A number of new films want you to stand up for a cause.
Following Michael Moore, who tried to galvanize voters by highlighting President Bush’s perceived follies in his blockbuster “Fahrenheit 9/11,” activism movies have proven their clout at the box office.
Now Hollywood is combining issues movies with campaigns designed to get people active.
“North Country,” which opened Friday, stars Charlize Theron in a fictionalized account of female workers in a Minnesota iron mine who used a class-action lawsuit to fight brutality from male co-workers. Its website has a link to participate.net, which shows how to start anti-harassment campaigns in schools.
“Good Night, and Good Luck,” in theaters, is George Clooney’s McCarthyism drama about the media’s power to expose government abuse of power. It also has a tie-in at participate.net; users are invited to report stories from their area that the media have ignored.
“Emmanuel’s Gift,” in select theaters Oct. 21, is a documentary narrated by Oprah Winfrey about a Ghanaian man with a withered leg who rides a bicycle across his country to change attitudes about disability. The movie website directs users to donate to the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation.
“After Innocence,” a documentary opening in New York Oct. 21, features people wrongly convicted of crimes. The movie invites viewers to join campaigns to support the exonerated through activevoice.net.
