Shattering The Lenses: A Commentary about Alternative Media & Video Art defined by Kate Horsfield

The circumstances that befell the need to hear voices from alternative media and people

Decades before, and even up to this day, there has been tension between the traditionalist mainstream and youthful counterculture that desired a more open and egalitarian society that reflected their social values. 

    A plethora of issues such as issues of political differences in class, race, gender, and sexual orientation that are often being reported are deemed by some as “biased”. Moreover, to challenge the so-called “blandness” of the past decades' way of delivering news and information, a change in one’s “personal consciousness” was seen as the starting point on the path to creating a new and better society as it helps minimize the ignorance of people towards certain issues or topics of national concern. With this, it lead many young activists to envision a “new society” based on alternative institutions and modes of thought that did not replicate the social or economic oppression of minorities or other disenfranchised groups. This is where alternative media comes in.

    But first and foremost, the primary reason why there was a rise in need for the alternative media and people was the idea of achieving “an expanded democracy that allowed greater equality and participation for all subjects, no matter what their color, gender, or class”. In the past decades when the dissemination of information was strictly controlled, many issues were seen “differently” by the majority of the public due to how the traditionalist mainstream portrayed these issues at hand. Various circumstances befell and have occurred that gave rise to the need to hear the voices of alternative media and people, but we would only focus on four (4) groundbreaking ones that became the catalysts for the importance of alternative media. These are:

(1) The Oppression of Women in Society / Feminism

Image by: Fairy God Boss

    

    Women, in spite of controlling large amounts of money designated for household spending, were seen as manipulated and controlled by images from television. Additionally, they are often depicted as an object for the sexual gratification of men and are constricted to an inferior role constructed by both the society and majority of the media during those times. This was one of the first circumstances that gave rise to hearing the voices of alternative media; to voice out women’s rights, as well as to create a mass movement for social change by helping women understand how they could alter their positions as objects (of male desire) to subjects that could determine their own future.

(2) Vietnam War Controversy

Image by: The New York Times

    Another circumstance that pushed for the voice of alternative media was when protesters criticized news coverage of the Vietnam war, arguing that the media could not be trusted because it was biased as part of the “consciousness industry”. News related to the ongoing Vietnam War during those times was packaged for commercial television programming and controlled by the government and corporate monopolies, which means, the media often presented soldiers in a bad light, or it "sanitized" or left out much of what was happening in Vietnam. 

(3) Commodification of Culture

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    An era where the commodification of culture was prevalent can probably be considered as one of the major factors and reasons why there is a need to hear the voices of alternative media and people because it is affecting the art world. Artists rightfully felt that the gallery system of that time had begun to limit exhibition to only those artists and works that were “highly marketable”, thereby limiting art to the level of commodity. Driven by a desire to create new types of art that defied both the modernist doctrine, as well as the commercialism of the gallery system, artists began working with materials and processes that challenged these boundaries. 

    This shift in artistic practice began to destroy the modernist imperative of the gallery-based object and replace it with a more ephemeral version of art that emphasized process, critique, or experience over pure form. This of course contributed to how we view art nowadays as a way of “freedom of expression” as opposed to the traditionalist meaning which values more the “pure and aesthetic form” of art.

(4) The Rise of AIDS

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    When we say “Alternative Media”, this pertains to a form of mass media that contrasts the mainstream media. In short, alternative media are those mass media outlets that disseminate information that is in contrast to the thoughts, interests, and opinions of the current general society. You might be wondering why I defined alternative media in this latter part of the paper, but it is because alternative media was a very prominent and important existence during the rise of aids. 

     The deconstruction of media took on a darker and more urgent agenda as AIDS began to sweep through the country in the mid-‘80s, infecting and killing huge numbers of people. Many protesters and artists joined up with AIDS activists to fight against rising hysteria caused by ignorance, omission, and misinformation presented in mainstream media during those times. Given that there was an unequal power balance in terms of gender roles, it is needless to say that aside from women, members of the LGBTQ community were largely discriminated against, most especially when the outbreak of AIDS was mostly spread among the latter’s members.  

     Alternative media people and activists were not just fighting unfair representations in media but also strove to obtain government funds for research, access to medication and home care, and to spread prevention information through creative productions. Examples of these are tapes such as ‘They are lost to vision altogether’ (1989) and ‘DiAna’s Hair Ego: AIDS Info Upfront’ (1989) and many others which gives compassionate and human response to aids, and demonstrate how artists and activists used video in grassroots campaigns long before mainstream media even acknowledged that AIDS was a crisis.

     But of course, due to this event, it gave rise to a new “queer cinema” which showcases all types of work by and about gay men, lesbians, and trans-gendered people that are often not depicted in the mainstream media before.

    Overall, these circumstances that occurred in the past which further highlighted the importance to hear the voices of alternative media and its people actually helped a variety of people such as the youth, people of color, artists, women, LGBTQ members, and activists by encouraging them to utilize media to their advantage by telling their own stories; thus de-centralizing the existing communication system by establishing an alternative that focused on broadening representation in the media.  

    

Another prime example and parallel of the usage of alternative media to express one's voice and opinions was during the Martial Law in the Philippines wherein former president Ferdinand Marcos reigned havoc and strict control over the nation and the media, which gave rise to the underground and counter-culture movement of artists. Read More

   

The difference between then reporting and now & the tools at present that can help me as a person to become an effective media practitioner today

Comparing the method of reporting and utilization of media back then to the present time can show a sharp contrast of result and juxtaposition as we are now living in the “Industry 4.0” or also called “Industrial Revolution 4.0” wherein technology not only advanced by leaps and bounds, but also became an essential part of the public’s everyday lives. 

    

    As I have said earlier, the traditionalist mainstream media is often controlled by people in power which often creates censorship and bias in the way of delivering news. Though there were a handful of new media that arose in power such as video which “reversed the process of television, giving people access to the tools of production and distribution, giving them control over their own images and, by implication their own lives”, and rapidly improving digital technology such as digital camcorders which energized and streamlined video production, these still cannot compare to how present technology are now more accessible. 

    Before, limitations and restrictions were imposed upon media equipment. More so, access to advanced equipment was even more extremely rare, and most early users of video had to work with a tiny selection of electronic equipment, usually just a black and white camera and recording deck to be able to report the news. But now, with the advancement of technology, almost anyone can be a gatekeeper as they can disseminate news whenever and wherever even by just using their smartphones. Additionally, when comparing the way of reporting from before to the present time, we must bear in mind the “shifting and displacement of power” in the media. Television is no longer the most powerful and prominent media as there is now streaming and online media which allows the public to choose the type of content they want to consume. This means that the way of reporting nowadays comes in a wide range of options for the viewers to choose from as opposed to back in the days were television is the only major source of news, aside from radio.

    In terms of the tools at present that can help me become an effective media practitioner today, well, there are many available options such as social media platforms in the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and many more. Just sharing accurate and verified news with the public by using any of these social media platforms can largely contribute to the dissemination of factual information to the public. There are also newsletters and brochures that are creatively captivating yet informative which I can utilize as a media practitioner. To summarize, this time and age are more open and lenient to me as a media practitioner as compared to before when freedom of speech was highly restricted. 

    Now, there are a wide array of tools and platforms that I can use and equip myself to become a media practitioner. But of course, it's not those tools that make me a good media practitioner but how I choose whether or not to be “ethically professional” and “unbiased” when delivering the news is what matters the most. As Marshall McLuhan stated, “as technology advances, so does the human sensory perception needed to receive it.” So in other words, even if the advanced tools and technology at present is a far cry from the type of basic tools used before by media practitioners, it is still upon me whether or not I can live up to the expectations of being a good media practitioner.

Reference Used:

Video Data Bank. (n.d.). Busting the Tube: A Brief History of Video Art. Retrieved from http://mycours.es/ems/files/2021/09/Kate-Horsfield-Busting-the-Tube-A-Brief-History-of-Video-Art_0.pdf