The Video Activist Handbook

A practical guide to video activism and a political briefing for the burgeoning protest movement worldwide, this text is aimed at those frustrated by the political inertia of the media and political elite, but empowered by new technology and the conviction that change is possible. Arguing that the power that control the media and the practices that govern it have stifled political debate and marginalized the concerns of ordinary people, this book charts the recent rise in non-violent direct action/DIY culture and shows how video activism has grown and flourished as a key tool - changing the agenda of TV news broadcasts, overturning court cases recording instances of state brutality or corporate greed. A survey of the international video activist scene and the historical antecedents of these new protest movements provides the context for a critical assessment of mainstream media agendas - and their limitations. The author investigates the new opportunities now developing for the spread of video activism and DIY TV in the struggle for social justice.