Review: Trial of the Chicago 7 :: Law Dawg of the Month - Ruthie Congratulations to Our Graduating Circulation & Research Assistant Student Employees! A M I C U S B R I E F S April 2021 Alexander Campbell King Law Library Review: Trial of the Chicago 7 By Stephen Wolfson In 1968, a protest about the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago led to a violent confrontation with Chicago police and the arrest of 8 important figures of the late 1960s, including Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale, and Tom Hayden. This riot and the trial that followed is the subject of The Trial of the Chicago 7, the latest film from writer and director Aaron Sorkin. And if you didn’t know much about this story before the release of the movie in September 2020, don’t feel too bad, neither did Sorkin.
As the story goes, in the mid-2000s, Steven Spielberg was interested in developing a movie about the 1968 riots and he approached Sorkin to write the script. Sorkin, who had previously worked on several political-themed projects, including The West Wing, A Few Good Men, and the American President and would later write Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball, and my favorite movie of 2010, The Social Network, had never heard of this event. Even so, he took on the project and produced a script for Spielberg. However, as often happens in Hollywood, the movie never got made.
Fast forward about 14 years, and Netflix hired Aaron Sorkin to direct the movie himself, as his second film after Molly’s Game. With a great cast, including Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman, Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, the movie was released to rave reviews, and has been nominated for seven academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Cohen). Upcoming Exam Hours Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance is particularly noteworthy. If you only know him from the Borat movies, then you may not realize how great he is By Marie Mize and Szilvia Somodi in everything he does. Like any Aaron Sorkin movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7 features a lot of quick-spoken, rat-a-tat-tat dialog from characters who often seem impossibly clever. Cohen handles this with aplomb and really W E L C O M E , R A S H A U N ! brings Hoffman to life in his performance. At the same time, it is important to recognize that The Trial of the Chicago 7 is not a documentary, and it plays a bit fast and loose with history. Sorkin is not new to this sort of criticism. He faced similar comments about his version of Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network, who isn’t actually much like the real creator of Facebook. Sorkin often uses history to tell his story, and bends it when he needs to make a point. That is true here as well as in his other films. Nevertheless, this movie is entertaining, thought provoking, and worth your time. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available to stream on Netflix. 3.5/5 stars. On Monday, April 5th, we welcomed Rashaun Ellis to the Access Services Department at the Law Library! Rashaun comes to us from the UGA Main Library. Look out for a full interview with Rashaun in our next issue! Law Dawg of the Month: Ruthie By Anne Burnett Ruthie is Law Dawg of the Month for April. She is a 2 year old tiny bernedoodle who lives with 3L Holly Stephens. Ruthie loves long walks, a good sploot, and a strong dissent. All members of the Law School Community (students, faculty and staff) are invited to submit a photo for possible selection as the Law Dawg. The featured entry for each issue will be selected at random from all entries received. Please note that honorary Law Dawgs (i.e. those of the feline, equine, porcine, avian, reptilian, etc. persuasion) are eligible as well. Please send your Law Dawg photo(s) to [email protected]. April 2021 Alexander Campbell King Law Library Congratulations, graduates! By Savanna Nolan and Szilvia Somodi Congratulations to our graduating Circulation student workers and our Research Assistants. We are so grateful for your hard work and your commitment to the success of the Law Library. We are wishing you the best in your careers and sincerely hope you will keep in touch with us. We will miss you!
Linda Emanor Master's in Social Work Candidate Graduate Research Asst, School of Social Work
Int'l Affairs,Allison Criminal Reid Justice & Sociology Major Portuguese Minor
Anna Knowlton Biology Major Women's Studies Erin Church Minor Ivan Ruiz-Hernandez Ecology Ansley& Int'l AffairsNash Major Int'l Affairs & French Major Master's in Int'l Policy Arabic Minor Bachelor of Arts in Int'lCertificate in Global Studies Affairs Jacob Kisic English and French Major
Tiffany Au Victoria Carballo Jeanette Beltran J.D. Candidate, 2021 J.D. Candidate, 2021 Political Science & Molly Walsh Int'l Affairs Major Charles Wells Political Science Major Spanish Minor J.D. Candidate, 2021 Sociology Minor Graduating Cum Laude continued on next page . . . April 2021 Alexander Campbell King Law Library Congratulations . . . (cont'd)
Good Luck!
Coura Thiam Human Development & Family Science Major
Jacob Weber J.D. Candidate, 2021
Ansley Whiten J.D. Candidate, 2021 Victoria Hicks Jessica Parker Darshini Nair J.D. Candidate, 2021 J.D. Candidate, 2021 J.D. Candidate, 2021 Marcus McGinnis J.D. Candidate, 2021
Hanna Kaufman Kevin Parker J.D. Candidate, 2021 William Gaskins J.D. Candidate, 2021 J.D. Candidate, 2021 Kelsey Turner J.D. Candidate, 2021
Not pictured: Khushboo Patel Political Science & Int'l Affairs Major (December 2021)