Burma VJ is a 2008 Danish Documentary. It tells the story of a group of reporters in Burma, which is a closed country, who film the 2007 protests and smuggle the footage out of the country. Their footage was used by CNN, BBC, and other news stations to tell the rest of the world of the proceedings in Burma.

The film is narrated by one of the reporters, who is forced to leave the country and work form Thailand after being caught with his camera out and interrogated by the police. Throughout the movie, he references the 1988 revolution.

In 1988 the people of Burma rose up and protested the government. As a result of the uprising, 3,000 people were killed. The country spent 19 years in fear, too afraid to speak up.

But then in 2007 the monks walked the streets in what was first a religious protest. They had given the generals and ultimatum. The uprising quickly turned from religious to political, and tens of thousands of people crowded the streets alongside them chanting for their cause.

For six days, the protest went without interference. However, one night the political leaders announced over loudspeaker that groups of five or more were not to meet up in the streets. The citizens disregarded the new rule, and shortly after the thugs and police broke into the monastery to beat up and imprison 225 monks.

The monks returned to the streets day after day to lead the uprising, until they had all been taken away. From there, the people themselves took charge.

As the narrator of the documentary feared, things ran similarly to that of the 1988 revolution. The police began using tear gas and warning shots, which quickly progressed to actual firing and the death of a foreign reporter.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because today in Journalism class we watched Burma VJ. Or the majority of it at least. But before the movie started, I had no idea where Burma even was. Now I know, what in my opinion is quite a bit, about the revolutions of both 1988 and 2007. I also know about the lives of the people in Burma during the time between the two revolutions and while the revolutions were taking place.

I’m disappointed in myself for not knowing where Burma is before this film. Or knowing anything about it’s political history. I’m disappointed that I don’t know what the result of the 2007 revolution was, and if the people were able to gain their freedom or not.

I realize I’ll probably find the answer as we finish the movie tomorrow in class, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Kids my age, and older too, have no idea what is going on in the world around them. There are probably countries many of us have never even heard of. We could all benefit from paying attention to current events, and learning from the mistakes others are making. Because whether we realize it or not, one day it will be us making the important decisions.