When I first had the idea of writing this article, I was going to introduce the topic – what you need to know when photographing protests and demonstrations – by mentioning a scene from the 2024 movie, “Civil War,” which includes two photographers as main characters (played by actors Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny).
At the beginning of the movie, both photographers are documenting a protest, which quickly turns into a brawl between police and protesters. During the fight, Dunst’s character witnesses a police officer strike Spaeny’s character in the face with a billy club. Dunst’s character quickly goes over to lead Spaeny’s character away from the altercation to safety.
