Acceptable Protest

Acceptable Protest brings to life, through absurdity and satire, the contradictions and omissions of a typical university protest policy poster. Through a series of scenarios that outline “dos” and “dont’s,” the animation imagines the consequences faced by students who alternately follow or violate the rules of protest. The story’s climax centres on a major donation from a weapons manufacturer to an unnamed university during a genocide. The definition of “acceptable” protest is shown to be applied indiscriminately, however convenient to those in power. Acceptable Protest is simultaneously a scathing critique of institutional complicity, a clear-eyed assessment of the sacrifices that organizing entails, and a call to solidarity.

Based on research into university protest and disciplinary policies and the experiences of student organizers in North America in 2024-25, during and after the student encampments for Palestine, Acceptable Protest follows a poster outlining the policies of the University of Southern California, “do” and “don’t” scenarios described by the University of Toronto, disciplinary procedures at New York University, and police interventions at York University. Dialogue is taken from statements made by university professors and administrators.

Animated in Blender, the visual style draws from the banal aesthetic of corporate infographics and learning modules. The animation’s characters, lacking features, speak in a garbled language that is elucidated via captions. These stylistic choices allow for the illogic of institutional policies and communications to be stretched beyond their limits—to the point where they break down and reveal their innate contradictions.

For a private screener link, or if you're interested in organizing a screening on your campus, please email: acceptableprotestfilm @ proton.me