members of the Boston Bruins took their turn skating around Rogers Arena hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup overhead, shocked and devastated Canucks fans began flooding the streets. Drunken words turned into fist fights and the tipping of porta-potties devolved into vandalism of parked cars, city property and store fronts. As night fell, Vancouver was on fire.
I'm Just Here for the Riot begins with these remarkable scenes, and more than a decade on, I'm still in awe of the footage from that day. Canadians have long prided ourselves on what differentiates us from Americans, namely our polite nature and safe environment. The 2011 Vancouver Riots proved the exact opposite to be true, and eventually newspaper articles and broadcasters around the world were saying as much. The aftermath of the riots saw Vancouverites mortified and embarrassed by the state of their beloved city, as well as the global interest in what had happened.
Given the title of the documentary, the promotional images used and its inclusion in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, it would be a safe assumption to make that the film is centred around the championship finals and the riotous conclusion. And while the film does provide an oral history of what happened leading up to and during the chaos, directors Kathleen S. Jayme and Asia Youngman ultimately flip a switch and focus I'm Just Here for the Riot on the aftermath of the aftermath — the trial-by-social-media.
Back in 2011, social media as a concept was popular and growing, but nowhere near as prevalent as it is today. Facebook was the primary platform being used with users readily uploading photos from nights out and vacations, and painstakingly organizing them into albums. Perhaps it was stupid that so many of us would voluntarily submit our drunkest moments for the internet's judgment, but truthfully, it just felt like a spot of fun, and typically the only people who would see it were those in your social circle. It was this cavalier attitude that would land a whole host of people in a world of trouble after the riot, in real life and online.
The archival recordings and photos used in I'm Just Here for the Riot show a smattering of digital cameras and BlackBerry phones among the Vancouver crowd. Some people used them to take pictures of themselves in front of cars ablaze, but most had them pointed at people destroying, looting and fighting. Many of these photos would land on Facebook, Twitter and various blogs that evening, and by morning people were being named and shamed.
I'm Just Here for the Riot interviews some of those people whose faces were splashed across the internet. For many the consequences of their actions involved receiving comments and messages filled with vitriol and, in some cases, threats of violence. For others, their involvement in the riot resulted in real-life repercussions like the revocation of university acceptances, the loss of business sponsors, and even the suspension of a student athlete by their sport's governing body.
With these testimonials, Jayme and Youngman turn the camera toward the audience, asking us to ponder just how much is too much. There's no doubt that those who participated in the riot deserved to pay for their actions in some way shape or form; their barbarity was senseless and dangerous. But did they deserve to be derided so publicly and to such an extreme degree?
I'm Just Here for the Riot considers their youthfulness, emphasizing this by contrasting their present-day interviews with footage from 2011. The film also contends with social media as a mechanism whose power we didn't quite understand then. One of the interviewees goes as far to say that two riots occurred: the first on the streets of Vancouver on June 15, 2011, and the other online that started the next day.
Jayme and Youngman wisely don't provide viewers with an answer or an opinion. They present the rioter's pleas for sympathy and understanding, and a social media expert's thoughts on the effect and power of the medium without prejudice. In the same breath, the film demonstrates hooligan behaviour that few would excuse.
Ultimately, I'm Just Here for the Riot uses the Vancouver riot merely as a case study for their larger thesis. In presenting arguments for and against their premise, Jayme and Youngman offer a balanced approach in exploring the effects of social media and mob mentality, which will surely incite a debate or two.
Hot Docs Festival 2023 runs from April 27 to May 7. Get information about showtimes and tickets at the festival's website.
(ESPN Films)As members of the Boston Bruins took their turn skating around Rogers Arena hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup overhead, shocked and devastated Canucks fans began flooding the streets. Drunken words turned into fist fights and the tipping of porta-potties devolved into vandalism of parked cars, city property and store fronts. As night fell, Vancouver was on fire.
I'm Just Here for the Riot begins with these remarkable scenes, and more than a decade on, I'm still in awe of the footage from that day. Canadians have long prided ourselves on what differentiates us from Americans, namely our polite nature and safe environment. The 2011 Vancouver Riots proved the exact opposite to be true, and eventually newspaper articles and broadcasters around the world were saying as much. The aftermath of the riots saw Vancouverites mortified and embarrassed by the state of their beloved city, as well as the global interest in what had happened.
Given the title of the documentary, the promotional images used and its inclusion in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, it would be a safe assumption to make that the film is centred around the championship finals and the riotous conclusion. And while the film does provide an oral history of what happened leading up to and during the chaos, directors Kathleen S. Jayme and Asia Youngman ultimately flip a switch and focus I'm Just Here for the Riot on the aftermath of the aftermath — the trial-by-social-media.
Back in 2011, social media as a concept was popular and growing, but nowhere near as prevalent as it is today. Facebook was the primary platform being used with users readily uploading photos from nights out and vacations, and painstakingly organizing them into albums. Perhaps it was stupid that so many of us would voluntarily submit our drunkest moments for the internet's judgment, but truthfully, it just felt like a spot of fun, and typically the only people who would see it were those in your social circle. It was this cavalier attitude that would land a whole host of people in a world of trouble after the riot, in real life and online.
The archival recordings and photos used in I'm Just Here for the Riot show a smattering of digital cameras and BlackBerry phones among the Vancouver crowd. Some people used them to take pictures of themselves in front of cars ablaze, but most had them pointed at people destroying, looting and fighting. Many of these photos would land on Facebook, Twitter and various blogs that evening, and by morning people were being named and shamed.
I'm Just Here for the Riot interviews some of those people whose faces were splashed across the internet. For many the consequences of their actions involved receiving comments and messages filled with vitriol and, in some cases, threats of violence. For others, their involvement in the riot resulted in real-life repercussions like the revocation of university acceptances, the loss of business sponsors, and even the suspension of a student athlete by their sport's governing body.
With these testimonials, Jayme and Youngman turn the camera toward the audience, asking us to ponder just how much is too much. There's no doubt that those who participated in the riot deserved to pay for their actions in some way shape or form; their barbarity was senseless and dangerous. But did they deserve to be derided so publicly and to such an extreme degree?
I'm Just Here for the Riot considers their youthfulness, emphasizing this by contrasting their present-day interviews with footage from 2011. The film also contends with social media as a mechanism whose power we didn't quite understand then. One of the interviewees goes as far to say that two riots occurred: the first on the streets of Vancouver on June 15, 2011, and the other online that started the next day.
Jayme and Youngman wisely don't provide viewers with an answer or an opinion. They present the rioter's pleas for sympathy and understanding, and a social media expert's thoughts on the effect and power of the medium without prejudice. In the same breath, the film demonstrates hooligan behaviour that few would excuse.
Ultimately, I'm Just Here for the Riot uses the Vancouver riot merely as a case study for their larger thesis. In presenting arguments for and against their premise, Jayme and Youngman offer a balanced approach in exploring the effects of social media and mob mentality, which will surely incite a debate or two.
Hot Docs Festival 2023 runs from April 27 to May 7. Get information about showtimes and tickets at the festival's website.
