The Baton Rouge Gallery is beginning this year’s Flatscape Video Series with, as one press release put it, “a bang – the bang of a bomb.”The annual video series, which will run the last Saturday of January, February and March, touches a hot-button issue with this year’s theme, “Subversion: Anarchy, Art & Activism.”As in past years, the video series will use more than a half dozen works from various genres, many of which are not accessible to most, to spark an intellectual conversation regarding the subject matter and the means by which the video artists present them.The series, which premieres Saturday, will showcase the use of subversion, especially through terrorism, as a way radical individuals and organizations strive to coerce society to change their established political or social thoughts.John Michael Byrd, special events coordinator for the Baton Rouge Gallery, is hopeful this video series will open up discussion about the use of subversion around the world.”The films are not what you would expect,” Byrd said. “I am hoping that people come away with more questions than answers about the type of people who do these things and what they are really fighting for.”This Saturday’s installment, “Campaign of Coercion: Tactics of Rebellion,” will take a look at two films, 1969’s “Chicago Travelogue: The Weathermen” and 2003’s “Get Rid of Yourself,” to examine the mindsets and effects of terrorism on society and use the 34-year gap between the two films to show the staying power of anarchist and terrorist practices.Richard Nelson, University public relations professor and a listed expert on terrorism, said that when it comes to terrorism, both sides — the aggressor and the target — believe they are right in their actions.”Interpretation is a big thing,” Nelson said. “The people who use terrorism believe strongly enough in their cause to use violence, and of course, they don’t think they are wrong.”One of the key points in this year’s edition of the Flatscape Video Series is the interpretation of how an act of subversion is justified.”It is a great idea to make this open to the public,” Nelson said. “The more we know, the less likely we are to shut people out and call them crazy. If we understand their motives and beliefs more, the better equipped we are to solve the issues.”With such a controversial topic, the gallery hopes to open the eyes of many Baton Rouge patrons to not only show what is happening around the world and even in our own country, but to also show why it is happening.The series will run at 8 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Gallery with new installments on Jan. 31, Feb. 28 and March 28. Admission is $5 for    non-members of the Baton Rouge Gallery and free for   members.Byrd said the series is in no way an endorsement by the Baton Rouge Gallery of any of the actions presented during any videos in the three installments of this year’s program.”It is hard to tell the difference between one man’s freedom fighter from another man’s terrorist,” Byrd said. “And with this year’s series, we are hoping that people will ask themselves questions and see that it is a multi-sided issue.”—-Contact Jake Clapp at [email protected]