[ icon courtesy of the Toronto Video Activist Collective ]
by Rachel Rinaldo
07.09.01

tens of thousands of anti-capitalist activists descended on the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. They came from all across North and South America to protest the intended formation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a multilateral agreement critics argued would bolster trade at the expense of democracy. They wore the usual gas masks and goggles and brandished banners. But amid the chants of protesters in the city's narrow streets, other sounds could be heard: the beeps of hundreds of hand-held video cameras. "In Quebec, so many people in the crowd had cameras that it appeared that groups of journalists were getting tear-gassed instead of groups of demonstrators," said Tish Stringer, a Houston-based video activist who attended the Summit.

In the year and half since the Battle in Seattle, protests have erupted everywhere global trade zealots have tried to assemble, be it the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Prague or the World Economic Forum in Melbourne. These events also mark a resurgence of video activism, and they may well have been the most widely disseminated protests ever. That fact is due, in part, to the creation of the Independent Media Centers (IMCs), a global network of activist websites and alternative media spaces, which allow any self-proclaimed journalist to post articles, photos, audio, and digital video footage. With Indymedia sites multiplying, the proliferation of video cameras in Quebec City came as no surprise to some. As Stringer puts it, "a video camera has become one of those objects you pack for a protest."

The IMCs are part of a loose but rapidly growing network of video activists, or, more broadly, media activists. These high tech activists use video to challenge the mainstream media, to disseminate information and news about events that are otherwise marginalized or not covered, to propagandize, and to document police abuse. They produce everything from agitprop shorts and news-style stories to documentaries and experimental works. In addition to their well-known websites, the IMCs, particularly in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Prague, have distinguished themselves by collectively creating documentaries about the protests, such as "Breaking the Bank" and "Showdown in Seattle."

Past to Present

hough the rise of the Internet has fostered alternative media, today's video activism has deep roots in the political, social and art movements of the 1960s and 1970s [see "Video Precursors" sidebar ], and IMC video work reflects this heritage. The major video activist efforts in the summer of 2000 provided alternative coverage of the U.S. Democratic and Republican political conventions just as an earlier generation of activists covered the 1972 Democratic Convention. But the IMCs are also doing a lot of things that haven't been done before.

For example, during the recent European Union Summit in Gothenburg (June 14-16, 2001), an array of videographers posted video clips of breaking events on the web, giving far-flung viewers a near real-time alternative to watching CNN.

What has made the IMCs possible is the profusion of small video activist groups, such as the 20-year old Paper Tiger Television, who have lent their considerable experience, equipment, and skills to a new generation of video activists. Others, like the West Coast-based Whispered Media and Headwaters Video Action Collective, have been around for a number of years, working closely with local communities to produce programs for screenings and public access cable. And in the last few years, newer collectives like Sleeping Giant and Big Noise Films have popped up around the U.S. What the IMCs have done, ultimately, is bring together activists working in different groups and in different mediums—print, video, photo, and radio—to create a rich array of alternative media. Although Free Speech TV [see sidebar ] and Deep Dish TV, as well as the more familiar public access television, have been crucial platforms for video activism, Indymedia is probably one of the most far-reaching video and media activist projects ever undertaken.

According to DeeDee Halleck, who has been a video activist since the early '70s, and who helped found Paper Tiger, the IMCs have empowered media activists by allowing them to make their own media, and the viewers at home by making alternative news available at the same pace it unfolds on CNN. "What really happened in the Seattle thing was that, boom, you were able to do this self-publishing instantaneously."

Other long-time video activists, like Tom Poole, of Deep Dish TV, are impressed by Indymedia's cooperative culture: "In the early '90s, we all knew about each other but folks were more factionalized. Now you can see that there's a more collective effort."

Observing vs. Participating?

he relationship between video activism and grassroots movements is a complicated one. While most video activists see themselves as part of social movements, one side-effect of their work is the blurring of roles between activists, journalists, and artists or media makers. Halleck believes that media activism is all about politics, and argues that media intervention is an essential part of political protest. Should any fundamental social changes occur, she predicts that media activism will play a crucial part in them.

However, some video activists also recognize a tension between their roles as documentarians and political activists. Lisa Mastramico, an independent producer with community television in Santa Cruz County, Ca., found her press pass useful in Quebec, yet on the streets she wanted to hide it so protesters wouldn't see her as just a media person or mere observer. "I [wanted] to bear witness and record it, and at the same time...be there in solidarity and participate."

Video activism is obviously different from on-the-ground activism or community organizing. Worthwhile as it is, it has the potential to draw people away from the less glamorous business of making phone calls, talking to people, and organizing actions. But video activists can also help grassroots groups by making videos they can use in their organizing and fundraising work, or training them to make videos themselves.

Proliferation, Collaboration,
& Constructive Criticisms

ideo is cheap and becoming more accessible by the day, with cameras now selling for less than $1000. When so many people have access to video equipment, collaboration becomes not only possible, but likely, and making compilation-style programs is one natural outcome. Video offers immediacy and spontaneity—clips can be broadcast instantaneously on the web, or else quickly edited into programs that can then be shown immediately in all sorts of venues. FSTV staffer Eric Galatas thinks that television will change dramatically as a result. "There are so many people now picking up DV [digital video] cameras, getting their hands on iMacs or G4s and editing great videos," he said. "I think we're going to look back on this period as a launch pad for an entirely new way of making and distributing television."

Tish Stringer contends that the era of the auteur film director is over. "The experiment of democratic film-making begun in the '60s is in full flower with these films, shot on multiple continents by hundreds of people, edited and distributed by many, with [widely] dispersed screenings and outlets."

Nevertheless, there are constructive criticisms to offer to the movement. Indymedia's work has drawn criticism for being stylistically conventional and repetitive, but one of the most frequently mentioned problems is its lack of diversity. Most of the producers are white, male, and middle class. This, despite the fact that a major share of the users and viewers of public access television in cities like New York and Chicago are African-American and Latino.

Of course, there are exceptions, including the Chiapas Media Project and Chicago's Street Level Youth Media, but many young video activists seem more interested in helping create IMCs in remote locales than in figuring out how to give over the means of production to those marginalized back home.

Another challenge for video activists is learning how to move from simple documentation to more analytic storytelling. Tom Poole of Deep Dish TV and others agree that video activists need to present more analysis and solutions, rather than just showing people complaining about a problem or holding demonstrations. He worries that producers don't think critically about how they benefit from the power of the video camera, but he is optimistic that things will improve over time. "I'm hoping that, in three or four years, our intellectual challenge against the status quo will be further along," he said. "Once we move past that, we will make real change."

Unfortunately, one of the most neglected aspects of video activism is distribution. The reality is that most of the videos reach very small audiences. One new endeavor, Working Films, connects film and video makers with community organizers for the purpose of getting work shown at local screenings and educational settings, and to give activists direct input into documentaries. "Working Films is really saying we have to get... the organizations and the filmmakers talking to each other, instead of just talking to one side," says former DIVA-TV producer and current Working Films board member Catherine Gund.

Looking Forward

lthough the likelihood of progressive media activists doing away with the mainstream media is slim to say the least, they might be able to circumvent and supplant it to some extent. A more exhilarating, and realistic possibility is that video activism will play a vital role in the emerging movements that are confronting the terms of globalization and attacking neoliberal capitalism. Activist videos inform people around the world that something can be done to change societies, and that regular people are doing it. They can bear witness to crimes committed by governments or corporations. And video, along with the web, enables small, isolated groups of activists to get their message out into a global arena, and to garner support. Not least, video technology allows people to represent themselves to the world, rather than being filtered through the often distorted lens of the mainstream media.

Halleck warns that increased state surveillance and harassment lie ahead. The recent disturbing incident in Seattle may be only the beginning. On April 21, during the anti-FTAA protests, the FBI served the Seattle IMC with a court order directing the IMC to hand over all its user connection logs and other records related to the IMC's coverage of the Quebec City demonstrations. The IMC refused to comply with the court order, and on June 13, just as the IMC prepared to challenge the order in court, it was suddenly withdrawn. (To read the IMC's statement about this case, click here.)

But despite the obstacles, or perhaps because of them, video activism is ready for whatever comes next. "I think video activism means becoming a kind of modern-day Prometheus," Eric Galatas from Free Speech TV says. "And you don't have to have any particular set of hero credentials to take part. TV is controlled by six global corporations—they control economies, governments, cultures, and can wreak havoc on individual lives. Media is their fire, but we can steal it, and use it."

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