Metro Pulse/Artbeat/Alternative Media Documentaries

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Alternative-media documentaries light a 'candelabra' of truth

by Heather Joyner

At the dawn of the 21st century, the term "alternative"—be it applied to medicine, general lifestyle, or music and other media—has proved marketable. And that which is marketable is essentially mainstream. Ironic as the terminology has become, however, a need persists for real choices concerning not only what we do with our bodies and daily lives, but with the information that shapes our minds.

Beyond its underground hip appeal, alternative media affords access to perspectives that are either overlooked, undervalued, or perhaps considered threatening in the world of traditional media. With newspapers and television news growing more homogenous and limited in scope, alternative coverage of political issues supplies additional information and permits us to decide for ourselves what's important. But, as the actor and writer Peter Ustinov once said, "Truth is like a candelabra. Everyone approaches it from a different angle." No matter how many points of view we're allowed, we must still ferret out "the truth" and acknowledge that it's forever changing.

This weekend's video presentation by the Knoxville Film and Video Co-op (KFVC), called This Is What Democracy Looks Like, allows a glimpse of such independent media efforts. Consisting of four 30-minute segments, the documentary titled "Showdown in Seattle: Five Days That Shook the W.T.O." is chock full of footage most of us have never had the opportunity to see.

According to KFVC organizer and all-around renaissance man James Henry, because access to satellite broadcasts during the World Trade Organization meetings last November was limited, audience response to finally seeing more of what surrounded that event has been overwhelming. Hundreds of screenings have been organized internationally to provide "an on-the-ground, non-corporate perspective and in-depth analysis [not found] anywhere else...shot and edited on location in downtown Seattle by an unprecedented collaboration of video producers from around the U.S. working under the umbrella of the Independent Media Center."

Featured in addition to "Showdown in Seattle" is the 74-minute documentary "Breaking The Bank." Another cooperative endeavor involving independent video makers, radio producers, journalists, and activists, "Breaking the Bank" addresses the concerns of thousands of people who gathered in Washington (DC) this past April to protest the International Monetary Fund's and World Bank's pro-corporate policies. A press release describing that portion of the weekend's offerings says that in striving to reclaim media democracy, the Independent Media Center (in association with Deep Dish Satellite TV and Free Speech TV) was able to satellite broadcast television programming directly from Washington as activists representing labor, the environment, civil society, international law, and indigenous nations converged on DC to hold counter-events and stage demonstrations. If you missed those broadcasts, as I did, this is your chance to see an alternative media response to goings-on.

Wearing a distinctive Jamaican cap, a young poet and performance artist named Gabriel Teodros appears in one of the Seattle segments and says of the protests, "A lot of minds are being opened up by this." Be they "art" or simply videotape, the documentaries are compelling enough to draw us in and stimulate reaction. A bombardment of personal statements—regarding democracy versus corporate rule—by all sorts of individuals somehow manages to be coherent. By relentlessly presenting an abundance of voices, both videos create the effect of a unified cry against injustice.

This approach to public commentary, combined with more "poetic" imagery, is powerful and interesting to watch. Knoxvillian Henry describes sequences showing Seattle police overwhelming activists with tear gas and rubber bullets as "looking like something out of Northern Ireland." Portions filmed in slow motion and juxtaposed with Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" effectively evoke the dark side of the holiday season. Black and white footage of a lone protester with a voice-over saying, "This is what democracy looks like..." is moving enough to become the title of one segment and of the Knoxville screenings.

A non-profit organization connected with Knoxville's Chroma Artists Group, the KFVC is, says Henry, "committed to bringing in works from outside [as well as] encouraging and empowering local independent filmmakers." Also being brought in for the upcoming video screenings are area activists who participated in the aforementioned demonstrations. They will be present to offer additional commentary and answer questions throughout the two evenings. Each $5 admission fee will be donated to the various groups that together created the films: DEEP DISH Television (www.igc.org/deepdish), PAPER TIGER TV (www.papertiger.org), Big Noise Films (www.bignoisefilms.com), CHANGING AMERICA (www.changingamerica.org), Free Speech TV (www.freespeech.org), Headwaters Action Video Collective (www.havc.org), Independent Media Center (www.indymedia.org), Whispered Media (www.whisperedmedia.org), and Sleeping Giant Productions (www.sgiant.org). Whether or not you agree with opinions represented in the programs, you won't be bored.