What did you learn about grassroots activism from the film?

How do activists in the film use art to convey their message? What other methods do they use to build support?

The families displaced by the mudflow knew that the government and Lapindo were covering up the truth but didn’t let the corruption lead them into despair. What do you think led them to put their faith and energies into winning a presidential election? Why might they have believed that democracy could defeat corruption?

Lapindo’s owner, Aburizal Bakrie, is associated with General Suharto’s party and history. Hawarti recounts to Dian memories of Suharto’s 1965 purge of suspected communists, when millions of people were “disappeared” and murdered. Many committed no “crime” other than protesting. How might those events be linked to the mudflow victim protests? Why might business leaders like Bakrie see an authoritarian leader like Suharto as a natural ally, and vice versa?