
Rebel Video: The video movement of the 1970s and 1980s
In the 1970s and 1980s, young activists discovered video as a new medium and used moving images in their struggle for access to cultural expression for the many, not the few. They were researching and developing new forms of independent and participatory media work – an important step towards realizing the utopian promises of the digital age.
Rebel Video portrays practitioners of community and alternative video in London, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, and Zurich. Their work is discussed along with its lasting influence up to the present. Complemented with essays on documentary film and video art, the book shines a light on the video movement in all its many facets.
Most of the videos in this book can be viewed as excerpts on the project website.
I reported on this project on the making twice at conferences of the IVSA: 2011 at British Columbia University in Vancouver and 2013 at Goldsmiths, University of London. So I am very glad to report back now the final results of my work. Release in mid-August 2017 by Scheidegger & Spiess.
Related links
Tags: alternative video, book, community video, media education, participatory film, participatory video, video, visual anthropology, youth culture