The Power of Protest

       After watching the documentary on the Russian band Pussy Riot, I took a liking to the band, their message, and how they portrayed their message. For the band members themselves, you must appreciate their confidence and ability to go against such a strong and strict government in Russia, a country known for their harsh ruling and questionably corrupt police force. To stand against such a powerful figure and to hold you ground requires incredible mental strength and willpower. The mental strength of these band members if the first reason in why I quickly took a liking to them.
       The next reason I took a liking to the band was their message. Their message aimed to give women more chances inside a country that for much of history has always favored male power and male rulers. They also conveyed a message that separated the church from the state. Although these views are not unanimous across every person, I found both these messages to be very important, especially for where they were in a country that had always leaned the other way. That being said, I think this message could still be very effective in many other places internationally other than Russia.
       The third and final reason I took a liking to Pussy Riot was the way that they portrayed their message. For most of their performances, the songs were run legally without issue. For me, it was important to peacefully and legally protest certain things because it leads to the inability for any figures of authority to hold anything against you. On the other hand, their final and most performance was performed in an illegal setting, inside a very popular church. However, I believe this was also a very important way of spreading their message. This act spread past the national level and reached places all around the globe. It globalized the message they were trying to spread and put their name in news headlines for months and even years to come. While a peaceful protest is always an efficient way to start, I believe that their final performance was necessary to spreading their message to a wider and more broad audience.