The 90's, episode 201: TV Culture and How It Effects World Views
02:02 ""Covering the Coverage: The 1990 Nicaraguan Elections"" by Bob Hercules. A Chicago TV crew travels to Managua and reports on U.S. television journalists' coverage of the historic elections. NBC's Jane Whitney: ""I'm scared by reporters misconception, preconceived ideas, frames of reference... if you're only getting your news from TV... you're not getting your news."" Photojournalist: ""There's problems communicating here...reporter's contacts aren't good, there's political baggage and it's tough to see the other side of the coin...""
08:48 ""TV Addicts"" by The Media Foundation. A PSA for the Media Foundation urging parents to monitor children's TV habits. ACCESS ONLY
09:02 ""Todd Alcott"" by Skip Blumberg. Another rant from 90's regular, Todd Alcott. Todd speaks as a TV. ""Look at Me... Look at me!!"" ""People try to tell you that I'm bad for you... you tell them I've been here through thick and thin, 110% of the time!... You'll get crime, thrills, sex, right here, all in the next 8 minutes... it's miracle... look at me... look AT ME!!!""
16:00 ""Kids TV."" A group of grade six students from Chicago take part in Panasonic Corp's video contest and make their own television newscast.
17:41 ""Revolution: What a Crock"" by John Walden and Paper Tiger TV. A critique of Ted Koppel's recent report on the increased use and influence of home video on television news. ""It's the same old thing... Ted and Co. trivialize images, render them empty of meaning an maintain control of the message which doesn't encourage us to be active, which doesn't empower us to take part in the world around us. It's the same old stuff in a brand new box... under the pretense of telling us something new.""
24:23 ""Free Speech"" by Skip Blumberg. On the streets of New York City, a spokesman attracts a crowd with his advice to blacks and Latinos to avoid assimilation and support only black and Latino businesses. A white policeman tries to disperse the crowd but is denounced: ""The man has a right to voice his opinions, and we have a right to listen!""
30:07 ""Popeye the Sailor Man"" by Eddie Becker. At the Earth Day celebrations in Washington, D.C., Popeye joins the ecology movement. ""I'm Popeye the sailor man, I recycle my spinach can... Anyone who pollutes the air, earth, or ocean is nothing more than a criminal!""
34:40 ""Dee Davis"" by Appalshop. Davis comments on TV: ""The problem with television is that programming is developed to sell things. TV should change people's lives, should offer new enthusiasm, should make the lame walk and the blind see.""
35:16 ""Don Cherry"" by Starr Sutherland. A musician at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco plays a 3 in 1 instrument: a kazoo, a ""Jew's harp"" and a clicker.
36:49 ""The Today Show"" by Nancy Cain. Cain observes a live outdoor taping of The Today Show in Venice Beach, California. We see Bryant Gumbel and Frank Zappa, Jay Leno visits a falafel stand and attracts a crowd. yes--don't know whether there are issues with using Jay Leno's image/set, but he was outdoors
40:29 ""Selling Gold"" by Skip Blumberg. On Chambers and Broadway in New York City, a street vendor sells gold jewelry.
41:05 ""Cutaways"" by R.D. Rosen. A comedic piece in which Rosen demonstrates how to shoot cutaways, a TV production trick to cover jump cuts in an interview. The camera records the interviewer pretending to listen intently, looking doubtful, mildly astonished, etc. He also shows us the wrong way to appear in the cutaways: nodding off to sleep, flossing your teeth, etc.
43:13 ""Export TV: Anatomy of an Electronic Invasion"" by Monica Melamid. A short documentary about TV Marti, a U.S. broadcast from Key West, FL aimed at the people of Cuba. Its mission is broadcast anti-Castro propaganda in order to influence Cuban public opinion.
48:13 ""The Surf Report"" by Nancy Cain. It focuses on a Misha, a street vendor on Venice Beach. Originally from the Soviet Union, Misha sells ""Gorby"" T-shirts on Venice Beach and sings a song.
49:40 ""Nestle Quick Commercial."" A ventriloquist and his dog, Farfel, sell Nestle's instant chocolate.
54:13 ""Contrasts"" by Lillian Liberman. We see the contrast between the wealthy and the poor in Mexico City.